England secure T20I series whitewash with clinical fielding performance

NICK FRIEND looks back on England's win in the final T20I clash of their tour of New Zealand

England without their captain but victorious nonetheless

A first outing as England captain for Nat Sciver, with Heather Knight missing through a hamstring niggle. Ordinarily, Anya Shrubsole would be Knight’s second-in-command, but the seamer has missed this series with a knee injury.

England quickly felt Knight’s absence after being asked to bat; the opening to their innings acted as a stark reminder of the reliance that exists on Tammy Beaumont, Sciver and their captain. Beaumont chipped to midwicket for 14, before Sciver was run out after a mix-up with Sophia Dunkley, and suddenly the pressure was on others to take England to a competitive total.

They managed that on a slow surface being used for the sixth time in the last week – the men’s teams of New Zealand and Australia played their final T20I beforehand.

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There was certainly a freneticism about their work: as well as Sciver’s runout, Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone were both stumped. Only Dunkley and Amy Jones were able to put together a partnership of any significance, adding 36 for the fourth wicket.

It could have been far worse, however; Sciver and Brunt both admitted afterwards that they weren’t happy with England's score. But New Zealand’s fielding left plenty to be desired – seven catches went down, with several misfields and squandered runout opportunities for good measure. And so, England were indebted to the quiet maturity of Fran Wilson, whose unbeaten 31 was the highest score in the match.

In response, the tourists showed their superiority; there were two stumpings for Amy Jones, whose wicketkeeping has been flawless across this trip, and every chance was taken – another nod to the work of fielding coach Michael Bates.

^{The world's top-ranked T20I bowler, Sophie Ecclestone, was in the wickets for England}

What a bowler Katherine Brunt is

No more really needs to be said.

With a middling total to defend and her captain absent, the 35-year-old seamer swung the momentum in the opening over, removing Sophie Devine and Hayley Jensen with almost identical deliveries. Write her off at your peril. There’s plenty of life yet in her legs, and England will be desperate to keep her fit and fresh ahead of a huge schedule in 2022.

Her spell set the tone for all that followed – England’s best bowling display of the series on a pitch that suited spinners Ecclestone, Mady Villiers and Sarah Glenn.

Dunkley cameo offers proof of burgeoning talent

Sophia Dunkley’s England career has been waiting to get going since her debut as a 20-year-old: she played in 10 matches between November 2018 and March 2019 but only batted in three of those. When she returned to the international arena 18 months later in September 2020, she made three runs in two games.

In 15 appearances, she has only come to the crease seven times – her international existence to date was perhaps summed up best in the second T20I of this series, where she walked out to the middle with one run needed to win and promptly watched Amy Jones complete the victory from the non-striker’s end, without taking strike. Indeed, she faced more deliveries on debut in 2018 than she had done in the rest of her England career, until today.

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She only made 26 – a knock that included the careless runout of her stand-in captain – but there was more than enough intent in Dunkley’s stroke-play to suggest she warrants a proper run of games and some genuine investment in her talent, rather than simply acting as a middle-order stopgap.

One particular flat-batted six over cover off Devine was by far and away the shot of the day.

^{Danni Wyatt's lean spell with the bat goes on}

Concern around Wyatt as poor run continues

Despite England's general air of optimism and satisfaction, the drought continues for Danni Wyatt, who leaves New Zealand with just 63 runs in six innings and an increasingly real question mark around her future role.

She averaged just 11.25 through 12 innings in 2020 and has not reached fifty in international cricket since December 2019. Devine’s side never allowed her to settle, bowling straight and denying her the width around which her game is based.

And so, as England head into their home summer, they will have decisions to make, not least if a domestic batsman can pile on a list of scores as Georgia Adams and Sophie Luff did last season.

Lisa Keightley has been keen to persist with Wyatt – and that is unlikely to change; the England head coach is well aware that at her best there are few in the women’s game more dangerous, while her natural aggression – even when it doesn't come off – fits with the ethos of Keightley's white-ball side. But that faith must soon be repaid.

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