England cemented their dominance over New Zealand as Maia Bouchier‘s maiden international century and Sophie Ecclestone‘s five-wicket haul secured an insurmountable 2-0 lead in their three-match ODI series. Ecclestone’s 5/25 from nine overs played a pivotal role in bowling New Zealand out for a mere 141 in 41.5 overs, and Bouchier ensured a swift chase, leading England to victory with 25.3 overs remaining.
Sophie Ecclestone’s bowling brilliance
Ecclestone’s masterful bowling decimated New Zealand’s batting lineup. Despite Amelia Kerr‘s top score of 43, New Zealand faltered as only four batters reached double figures. Early breakthroughs by Kate Cross and Lauren Filer left New Zealand struggling at 10/2 by the sixth over. Ecclestone’s introduction in the 12th over proved crucial, breaking a 46-run partnership between Sophie Devine and Kerr with a perfectly flighted delivery that led to Devine’s stumping.
Crucial interventions by England’s bowlers
Maddy Green, after a slow start, succumbed to a lofted shot to long-on. Charlie Dean‘s sharp turn ended Green’s innings, terminating a 58-run stand with Kerr. Brooke Halliday, who had performed well in the previous match, was bowled by Ecclestone while attempting a sweep.
Ecclestone continued her dominance by dismissing Lauren Down with a delivery that turned past the bat, ending Down’s brief return to international cricket. Kerr, though reaching a career milestone of 2000 ODI runs, was subdued, and her dismissal initiated a collapse of seven wickets for 27 runs in just over 10 overs. Ecclestone’s haul was complemented by Alice Capsey, who took the final wicket, sealing New Zealand’s fate.
Also READ: Netizens react as Laura Wolvaardt, Suné Luus lead South Africa’s resurgence after Sneh Rana’s exceptional bowling on Day 3 of One-off Test
Maia Bouchier’s century leads England to victory
Tammy Beaumont and Bouchier laid a strong foundation for England’s chase with a 73-run partnership. Despite Beaumont’s narrow run-out, Bouchier took charge, hitting a flurry of boundaries and maintaining composure to reach her century. With support from Nat Sciver-Brunt, Bouchier guided England to victory. In the final over, Bouchier skillfully handled Jess Kerr‘s deliveries, securing her century and ensuring England’s emphatic win.
Here’s how Fans reacted:
5/25 for Sophie Ecclestone. Absolute Rockstar for England! 💪
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) June 30, 2024
Sophie Ecclestone is just phenomenal!!! Wow #EnglandVNZL
— Bec (@bexg55) June 30, 2024
England defeated New Zealand by 8 wickets in the 2nd ODI 🏏
Scorecard: https://t.co/aYibkNhys9#women #cricket #ENGvNZ #maiabouchier #englandcricket #CricketTwitter #WomenCricket pic.twitter.com/1JSFXNyaVr
— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) July 1, 2024
Sophie Ecclestone’s 5-25 is a career-best in ODIs on home soil. #EngvNZ
— Raf Nicholson (@RafNicholson) June 30, 2024
Sophie Ecclestone is England’s cricket cheat code right now#bbccricket
— Georgie Heath🎙️ (@GeorgieHeath27) June 30, 2024
My beloved #WhiteFerns are going backwards while virtually every other side is getting stronger. Maia Bouchier is a HUGE talent who we are seemingly unable to dismiss, Sophie Ecclestone is an absolute freak and overall, #Eng are an incredible side, but sadly at present we’re not
— Simon Wood (@WoodOnWineNZ) July 1, 2024
Stating the obvious Sophie Ecclestone is world class a joy to watch her bowl
— Giles Joiner (@gilesjoiner) June 30, 2024
Sophie Ecclestone is a Top 5 international spinner btw
— Frosty (@JoshFrosst) June 30, 2024
🏴🇳🇿 ODI action at New Road this afternoon as England doubled their series lead over New Zealand.
Classy bowling from Sophie Ecclestone (amongst others) to limit the Kiwis to a modest score before Maia Bouchier brought up a magnificent century with the winning runs! pic.twitter.com/qaMxawWBoj
— Matt Chedgzoy (@matt_dyfan) June 30, 2024
A maiden international hundred for Maia Bouchier, also her first professional century. Completed with some solid counting. Lovely knock, only chasing 142. pic.twitter.com/RbbsZRYXkg
— Nick Friend (@NickFriend1) June 30, 2024
Incredible from @maiabouchier today, watching her improve over the last few years and this has been coming !! Hats off to @natsciver who could have smashed that full toss out of the park yet didn’t and did an absolute solid for her team mate !!
— ElizabethBertStanley (@BertStanley) June 30, 2024
The Mighty Boosh strikes again.
Maia Bouchier made a magnificent unbeaten century to guide England to a comfortable win over New Zealand in the 2nd ODI.#cricket pic.twitter.com/aGfT9zCNNQ
— Gray-Nicolls (@graynics) June 30, 2024
Back home after a lovely weekend in Worcester. Seen a totally dominant performance from the women of @englandcricket against New Zealand. Excellent 5-25 for @Sophecc19 & brilliant ton for @maiabouchier pic.twitter.com/ruHpzEyaY9
— Matthew W Bryen (@MatthewWBryen) June 30, 2024
Shout out to the mighty boosh @maiabouchier for getting her maiden international century in the one day game vs New Zealand today, well played! 🏏💯
— ALittleLouder (@ALittleLauder) June 30, 2024
Maia Bouchier is a proper player for England, and really fulfilling all the promise of success as a Vipers player.
Across her 11 ODIs she’s averaging 57.14 at a S/R of 112, and today’s century off 88 balls was some knock.
Brilliant to see next generation starting to dominate.
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) June 30, 2024
Well batted @maiabouchier 100 not out and great support from @natsciver -selfless 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻@englandcricket
— Nigel Newman (@NSmithNewmans) June 30, 2024
GO ON THE MIGHTY BOOSH!!!
What a brilliant knock from Maia Bouchier
First century for England and first ever professionally century. #BBCCricket #ENGvNZ
— Jack Rule (@JackRuleLD) June 30, 2024
This has to be one of the best innings by @natsciver. She’s doing everything she can to get @maiabouchier the century. ❤️ #Cricket
— Katie Hughes 💙🇺🇦 (@Katie_Hughes78) June 30, 2024
Also READ: India overtakes Australia to set new world record for the highest team total in Women’s Test history
This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.
