NICK FRIEND looks back at the key moments as England beat New Zealand by eight wickets in their first ODI for 14 months
Tammy Beaumont’s 50-over record is outrageous. This was her 10th fifty to sit alongside seven hundreds, of which only Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor have more in ODIs for England.
Before the appointment of Mark Robinson as head coach in 2015, she had never passed fifty before in international cricket.
Speaking to The Cricketer as part of a joint interview with opening partner Danni Wyatt ahead of the series, Beaumont explained how a shift in her understanding of the mental side of batting had helped to transform her game.
“For me, quite often I find that my technique is good, so I’m not really working on anything technical anymore,” she said. “Occasionally, a few things might crop in and that is maybe why I don’t do as well for a little period. But actually, for me, I see my ‘form’ as a big mental thing.
“Quite often I’ll be playing well, but it’s whether I’m mentally sharp enough that in a game I’m not going to give my wicket away. That’s where I’m at now. Where I am with my mental skills is probably more important for me than how my technique is working.
“Particularly in 50-over cricket, if you’re not playing that well, you can just about get away with it if you get past the new ball. Whereas actually, if you’re mentally switched on, that’s when you don’t get 20, but you get 50 or 100.”
Until the surprise of her dismissal, having made 71, guiding England most of the way to victory in the process, she looked somewhere near her very best: against Lea Tahuhu and Hannah Rowe, she cut and pulled almost at will, before unveiling her range of sweep-shots against the spin of 16-year-old Fran Jonas, leggie Amelia Kerr and Frances Mackay.
Alongside her was Heather Knight, an even better player than she is often given credit for. She raced to an unbeaten 67 in much the same way as is Joe Root's tendency: you hardly even noticed her, even as she ticked along at a run a ball.
Occasionally, she awoke from her quiet dominance to deposit Frances Mackay for six over long-off, but otherwise she just did what she does, easing her side towards victory with a minimum of fuss.
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Tammy Beaumont guided England home with 71
Tash Farrant’s story has been well told in recent weeks since her recall to international cricket for the first time since “it all came crashing down”.
Nonetheless, it was still difficult to overestimate the significance of her return, partnering Katherine Brunt with the new ball in the absence of Anya Shrubsole.
As a symbol of how far the women’s game has come in recent years, Farrant’s selection might just be the most important since the implementation of central contracts in 2014. She was the youngest of 18 recipients and retained a deal until 2019, at which point her England career might well have felt as though it was over.
But, having signed a full-time domestic contract in June before captaining South East Stars in the Heyhoe Flint Trophy, she is back. Selected ahead of Kate Cross for England’s first ODI in 437 days, it didn’t take long for her to remind the world of her skillset.
She swung the ball prodigiously early on, albeit at no great pace. For the most part, New Zealand openers Hayley Jensen and Natalie Dodd were happy simply to defend, with Jensen pouncing when the movement into the right-handers disappeared.
Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt: Two peas in a pod
Ironically, Jensen was Farrant’s final wicket of her initial stint in an England shirt, and so it would have been somewhat fitting if she could have claimed hers once more to bookend the conclusion of one chapter and the beginning of the next. Ultimately, she had to settle for the scalp of former captain Amy Satterthwaite, who drove uppishly to cover. She was gifted another later on, when Lea Tahuhu chipped to Tammy Beaumont.
After two years of adversity, however, Farrant might just feel as though she merited that slice of good fortune. This was her first ODI for eight years, a gap during which England have played 64 times.
It has been noticeable ever since touching down in New Zealand how keen her teammates have been to discuss her story – Sophie Ecclestone mentioned, unprompted, in her mid-match interview how chuffed she was on her behalf.
Likewise, in Mady Villiers’ pre-series column for The Cricketer, she said: “It’s so rare that you hear of somebody that gets dropped from the squad and then comes back in. I think it’s brilliant, so credit to her. She’s done so well and has worked so hard on her game.”
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Sophie Ecclestone took her hundredth international wicket for England
Another landmark for Sophie Ecclestone, this time bringing up the milestone of 100 international wickets.
As calculated by @_hypocaust, only fellow left-arm spinner Holly Colvin has reached the figure for England at a younger age than Ecclestone.
It was appropriate, then, that she should arrive at her century in a manner that has become such a regular sight since she made her debut as a 17-year-old. Drifting the ball in with the help of a picture-book action, she pinned Hannah Rowe on the toe, having trapped Frances Mackay in similar fashion just one delivery earlier.
“The seamers get annoyed with me because I finish my overs too quickly,” she joked afterwards, having conceded just 36 runs in her 10 overs.
If she can remain fit for the next decade, there might not be many records left for her to break.
For a side that hadn’t played 50-over cricket for 14 months and lost their second warmup game in a ragged display, England could scarcely have fielded better.
There were two clear misfields over the course of New Zealand’s innings, but otherwise the inclusion of former Hampshire wicketkeeper Michael Bates in the touring party seemed to pay obvious dividends.
Bates was famed for his glovework in a career that was unfortunately cut short – prematurely in the eyes of many. On the back cover of a book he wrote following his retirement, Keeping Up, Jos Buttler described him as the “benchmark” for young wicketkeepers of his generation.
He appears to have passed on that quality; he spent the summer with England in their bio-secure bubble at Derby, but this is his first overseas assignment with the team.
Ahead of the series, Amy Jones described Bates as “one of the best wicketkeeping coaches I’ve worked with” and suggested that his passion for his craft was rubbing off on those around him.
As he watched members of his seam attack throwing themselves around in desperation, it was hard to disagree with that assertion.
Brooke Halliday made a half century on her debut
New Zealand have found a player in Brooke Halliday. England might not have known much about her until a week ago, but she was in brutal form during the second practice match, smashing 79 off just 56 balls for a New Zealand Development XI in an innings that included eight fours and three sixes.
That was the warning sign, with particularly brutal punishment served up with three legside sixes. And while England contained her aggression with greater success at Hagley Oval, she still ticked along to a 54-ball half century on debut.
Where has she come from? The previously uncapped left-hander is the second-highest run-scorer in the 50-over Hallyburton Johnstone Shield.
“Brooke's done a superb job at the top of the order for the Spirit and offers a point of difference as a left-hander,” head coach Bob Carter explained ahead of the series.
Coming in at No.7 on this occasion, she was the most fluent of the home batsmen against the spin of Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Heather Knight, driving pleasantly through the offside. She might well be worth pushing higher into the middle order.
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