England Book Final Place With Win Over New Zealand

England Book Final Place With Win Over New Zealand

England were outstanding as they beat New Zealand with 16 balls to spare to reach their second ICC WT20 final

©REUTERS / Action Images

England Women 94-3 beat
New Zealand Women 93-8 by 7 wickets
ICC Women's World T20 semi-final
Scorecard
Report by Chetan Narula in Colombo

England beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the first semi-final of the 2012 ICC Women’s World T20 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

With this win, they have now qualified for the final of the tournament where they will await the winners of the second semi-final between West Indies and Australia.

England won the toss and elected to field first, and the decision paid off almost immediately as danger-woman Suzie Bates was run out for a duck.

That was going to be the story of the day for New Zealand as no real partnerships developed. The best one was worth 26 runs for the sixth wicket and it just goes to show that England were sharp off the blocks, never allowing the White Ferns to settle.

Opener Amy Satterthwaite top scored for them with 30 runs and kept the top order going even as wickets fell all around her. She faced 39 balls and hit three fours during her stay at the crease. She was fifth out in the fifteenth over with the score at 57.

Danielle Wyatt (2-15) and Holly Colvin (2-15) were the best bowlers, while Anya Shrubsole (1-16) and Laura Marsh (1-20) were the other wicket-takers.

Nicola Browne (18) and Katey Martin (19) were involved in that sixth-wicket partnership that steered the Kiwis closer to the 100-run mark. They were only two of the four batswomen to score in double digits, the fourth one being Sophie Devine (11).

Chasing only 94, England were never really in any sort of bother as openers Charlotte Edwards and Laura Marsh (11) got them off to a good start.

The first wicket only fell at 32, with almost one-third the chase over, in the eighth over. Edwards finished as the topscorer for the innings, making 33 runs off 37 balls, including five fours. The world’s number one ranked T20 international batter Sarah Taylor was in at number three and England continued to coast towards victory.

The two added 21 runs for the second wicket as Edwards fell in the 11th over to Erin Bermingham. Lydia Greenway was next in and for a third consecutive time, England had a partnership going in the middle. She added 40 runs with Taylor, falling on the verge of victory, to Sian Ruck who finished as New Zealand's best bowler with figures of two for 22 in four overs.

Greenway was out for 22 runs off 19 balls, with two fours, while Taylor remained unbeaten on 21 off 32 balls inclusive of a lone six. The chase was completed with sixteen balls to spare.

© Cricket World 2012