New Zealand v England: Tourists wrap up series with six-wicket win

England wrapped up the series with a comfortable six-wicket win in the second Twenty20 against New Zealand in Wellington.

England recovered from 30-2 in reply, with Tammy Beaumont making a 53-ball 63 in a stand of 83 with Heather Knight.

Amy Jones hit the winning runs as England won with 16 balls to spare.

The victory means England extend their winning run in completed T20s to 10 games, a run which started after a six-wicket defeat in their opening game of the World Cup in March 2020.

Their only blemish in the format during that time was the controversial washed-out semi-final against India that eliminated them from the tournament.

The series concludes on Sunday (03:00 GMT). Fans will be allowed at that game after lockdown restrictions were lifted in Wellington.

Davies and Beaumont impress

Right-arm pace bowler Davies, 25, made her England Twenty20 debut in March 2019 but has found opportunities hard to come by with the formidable partnership of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole being mainstays in the England side.

This latest chance arose because Brunt was suffering from a head cold and stayed at the team hotel as a precaution, while Shrubsole is recovering from a knee injury in England.

New Zealand once again lost both openers in the powerplay as Davies, having been hit for 11 from her first five balls, had Hayley Jensen caught by Sophia Dunkley for 12. In the previous over, Sophie Ecclestone removed captain Sophie Devine cheaply.

The hosts recovered to be well set at 84-2, before the innings unravelled as they lost seven wickets for just 36 runs in 46 balls.

Off-spinner Sarah Glenn had Amelia Kerr (25 off 22) stumped, before wicketkeeper Katey Martin fell in identical fashion two balls later.

Davies then took three wickets in a 10-ball spell as she bowled the impressive Satterthwaite and had Maddy Green caught behind without scoring in the 15th over, before returning to bowl Kate Ebrahim in the 17th.

Nat Sciver bowled Leigh Kasperek and Jess Kerr in successive balls to round off another excellent England bowling display.

In the chase, Danni Wyatt was bowled for nine, and Nat Sciver for a duck, as England slipped to a precarious 30-2.

From there, Beaumont, who hit seven fours and one six in her fourth half-century of the tour, and Knight took control.

They produced an imperious stand of 83 off 70 balls to guide the tourists towards a comfortable victory.

Beaumont was out off Kasperek with England needing 11 to win while Knight, who made a run-a-ball 39, was dismissed by Jensen with the tourists needing just two.

But Jones hit the next ball for two as England sealed victory – leaving the T20 series following a similar pattern to the one-day series that preceded it.