White Ferns In England: T20 Tri-Series Final Preview

The combo

Aotearoa's White Ferns beat South Africa and lost to England on their day of back to back T20 games, with everything going as expected and now setting up a 'final' between the kiwis and England. England have now won both their games against Aotearoa, giving them the favourites tag and that's reinforced by the fact that both England wins have come with hefty winning margins; 121 runs and then a 7-wicket win.

Dig a little deeper though and you'll find a splash of nuance in the loss to England. Coach Haidee Tiffen switched up her bowling attack from the South Africa game to the England game, which would have largely been forced by the two games in one day scenario and England effectively beat up on a second-tier White Ferns bowling attack.

Follow England Women at ecb.co.uk/england/women England produced a formidable performance in what proved to be a one-sided dress rehearsal for Sunday's tri-series final. Taylor's 51 off 35 set her team on the path to victory, sealing England's 12th T20 win against New Zealand in 13 matches. This is the official channel of the ECB.

Lea Tahuhu, Leigh Kasperek and Anna Peterson all played in the first game vs South Africa and didn't play vs England. All three are frontline kiwi bowlers and also noteworthy is the fact that Tahuhu only bowled 1 over vs South Africa, while Kasperek and Peterson bowled 2ov each. They weren't required for more action, even though Aotearoa bowled a full 20 overs and with eight different bowlers used, this was effectively a case of Tahuhu, Kasperek and Peterson kicking back.

Sophie Devine did play in both games, but only bowled 2ov vs South Africa and then didn't bowl vs England. That's pretty much the same usage as the other three key bowlers, although Devine did play both games.Hannah Rowe, Jesse Watkin and Bernadine Bezuidenhout came into the team to face England.

The top-order of the Ferns batting line up is incredibly settled with Devine hitting 68* and 52 on the same day. Suzie Bates hit 62 vs South Africa and it goes without saying that these two will be crucial for the Ferns against England in the final. Katey Martin batted #3 in both games, with Amy Satterthwaite #4 and Maddie Green #5, what coach Tiffen does in the middle order will be interesting as she rolled out Amelia Kerr at #6 and Peterson at #7 in the win over South Africa, before giving Watkin a crack at #6 vs England - Kerr #7.

Watkin blasted 16 off 8 balls in her innings vs England and that could be enough to win her selection in the final. If Watkin is selected, it would bolster the batting line up and she would likely push Katie Broadmore or Hayley Jensen out of the 11. Even better, Watkin was also the best bowler for the kiwis against England with 2w @ 6.75rpo in 4ov and that should be enough for Watkin to seal a spot, even without her bowling performance the Ferns have an abundance of bowling options to absorb the loss of a bowler.

Given the circumstance around the second game between Aotearoa and England, along with the talent that the kiwis have, they will be confident of snatching a win from their hosts in the final. This is a team stacked with players who churn out game-winning performances and as the Ferns have shown a habit of under-performing in big games/tournaments, how they fare in this little tri-nations T20 final could highlight these issues, or represent a fresh energy in the White Ferns group.

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Peace and love 27.