A mammoth effort from Amy Jones led England’s women’s side to a four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the opening clash of their three-match ODI series in Wellington.
The middle-order batter salvaged the team’s chances with a 92-run effort from 83 deliveries.
Chasing a target of 207, England’s top order struggled to gain any momentum, with six batters combining for just 61 runs.
Opener Tamsin Beaumont and Alice Capsey were both dismissed for a duck, while Maia Boucher’s effort of 31 looked to mark the top score for the visitors.
However, Jones proved unstoppable against the formidable New Zealand attack, combining with Charlie Dean for a match-winning stand of 134.
Dean and Lauren Bell each claimed three wickets for England, while Suzie Bates top-scored for New Zealand with 50.
Jones revealed afterwards that a mental refresh following a recent run drought lay behind her match-winning performance.
England lurched to 79 for six after 17 overs before Jones and Dean’s heroics sealed a victory with 52 balls to spare.
It was a spectacular return to form for Jones, who made just 23 runs in four innings in the T20 series, albeit helping England over the line in the final match on Friday with a brief cameo, while she was without an international fifty in 28 innings across all formats dating back to December 2022.
But the 30-year-old wicket-keeper/batter said clearing her mind and getting back to basics allowed her to shine.
‘I play at my best when I’m reacting to the ball’
“Over the last week, I’ve had some good reflections on areas that I want to improve in terms of being there at the end, it’s something I feel like I’ve fallen short at over a period of time,” Jones said.
“Recognising where my mind was going in those past situations and there was definitely an element of feeling like I needed to force a boundary and get ahead of the rate.
“I don’t need to do that, I play at my best when I’m reacting to the ball and that doesn’t change depending on the situation.
“Me and Deano were constantly saying ‘one ball at a time’ and ‘just react’, which kept us in the moment. For that to pay off, [this innings] ranks quite highly I’d say.”
Dean took three for 57 en route to becoming the fastest woman to 50 ODI wickets as New Zealand crumbled from 90 without loss to 207 all out in the 49th over.
After England’s top-order wobble, Dean proved a useful foil for Jones with an unbeaten 42 off 70 deliveries, contributing just one four, compared with 10 from Jones in a superb 83-ball innings.
But the pair dovetailed excellently as they put on the highest partnership for the seventh wicket or lower in women’s ODIs. The teams will now head to Hamilton for the remaining two ODIs.
“To get that win was huge for us and under tricky circumstances, the whole batting group will get a lot of confidence from how we managed to get over the line,” Jones said.
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