White Ferns stun hosts England to win T20 cricket bronze medal at Commonwealth Games

At Edgbaston, Birmingham: England 110-9 (Nat Sciver 27 off 19, Amy Jones 26 off 32; Hayley Jensen 3-24, Sophie Devine 2- 11, Fran Jonas 2-22) lost to White Ferns 111-2 in 11.5 overs (Devine 51no off 40, Melie Kerr 21no off 15) by eight wickets

What a difference three days makes.

On Thursday, the White Ferns could only muster 71-9 in an embarrassing loss to England and it looked like they would be making up the numbers in the top four of the Commonwealth Games Twenty20 cricket tournament.

On Sunday, just 13 hours after taking reigning world champions Australia to the final over in their semifinal at Edgbaston in Birmingham, they returned, restricted England to 110-9 and chased it down with eight wickets in hand and just over eight overs to spare.

After going four white-ball tournaments without a top-four finish and losing two of their previous 21 T20 encounters with the tournament hosts, the White Ferns are now women’s cricket’s inaugural bronze medallists.

Their bowlers fired as a cohesive unit for the first time all tournament, with seamer Hayley Jensen taking 3-24, captain Sophie Devine 2-11 and left-arm spinner Fran Jonas 2-22 – the best return of her fledgling international career.

England captain Nat Sciver made 27 off 19 but had two of her stumps knocked out of the ground by Devine and it took Amy Jones’ 26 off 32 to get them into triple figures.

Leg-spinner Melie Kerr, so often the White Ferns’ T20 bowling linchpin, played a supporting role in taking 1-22, while Lea Tahuhu, the standout in the loss to Australia, was only called on to bowl two overs.

With just 111 needed, the bronze medal match was the White Ferns’ to lose, but they haven’t coped well with expectation in recent years, most notably at the one-day World Cup on home soil earlier this year, so the result was far from a fait accompli.

It was by the end of the power play, however, as openers Devine and Suzie Bates didn’t waste any time once they got to the crease in putting England to the sword.

Bates fell in the fifth over for 20 off 10 and was followed by Georgia Plimmer, but after six the White Ferns were 63-2, needing 48 off 84 balls, or less than four runs per over.

Devine and Kerr were in complete control from there, finishing not out on 51 off 40 and 21 off 15 respectively as the chase was completed in the 12th over.

The big moment

A target of 111 was just large enough to ensure England had a chance – if they could get on top of the White Ferns early. When Devine hit the first ball of the fifth over, bowled by Sciver, for six to take her side to 52-0, there was only going to be one winner

Best with the bat

Devine led from the front, making her second half-century in as many matches – 57 off 40 balls – to guide her side to a memorable win – the most significant of her captaincy.

Best with the ball

Jensen struck early to remove Danni Wyatt then came back to send Amy Jones on her way, right when England were relying on her to give them a strong finish. She also accounted for Issy Wong as she finished with her second three-wicket haul of the tournament.

The big picture

The White Ferns lifted massively over the weekend to first compete with Australia then beat England for just the third time in 22 T20 internationals and claim the bronze medal, which made this a successful first outing for them under new coach Ben Sawyer. There are still a few kinks to be ironed out, but they are well-placed to build on this heading into the next T20 World Cup in South Africa in February.