Key events
1st over: England 1-0 (Bouchier 1, Wyatt 0) An excellent first over from Mair costs just one run, thick-edged wide of slip by Bouchier. Wyatt was beaten outside off stump, trying to cut her first delivery.
After a quick turnaround, here come the players. Rosemary Mair will open the bowling to Maia Bouchier.
England need 137 to win
20th over: New Zealand 136-6 (Gaze 51, J Kerr 6) Jess Kerr edges her first ball for four and slogs the second straight up in the air. Ecclestone, who took a marvellous return catch earlier in the innings, drops a sitter. The Wellington wind may have played a part.
The innings ends with Izzy Gaze reverse-sweeping for four to reach her maiden T2oI fifty from only 28 balls! That would have been a fantastic performance from any player, never mind a 19-year-old with a previous best score of 16. She batted beautifully: with clarity, defiance and just the right amount of arrogance.
WICKET! New Zealand 125-6 (Halliday c Capsey b Ecclestone 33)
That’s a beautiful catch from Alice Capsey. Halliday clouted Ecclestone towards long on, where Capsey ran in and swooped to grab the ball two-handed just above the turf.
Five balls to go.
19th over: New Zealand 125-5 (Halliday 33, Gaze 46) The pressure applied by Gaze has led to a couple of misfields from England. Jones remains flawless, though, and does brilliantly to grab a yorker from Gibson that beats the bat and kicks nastily towards her face.
That’s a very good final over from Gibson – six from it, none in boundaries.
18th over: New Zealand 119-5 (Halliday 31, Gaze 42) Izzy Gaze, just 19, is playing a blinder. She cuts Sciver-Brunt’s first ball for four, ramps another boundary over Jones’s head and then hooks over deep backward square for six! A single off the last ball brings up a Gaze-dominated fifty partnership, New Zealand’s first for the sixth wicket in a T2oI.
Gaze has 42 from just 23 balls, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who a moment ago had figures of 3-0-7-2, finishes with 4-0-24-2.
17th over: New Zealand 102-5 (Halliday 30, Gaze 26) New Zealand score off every delivery of Dean’s over to continue their impressive recovery; she ends with 4-0-32-1.
16th over: New Zealand 95-5 (Halliday 28, Gaze 21) Gibson sees Gaze walking across and follows her, but Gaze contrives to glove her attempted ramp over the keeper’s head for four.
Gaze nails the same stroke later in the over, a terrific shot that also takes her to a career-best score. A big edge over backward point for three takes her to 21 from only 14 balls.
15th over: New Zealand 84-5 (Halliday 28, Gaze 10) Erm, I was daydreaming during that over, sorry. I know Charlie Dean bowled it, and Brooke Halliday went past her previous T2oI-best score of 27, but that’s about it.
14th over: New Zealand 79-5 (Halliday 25, Gaze 8) Lauren Filer ends a luckless spell with another sharp over that includes a false stroke from Gaze and a play-and-miss from Halliday. She finishes with reasonable figures of 4-0-22-0, but they’re a goshdarn lie – she bowled really well.
13th over: New Zealand 76-5 (Halliday 24, Gaze 6) Now Ecclestone has her hands on her head, wondering how she hasn’t bowled Izzy Gaze. It was textbook stuff, a quicker ball that skidded on to the right-hander and would have hit the leg bail but for the thinnest inside-edge from Gaze. Instead of getting her third wicket, Ecclestone conceded four runs.
WICKET! New Zealand 69-5 (Green ct and b Ecclestone 10)
Sophie Ecclestone has taken a blinder off her own bowling. Maddy Green danced down the track and walloped the ball back at Ecclestone, who reached instinctively to her left to take a marvellous two-handed catch. She puts her hand over her mouth, surprised by her own brilliance.
12th over: New Zealand 69-4 (Green 10, Halliday 23) Heather Knight continues to shuffle her bowlers. Gibson is timed stylishly over extra cover for three by Halliday, who continues to look in excellent touch.
Green has a bit of fortune later in the over when a leading edge loops to safety on the off side.
11th over: New Zealand 63-4 (Green 9, Halliday 18) Ecclestone off, Dean on. Halliday blasts her first legitimate delivery straight to long off, where Gibson drops a sharp but relatively straightforward catch. To compound her frustration, the ball disappears over her shoulder for four. A large helping of singles, wides and twos make it a good over for New Zealand, 13 from it.
This fifth-wicket pair have now doubled the score, a fine effort in the circumstances. New Zealand were in all sorts when they came together.
10th over: New Zealand 50-4 (Green 8, Halliday 10) Filer returns to the attack. She’s troubled all the batters today, with an average speed of 74mph, and she almost gets a deserved wicket off the last ball of the over. Green, beaten for pace, looped the ball tantalisingly on the off side. Filer ran across and dived forward but couldn’t quite reach it.
9th over: New Zealand 46-4 (Green 7, Halliday 8) Halliday, who has started with a busy authority, drives Ecclestone over the covers for a couple. Then Green gets the first boundary of this partnership with a deceptively well-timed push through the covers.
