White Ferns In England: ODI #1

Suss it out.

Despite switching formats, it was the same result for Aotearoa's White Ferns against England and their run on getting smoked by the Poms continues. From the T20 tri-series, it's now four games in a row that England have given the kiwis a touch up and this was a case of the same T20 hiding that we've recently seen, being rolled out in ODI fashion.

England were first to bat and cruised to 290/5 off their 50 overs. Amelia Kerr was the pick of the kiwi bowlers, taking 2w @ 3.60rpo and Lea Tahuhu also chimed in with 2w @ 6.33rpo. Other than that the bowling group was reasonably ineffective and England were able to put on 111 runs for their opening stand in 22 overs, thus allowing their next up batters to play freely and attack the Ferns bowlers.

Follow England Women at ecb.co.uk/england/women England Women swept aside New Zealand by a record 142 runs in their opening match. Amy Jones' 63 was matched by Heather Knight for England's 290-5. Despite a bright start, New Zealand were bowled out for 148 as Nat Sciver took 3-18 and Laura Marsh 3-24.

In pursuit of 291 for victory, Aotearoa could only manage 148 all out in 35.3 overs. Sophie Devine top-scored with 33 and it was again a case of her and Suzie Bates (28) getting off to a solid start, putting on 70 runs in 14 overs, before the wheels fell off. No kiwi batter had a strike-rate over 90 and Leigh Kasperek and Lea Tahuhu were the only batswomen to have strike-rates over 80, meaning that the top and middle order were never really in the hunt.

In terms of selection, Holly Huddleston came into the team and opened the bowling with Tahuhu. Huddleston didn't do much, bowling 6 overs @ 5.66rpo without a wicket, while Jess Watkin maintained her spot from the T20 series, bowling 4ov @ 6.25rpo. Kate Broadmore slotted into the middle order, batting #7 and scoring 16*, other than that this is largely the same team we have come to expect from coach Haidee Tiffen.

Finding a way to take 10 wickets is a huge issue for the White Ferns as England were able to score with ease in the T20 series and replicated that in the first ODI. I'm not sure what has to change in that regard, because this is the same bowling group and they have been unable to make positive adjustments so far.

Same story with the bat and I'm in this weird spot where I feel it's important to highlight two aspects of the White Ferns batting. Devine and Bates have gone about their business as world-class batters and the best in this Ferns team, it's almost guaranteed at the moment that they will top-score and do a nice job in getting the Ferns off to some type of start. 

Having said that, it's a wee bit frustrating that neither of them can kick on. They got through the first 10 overs and both faced over 40 deliveries, then got dismissed in consecutive overs, which as an opening batswoman is far from ideal. Knocks of 20-30 with strike-rates below 80 aren't all that beneficial when chasing 290, especially when they are coming from the two best batters in the team and Aotearoa needs at least one of them to go large, to win.

On the other hand, the openers are getting little support from Amy Satterthwaite and Katey Martin (who was sharp behind the stumps in this ODI). Satterthwaite was batting #4 in the T20s, Martin #3 and they swapped for the ODIs; Satterthwaite scored and Martin 1.

Both Satterthwaite and Martin are currently in slumps, which is putting immense pressure on the youngsters in the middle order. In three T20s vs England, Satterthwaite had scores of 2, 37 and 19, now she put up 2 in the first ODI. Martin had scores of 16, 8 and 2 in the T20s vs England, followed up with 1 in the ODI.

The four most experienced batswomen are in the top-four and right now, Satterthwaite and Martin are doing very little to regain control of the innings once Bates or Devine is dismissed. Ideally Bates and Devine can cash in on getting set, although England's spinners are ensuring that it's not a case of seeing off the new-ball as they offer a new challenge after the seamers start. 

As long as Satterthwaite and Martin are in this slump (epic slump by Satterthwaite's standards), the pressure on those around them will continue. It's too much weight for Bates and Devine, then too much to expect Maddy Green, Kerr and Broadmore to be able to juggle the middle stages against a confident English team. They are getting valuable experience though, just not winning experience.

Next game is Wednesday NZT.

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Peace and love 27.