If you’d told me two weeks ago that England would scrape over the line in the 1st ODI, with their captain bailing them out after an otherwise pretty hapless batting performance, I’d have believed you: Nat Sciver-Brunt has done it so many times it’s become routine!
England inched their way to victory by 1 wicket, with 10 balls remaining; but the captain in question was of course not Nat Sciver-Brunt, but Charlie Dean, who waved farewell to Maia Bouchier with 51 still required, and somehow shepherded England’s three No. 11s up hill and down dale to the win.
In some ways it was a situation tailor-made for Dean. England needed runs, but they had plenty of balls in the bag, so perhaps the key requirement was simply to follow the advice of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Don’t Panic! And whilst there were certainly moments when it could have gone the other way, with Nensi Patel dropping a pretty straightforward catching opportunity at backward point which would have won New Zealand the game, Dean kept her wits about her. She didn’t rush things, or try to win it in a couple of hits; instead almost letting the runs come to her, and trusting her partners just enough to eke out the result.
England were fortunate to be chasing a target of only 211, largely because New Zealand succumbed to the most horrible of collapses in the final phase of their innings, having been well-placed at 183-4 with 8 overs left and 230 very much on the cards. As Charlie Dean mentioned at the toss, there have been a couple of high-scoring county games at The Riverside this season, with Lancashire and Durham both notching up 300+ scores there in the One Day Cup; but with heavy rain having fallen in recent days this was clearly not a 300 pitch. 230 would have won this match.
But the good work done by Melie Kerr and Maddy Green, who put on 105 through the middle overs, was undone with the bottom 5 making just 12 runs between them; and 210 wasn’t… quite… enough.
England will feel happy with the bowling performance, having struggled to finish sides off of late. Bell was excellent – the slower balls at the back end may be predictable, but if they remain on-the-mark, they’ll do the job; Corteen-Coleman doesn’t have Ecclestone’s range quite yet, but she feels like the type who will work hard to attain it; and Lauren Filer handled a difficult situation well enough, having been drafted-in to the XI only at the last minute after Issy Wong pulled up short in the warmups.
Jodi Grewcock was the one under the most pressure with her leg-spin, and while she wasn’t perfect, she probably did enough to make it difficult watching for Sarah Glenn, whose chances of ever playing for England again get slimmer by the day, given Grewcock’s potential to be the batting allrounder England are so desperate to discover. Her innings with the bat was sawn off today by her lack of confidence to review an LBW that would have been overturned; but hopefully there are further opportunities for her in the remaining ODIs to show the grit she has displayed for Essex this season and which England could sorely have done with as they trod firmly on rake after rake.
The Duke of Wellington is said to have admitted his victory at Waterloo was “the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life”; but all anyone remembers now is that he won. Wellington went on to become Prime Minister, and now lies buried in St Paul’s Cathedral; because a win is a win, however you get there.
CRICKETher 
One small thing on the closing stages of the chase. I would have sent TCC in at 10, or even 9, thereby removing the pressure of being ‘last woman’ from an 18-year-old debutant and placing it instead on the more experienced Filer or Bell.
That said, it worked out in the end, and she looked very composed given all that was going on around her, so maybe England know more about the mental fortitude of this particular youngster than I do…
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We travelled up from deepest Sussex to watch this game and there were moments when we wished we hadn’t,but it must be sId the 2 Lauren’s and TCC all played so well to keep Charlie company
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England were weak in the field today, despite a decent bowling attack in which the debutants acquitted themselves well & it was only NZ’s late order collapse (& a near criminal run-out that threw away the last 7 balls) that presented England with an achievable target.
Bouchier, who has fared well on home turf at the Utilita Bowl but less so away from home, made a decent score, but it was Dean’s grit nursing the last three No. 11s through the last 15 overs that secured the victory.
Nensi Patel dropping a catch that would have won NZ the match was a stroke of luck that England can’t rely on if they are to prosper through the rest of this series.
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A real selection and tactical mess for England at the moment. Bouchier drafted in yet bats where Grewcock should have done. Grewcock having to open when she rarely does in County. But you can’t complain because both did a decent job in one way or another. If we want another opener where’s Perrin or Wyatt-Hodge? And as Amy Jones seems short of form, now is a good time to bring the next wicketkeeper in.
Some poor ground fielding fumbles and drops from England. NZ made a costly drop too but their outfielding was better.
Some players seemed to be trying to play T20 knocks, and others almost grinding it out too slowly. There just seems to be no over-arching plan. And there are so many injuries – why? Is the training too hard, or not enough background work?
This was a painful mishmash in all respects from England, but somehow, happily, it all worked out in the end… the genius of Charlie Dean.
We will do very well to get through to T20 WC semis or especially the final. Batting order still too fragile to really succeed in ODIs.
The weather forecast is currently not good for 2nd/3rd ODIs, so they might be reduced, which could favour England anyway.
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