For the first time in the 2026 World Cup, New Zealand’s openers managed to survive the powerplay. The make-shift duo of Isabelle Gaze & Amelia Kerr – the latter putting in a shift at the top after regular opener Georgia Plimmer player herself out of the team in the first couple of games – put together 70 runs in the first 10 overs.
Or, well, in the first 55 balls. On ball 56, Gaze misread a second consecutive slower off-cutter from Freya Kemp and lofted the ball to long on. On ball 57, Kerr attempted an unnecessary scoop and got bowled. On ball 59, Izzy Sharp tried to launch a length ball and only succeeded in finding her own wicket.
New Zealand have only five batters with a 120+ strike rate since the last World Cup, and three were back in the pavilion in the space of four balls. NZ’s penchant for self-inflicted wounds was threatening to knock them out. Luckily, the veterans came to their rescue. Sophie Devine (30 off 14) and Suzie Bates (19 off 13) – both playing their final game, along with Lea Tahuhu – salvaged the innings and dragged the defending champions to a seemingly competitive 163/3.
However, England – led by the red hot Danni Wyatt-Hodge (89 of 53) – made short work of the total despite rain interruptions. They raced to their own 70-1 total within 8 overs, and only accelerated from there. Wyatt-Hodge and Sophia Dunkley (49 off 38) scored 94 boundary runs (22×4, 1×6) in their partnership while also running 30 runs to close out the 9-wicket victory in just 17.2 overs.
For England, this made 5 wins out of 5 despite losing captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to injury a couple of games ago. For New Zealand, this was a humiliating tournament that ended on a fitting note; a wry smile from the retiring Devine as she watched England win the game off a wide.
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⏭︎ NZ’s bet on youth: Despite picking the veteran trio of Devine (36 years old), Bates (38) and Lea Tahuhu (35), only Devine was a starter in the first game of the World Cup. NZ wanted to blood their youth in the seemingly weaker Group B, but it turned out the defending champions were the weakest contender. By the end of the group stage, they were forced to turn to Bates and Tahuhu as the youngsters faltered on the biggest stage. They played well, but it was too little too late.
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🌀 NZ’s lack of spinners: Women’s cricket is not like it’s Men’s counterpart. Spinners play a much bigger part, and NZ showed up with just three on the books. Amelia Kerr continues to be brilliant, Nensi Patel (22-1 today) is showing some real potential, while Flora Devonshire has played all of 3 T20Is and didn’t get a game at this World Cup. NZ have talent, but need depth.
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😟 How worried should NZ be: The kids were not ready to step up, and the veterans should not have been reduced to locker room support staff. The team has an outdated batting strategy (see below), while they don’t have enough spinners and will be losing their 3 veteran pacers after this World Cup. And yet, there is talent; Kerr is brilliant, Patel shows glimpses, and the young batters have some real potential. The real worry is that NZ’s players aren’t selected for the biggest franchise tournaments – and that could easily drop them into the have-nots of elite cricket.
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NZ’s outdated batting: During the 2024 World Cup, the average first innings score was 125 at a strike rate of 104. In the ongoing edition, the average first innings score has been 155 at an SR of 130. NZ’s batting order is still playing like it is 2024. Some of it is form – opener Plimmer scored 150 at an 119 SR in 2024, but was so bad that she got dropped in 2026. However, NZ have also failed to develop their power-hitting. Devine scored as many sixes today (3) as the rest of her teammates have scored all tournament. Ironically, the one player who got the memo is Bates – her 2024 World Cup SR of 93 has bumped up to 152 in 2026.
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England’s big hitters: Contrastingly, ENG have a team suited to the modern game. They have six batters in their squad with a 120+ SR across all T20s since the last World Cup, plus a couple of tailenders who can score as quickly. Dunkley – who only missed out on her half-century tonight because of the last ball wide – will probably lose her spot when Sciver-Brunt returns. Besides, Wyatt-Hodge is in legacy-defining form. She was only denied a second century of the tournament tonight because NZ didn’t score enough for her to chase. That would’ve matched her entire count of 100s (2) in 160 T20Is before this World Cup.
