Bouchier, Capsey and Dean see England through in the wet

The hosts take a 2-0 lead in the series when New Zealand loses a game that was heavily impacted by weather. By a margin of 23 runs (DLS method), England 89 for 6 (Capsey 28, Bouchier 23) defeated New Zealand 42 for 5 (Halliday 14, Dean 2-3).

In a rain-affected second T20I in Hove, Charlie Dean tore up a faltering New Zealand line-up, sealing the victory. Alice Capsey and Maia Bouchier had guided England to an outstanding score.

The match was reduced to nine overs per side due to the two-hour delay in starting caused by persistent rain. England reached 89 for 6 thanks to a stand of 28 off 15 balls from Capsey and 23 off 15 balls from Bouchier. Dean then took 2 for 3 in an over as New Zealand collapsed to 42 for 5 in 6.4 overs before the rain returned, ending the match even earlier than planned and giving the home team a 2-0 lead in the five-match series that moves to Canterbury on Thursday.

After winning the toss, New Zealand chose to bowl first. They made two changes to the team that lost the first game by 59 runs at Southampton on Saturday: they replaced Fran Jonas and Eden Carson with seamer Hannah Rowe and offspinner Leigh Kasperek. In the meanwhile, England summoned up Dani Gibson to take Freya Kemp and Linsey Smith’s places, and brought back Lauren Bell, who had been rested following her five-wicket performance in the third and final ODI.

Dry, not dull

Finally, a playing surface that was adequately dry was provided by Hove’s impressive drainage system and diligent ground crew. However, the contest didn’t look that way with nine overs per side. Big individual scores were avoided, but Capsey and Bouchier skillfully located and cleared the boundary, Heather Knight hit three fours in her 14-ball cameo, and Sophie Ecclestone hit a six off the first ball she faced to finish the England innings on the highest possible note.

Bouchier needed four valid deliveries to register her maiden wicket; she did it by hitting a shorter ball from Jess Kerr over backward square leg and into the stands, and she also scored four runs through midwicket off Rowe’s opening delivery. Following a third-ball duck by Danni Wyatt, Capsey came up and helped herself to two consecutive fours off Sophie Devine: a lap through fine leg and a glance through third. Bouchier managed to recover from a knock to the grille using an edge onto her glove and attempted a reverse off Lea Tahuhu twice more, but her third consecutive attempt at a boundary was unsuccessful as she holed out to Maddy Green at long-on.

At three Nat Sciver-Brunt seemed to capitalise when she swung Tahuhu into the grounds of the flats which lay beyond the fence at deep midwicket, but Georgia Plimmer knocked down a simple chance off Jess Kerr sprinting in from deep square leg. After Tahuhu pegged back the middle stump, she collapsed, but she made it via a review for being caught behind the next ball. After hitting a six off Jess Kerr over wide mid-off, Capsey welcomed Kasperek back to the Twenty20 International format for the first time in a year. She launched her third ball over midwicket and into a hospitality tent, but Jess Kerr caught her next ball at short third.

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With a return catch to remove Knight and Gibson being lured down the pitch, Amelia Kerr took two wickets in three balls, beating the bat as Izzy Gaze blasted off the bails. With only one ball left, Ecclestone forcefully pushed it into the stands by going straight ahead.

Dean pulls off a soggy squib.

While Devine had promised the biggest fireworks and had walked out to start with Suzie Bates, she was duped by just 9 into gently spooning Lauren Bell to Capsey in the middle of the show. Then, inside the three-over powerplay, England had two prize wickets when Amelia Kerr took out Capsey off Sciver-Brunt at midwicket. She parried a Brooke Halliday slog over the rope for six, and Sciver-Brunt fell to the ground, rolled over, and stayed there, waiting for it to swallow her up. However, Dean pulled off a wicket in the subsequent over, lbw for 14, and New Zealand were down to 28 for 3, requiring 62 off 29 balls.

The rain came back when Jess Kerr picked out Knight at extra cover to give Ecclestone her first wicket, and Sarah Glenn held a wonderful catch diving forward from short third to dismiss New Zealand’s last great hope, Bates, for just 4. Dean took her second wicket in five balls. Rain began to fall as the players exited the pitch with 2.2 overs remaining. Handshakes were exchanged shortly after, and the weather ultimately decided the outcome using the DLS technique, with Dean emerging victorious with impressive statistics of 1-0-3-2.