4th over: New Zealand 23-0 (Bezuidenhout 11, Bates 3) Charlie Dean into the attack and her first over is neat as you like â just a single swept off it by Bezuidenhout as Bates blocks out the rest.
3rd over: New Zealand 22-0 (Bezuidenhout 15, Bates 7) Shot! Suzie Bates skips down the pitch and scythes away behind point for four runs. Good intent and tidy footwork from the opener. Dots and boundaries the order of the day so far in Nelson.
2nd over: New Zealand 13-0 (Bezuidenhout 10, Bates 3) Danielle Gibson to share the new ball. Bezuidenhout faces three dots before whipping away for four more. A gentle ripple goes around the ground. Watching cricket in New Zealand really does look very civilised. Seven off the over, tidy start from the home side.
1st over: New Zealand 6-0 (Bezuidenhout 5, Bates 1) Lauren Bell starts with the new white ball for England. Suzie Bates gets off the mark first ball to bring Bernadine Bezuidenhout on to strike⦠and thatâs the first four, a full ball timed away to the fence. A single makes it six off the first.
Apologies for the delays to the updates. *Factors*.
The players head out into bright sunshine in Nelson. First ball coming upâ¦
A toss win for Sophie Devine in her 50th T20 international as captain and were batting first in Nelson. One change to the XI as Hannah Rowe comes in for Jess Kerr. Follow play LIVE and free in NZ on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ ðº or @senz_radio ð» #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/MGVn22vkFJ
— WHITE FERNS (@WHITE_FERNS) March 23, 2024
New Zealand win the toss and will bat!
James Wallace
Hello and welcome to the third T20 international between New Zealand and England from the Saxton Oval in picturesque Nelson.
Heather Knightâs side lead the five match series by two to diddly after securing 15 and 27 run wins in the first couple of matches, theyâll take the series with another win here today.
White Ferns captain Sophie Devineâs spoke really well before the series in an honest conversation with ESPNcricinfoâs Powerplay podcast about where womenâs cricket in New Zealand is at after a mixed bag couple of years for the national side and the ever present juggle of franchise versus international opportunities and scheduling.
âItâs certainly a selling point when I talk to female athletes coming through… Cricket is such an attractive option as a career because we donât necessarily have big numbers of it in New Zealand. Thereâs a very big picture thatâs going on behind the scenes, but thereâs got to be, I guess, a bit of realism and a bit of perspective that itâs going to take time. As long as we can keep chipping away at the likes of the Australia or England, I think we can certainly be out there with the best.â
Her side need to chip away today and get on the board with a win to keep the series alive.
Join us from 12am GMT/1pm local time for the action and a tiddly before that for the teams and toss. Iâll be right here with a vat of midnight oil to ignite and maybe even something stronger to slurp. As ever, drop us a line if you are tuning in, I canât sail this thing by myself. Well I can but you knowwhaohforget it.