8th over: New Zealand 37-4 (Green 1, Halliday 5) Having taken two catches in as many overs, Dani Gibson comes into the attack. A quiet over, sensibly milked for five runs. This is no time for big shots.
7th over: New Zealand 32-4 (Green 0, Halliday 1)
WICKET! New Zealand 31-4 (Plimmer c Gibson b Ecclestone 12)
England are running riot. Sophie Ecclestone, on for Nat Sciver-Brunt, sees Charlie Dean’s fifth-ball wicket and raises it by striking with her second. Plimmer comes down the track, more in hope than expectation, and picks out Gibson at deep mid-on.
6th over: New Zealand 29-3 (Bates 10, Green 0) That’s the end of a superb Powerplay for England, their best in the field all series.
WICKET! New Zealand 29-3 (Bates c Gibson b Dean 11)
Charlie Dean, who took four wickets in the fourth T2oI, strikes with her fifth ball. Suzie Bates came down the track and dragged straight to mid-on, where Dani Gibson took a comfortable catch. That’s a hammer blow for New Zealand.
5th over: New Zealand 22-2 (Bates 10, Plimmer 4) Sciver-Brunt continues. Wyatt misses a run-out chance from midwicket, with Bates well short after being called through for an iffy single by Plimmer.
That single is the only run from another terrific over by Sciver-Brunt, who has figures of 3-0-7-2. She might as well bowl straight through.
4th over: New Zealand 21-2 (Bates 10, Plimmer 3) A Filer no-ball means a free hit for New Zealand, though Bates can only club it over the bowler’s head for a single.
Plimmer doesn’t look too comfortable against Filer. She’s beaten, slices a couple over the cover and then wears a short ball on the body. Bates takes a more aggressive option, charging down the track to belt successive deliveries for four and two.
3rd over: New Zealand 10-2 (Bates 3, Plimmer 0) Heather Knight said she would have bowled first had she won the toss; you can see why. The new ball is doing a bit and England have started superbly.
WICKET! New Zealand 10-2 (A Kerr c Capsey b Sciver-Brunt 5)
Two for Nat Sciver-Brunt. Amelia Kerr, stuck in the crease because Amy Jones has come up to the stumps, mistimes a lofted straight drive high in the air. Alice Capsey runs round from mid-on to take a comfortable catch.
2nd over: New Zealand 9-1 (Bates 2, A Kerr 5) Lauren Filer shares the new ball. Her extra pace takes a bit of adjustment; after missing a couple of attacking strokes outside off stump, Kerr premeditates a ramp for four. A terrific over from Filer ends with a big inswinger that Kerr inside-edges onto the pad.
1st over: New Zealand 5-1 (Bates 2, A Kerr 1) The captain Amelia Kerr is the new batter.
WICKET! New Zealand 4-1 (Bezuidenhout c Jones b Sciver-Brunt 1)
An early wicket for England. Nat Sciver-Brunt, who almost bowled Suzie Bates with the first ball of the match, has Bernadine Bezuidenhout caught behind later in the over. Bezuidenhout tried to cut a ball that cramped her for room and took a thin edge through to Amy Jones. The end.
Here come the players. It’s a windy day in Wellington – who knew – although the sun is shining brightly. Suzie Bates and Bernardine Bezuidenhout will open the batting.
Team news
One change for England: Lauren Filer replaces Lauren Bell, who is being rested ahead of the ODI series.
New Zealand make two changes: Georgia Plimmer and Lea Tahuhu come in for Hannah Rowe and the injured Sophie Devine.
New Zealand Bates, Bezuidenhout, A Kerr (c), Plimmer, Green, Halliday, Gaze (wk), J Kerr, Tahuhu, Mair, Jonas.
England Wyatt, Bouchier, Capsey, Sciver-Brunt, Knight (c), Jones (wk), Dunley, Gibson, Ecclestone, Dean, Filer.
New Zealand win the toss and bat
Amelia Kerr, who is captaining New Zealand on her home ground in the absence of Sophie Devine, says it looks a decent pitch and highlights that all four games have been won the team batting first.
Heather Knight isn’t too disappointing after losing yet another toss – she says England would have bowled first.
Preamble
Look, there are no dead rubbers, not in a World Cup year. Sure, England have an unassailable 3-1 lead going intotoday’s fifth and final T20I, but this series was only ever partly about winning. Both New Zealand and England are still working out their squads and XIs for the T20 World Cup in September, and this match should give them more protein for the noggin.
Maia Bouchier has already taken the fast lane into the England squad, and perhaps the first XI, with two performances of coruscating brilliance in Nelson and Wellington. A third successive fifty would make her undroppable, if she isn’t already, going into the home summer.
England may decide to have a look at some of their fringe players, including Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Filer in particular. There are eight more T20Is this summer, so this isn’t the be-all and end-all for this players, but life can move pretty fast when a World Cup is on the horizon.
Sophie Devine’s quad injury means New Zealand will have to make at least one change as well. We’ll have the toss and team news shortly.
The match begins at midnight GMT, 1pm in Wellington.