England show value of busy summer in comprehensive win over rusty New Zealand

NICK FRIEND AT CHELMSFORD: New Zealand's rustiness should hardly have come as any surprise, but Tammy Beaumont's 97 and cameos from her batting colleagues gave the home side an emphatic victory

Chelmsford: England 184-4, New Zealand 138 - England won by 46 runs

Scorecard

I only want to write about one shot. It was the first ball of Hayley Jensen’s spell, a perfectly serviceable start. Even more so, given tonight marked New Zealand’s return to international cricket after a five-month hiatus. England’s players, by comparison, have never been busier than this summer.

And it showed. Nat Sciver greeted her with perfection: the full face of her blade, punching effortlessly over mid-off for six. On an evening when the home side stamped their authority on this series to a quite ruthless degree, this was perhaps the singular stroke that most starkly epitomised their superiority.

Sciver was standing in as skipper for Heather Knight, with the captain absent through a hamstring problem on what should have been the occasion of her 200th international appearance. England have rarely missed her less: they were given a lightning-quick start by Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt, while Sciver’s cameo was Louvre-like but all too short. If the tourists were anticipating any respite once she was clean-bowled, they were mistaken.

Perfection from Nat Sciver.#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/9lO6ZB0cy4

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) September 1, 2021

Everything that followed was brutal: there were 110 runs in 10 overs as a solid start became England’s highest score since Lisa Keightley took charge as head coach and their biggest total ever against New Zealand, who were charitable, generous visitors.

Sophie Devine’s side looked undercooked throughout, beginning badly with a front-foot no-ball from the second ball of the match – the subsequent free hit was carted for a boundary – and gradually getting worse in the field. Devine, who was quick to acknowledge that rust afterwards, dropped two straightforward chances that, in any other circumstances than these, she would almost certainly have taken. Katey Martin shelled a more difficult one when up to the stumps in a forlorn attempt to halt Beaumont’s assault.

She made 97 off 65 deliveries and deserved a hundred, hitting both Devine and Hannah Rowe for successive boundaries, as well as Leigh Kasparek for four in a row. They will – and must – improve with matches under their belt, having lost to an England A XI last week as they dusted off the cobwebs. Otherwise, this will be a long month, with a World Cup on home soil creeping up on Devine’s charges early next year.

^{Amy Satterthwaite looked in fluent touch for New Zealand}

But then, New Zealand’s rustiness should hardly have come as any surprise – and there were individual positives to take in the displays of Jensen with the ball and Amy Satterthwaite in a lone hand with the bat. There were obvious similarities to West Indies’ visit last year, which began similarly in the September cold, based in Derby for their warmup.

Of course, none of this is ideal. Since the White Ferns’ last match, the 11 players that turned out for England here at Chelmsford have played well over 100 games of cricket between them across The Hundred, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, a multiformat series against India and the Charlotte Edwards Cup. New Zealand, on the other hand, held extensive training camps but their players missed The Hundred and, as Devine reflected, there is no substitute for competitive match-play.

By contrast, Knight’s absence – and the misfortune of Charlie Dean and Maia Bouchier being deemed possible close Covid contacts a matter of days before possible England debuts – could be offset without much fuss by introducing Emma Lamb to international cricket. The Lancastrian, whose brother Danny is part of Lancashire’s first team, has been one of the stars of the summer, and this night – whenever it eventually came – was generally considered to be an inevitability at some stage: only Eve Jones has scored more runs in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, with just Knight and Amy Jones ahead in the 50-over competition.

As is the strange nature of this sport, there was little for her to do on as comfortable a debut as might reasonably exist. She came to the crease with a single ball remaining and watched from the non-striker’s end as Sophia Dunkley scythed Jensen past long-on. She wasn’t required to bowl, although England might have tweaked their plans to give her off-breaks a chance once the contest was well and truly over.

Dunkley, though, is a pretty decent example for Lamb to follow, having had to wait her turn for an extended run in a settled England side. Lamb, for all her domestic success, will know the drill.

^{Nat Sciver captained England in Heather Knight's absence}

That said, the example of Tash Farrant should offer plenty of reassurance – and not only because of her journey back from losing her central contract two years ago. Rather, her selection here ahead of Anya Shrubsole and Freya Davies, which may ultimately be for no reason other than rotation purposes.

But equally, she was the leading wicket-taker in The Hundred – six ahead of Kate Cross and Lauren Bell, the next-most prolific England-qualified seamers. Farrant watched from the sidelines during the series against India, so if this was reward for her performances with Oval Invincibles, then it should excite a host of players on the circuit that there is now a tournament through which to force their way in.

“In terms of selection, it’s probably the widest pool of players we’ve talked about since I’ve been captain,” said Knight on Monday.

Quite where any gaps will open up in the batting department, though, remains to be seen. Yards away from the written press box at Chelmsford, Lauren Winfield-Hill was on radio duty, having started the summer as Beaumont’s opening partner.

In all likelihood, she will return to the squad for the ODI series. On this form, she will be reuniting with a player at the very top of her game.