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England v New Zealand: Sarah Glenn stars as hosts go 4-0 up in T20 series – BBC Sport

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England v New Zealand: Sarah Glenn stars as hosts go 4-0 up in T20 series – BBC Sport

Video caption, Highlights: England beat New Zealand by seven wickets

  • Author, Mike Peter
  • Role, BBC Sport journalist

Fourth women’s T20 international, The Kia Oval

New Zealand 103-8 (20 overs): Gaze 25 (24); Glenn 4-19

England 104-3 (19.2 overs): Dunkley 26 (16), Wyatt 26 (21)

England won by seven wickets and lead five-match series 4-0

England chased down New Zealand’s target of 104 for the loss of just three wickets in the fourth T20 at The Kia Oval to continue their unbeaten summer.

Having opted to bat, New Zealand failed to set a defendable total, posting only 103-8, with England spinners Sarah Glenn (4-19) and Sophie Ecclestone (2-16) tearing through their batting line-up after the powerplay.

The tourists reached 33-0 without loss, but Glenn dismissed Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr in the seventh over, starting a collapse that saw New Zealand slip to 52-5.

Izzy Gaze and Maddy Green put on 28 for the sixth wicket, before Glenn broke their partnership with her second two-wicket over, before the White Ferns managed just 19 runs from their final three overs to limp past the hundred mark.

England raced to 54-0 after five overs in reply, but lost Sophia Dunkley (26 off 16 balls) in the powerplay after she skied to Suzie Bates, and then Danni Wyatt and Alice Capsey to successive balls to fall to 73-3.

But the experienced pair of Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Heather Knight, who added 31 in 26 balls, saw England home in the 12th over.

They now lead the T20 series 4-0, having already beaten their opponents 3-0 in the preceding ODIs, after they won all five completed matches without reply against Pakistan in May.

The final match of the series takes place at Lord’s on Wednesday at 18:00 BST, and will be broadcast live on BBC Two and iPlayer.

New Zealand disappoint as England look forwards

Video caption, Glenn bowls Plimmer for 17

New Zealand have now lost seven successive matches on this tour, but may have hoped to challenge in south London having produced their most competitive performance thus far at Canterbury on Thursday.

Off the back of a match where England had to fight until the last over, the tourists would have been further heartened after captain Sophie Devine won the toss.

However, her decision to bat proved a poor one, with her side failing to fire, hitting just eight boundaries as the hosts dominated the first innings.

England had secured the series in Kent, and chose to make four changes to their line-up, restoring Knight to the side alongside Wyatt, Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith as they continue to rotate their squad.

However leg-spinner Glenn and left-arm spinner Ecclestone have been ever presents in the series, with England building towards October’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, which is expected to offer the turn-friendly tracks.

Glenn struck immediately after the powerplay, bowling Plimmer before Kerr slapped the ball straight to Capsey two balls later.

Danielle Gibson removed Devine before Ecclestone took over, bowling Bates and seeing Brooke Halliday hole out to mid-on.

Glenn returned to end Green’s resistance, before breaking the stumps of Jess Kerr.

If England lost wickets in their reply, it was only because they came out swinging, seeking a swift conclusion to the match.

Their management will take delight in extending their winning run to 12 completed matches, albeit question marks remain about the quality of their opponents after another dismal display across all three facets of the game.

Video caption, ‘Hold your horses!’ – New Zealand pick up two wickets in two balls

‘We want to go this summer unbeaten’ – what they said

England captain Heather Knight: “We fed off the crowd, we wanted to put on a performance that entertained and we did that. We were attacking and taking wickets. The two at the top did the bulk of the innings and it was nice to finish it off.

“A few selection problems as well – the girls are making it really tough for us. Having that depth is driving us forward. Any team we pick can do a job for England and that is a great place to be. The competition is driving that at the moment.

“We were ruthless today, but we want to go this summer unbeaten and finish off Lord’s on Wednesday with a win.”

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine: “England are certainly dealing us some honest, hard lessons and, at the moment, we are not learning from them.

“We are losing wickets in clumps and you can’t do that against the best sides. You can’t do that in international cricket because you won’t post competitive scores. It is too big a hill to climb at the moment.”

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