JOIN USEngland stormed into the final of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 after an all-round effort saw them post a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the first semifinal here on Thursday.
Skipper Charlotte Edwards led the chase with a knock of 33 after English bowlers restricted the Kiwis to a mere 93 for eight in 20 overs at the R Premadasa Stadium here.
Edwards was named player of the match for her batting and astute captaincy.
Chasing a not-so-challenging total, Edwards started in earnest scoring her runs in 37 balls, and with the help of five fours.
After the skipper’s dismissal, wicket-keeper Sarah Taylor (22 off 32 balls) and Lydia Greenway’s brisk 19-ball 22 completed the task with as many as 16 balls to spare.
Left-arm medium-pacer Sian Ruck returned figures of two for 22 in her four overs for New Zealand.
Sent into bat, the Kiwis could never really challenge their English counterparts from the moment the Greenway-Taylor combo ran out New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates in the very first over of the match. The Kiwis failed to recover from Bates’ early dismissal, losing wickets at regular intervals against some disciplined bowling.
Brief scores: New Zealand Women: 93/8 in 20 overs (Amy Satterthwaite 30; Danielle Wyatt 2-15, Holly Colvin 2-15) lt to England Women: 94/3 in 17.2 overs (Charlotte Edwards 33; Sian Ruck 2-22).