A five-for by Lea Tahuhu, followed by a well-paced half-century by Maddy Green, drove New Zealand to a three-wicket victory in the third Women's ODI against England. Green scored an unbeaten 70 as New Zealand chased down a target of 179 runs in 45.5 overs. However, England still lead the five-match series 2-1.
England got off a shambolic start after being asked to bat. Lauren Winfield-Hill, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight were all gone inside six, leaving them at 20/3. Tahuhu claimed all three dismissals. Both Beaumont and Winfield-Hill were trapped lbw, while Knight ended up holing to Katey Martin. An over later, Tahuhu had her fourth when Sophia Dunkley missed the line, and the ball crashed into the stumps.
England never recovered from initial setbacks. Amy Jones' 21 was the highest score among the top seven batters. If not for a 53-run partnership between Katherine Brunt (49*) and Kate Cross (28), they would have been bowled out for far less than the 178 they got. Apart from Tahuhu, Molly Penfold finished with two wickets to her name.
New Zealand's start was not much better. They, too, lost their openers cheaply. Brunt beat Suzie Bates through the gate and had Lauren Down caught by Beaumont. The scoreboard read 13/2 at this stage.
But Maddy Green and Amy Satterthwaite (33) then steadied things with a 72-run partnership for the third wicket before Satterthwaite perished. Sophie Devine (3) then became Brunt's third victim.
Green, however, held her nerves, and remained unbeaten on 70 to see her side across the target. Along the way, she was ably assisted by Brooke Halliday (25) and Tahuhu (19).
Brief scores: England 178 in 48.3 overs (Katherine Brunt 49; Lea Tahuhu 5-37) lost to New Zealand 181/7 in 45.5 overs (Maddy Green 70*; Katherine Brunt 4-22) by 3 wickets with 25 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Maddy Green.