NZ’s 80 All Out Hands England Series Win: Gibson, Dean Shine

Gibson + Dean Wreck NZ Batting Dani Gibson: Career-best 3-14, ripped through NZ middle order. Charlie Dean: 3-13, spin stifling NZ’s ability to rotate strike. NZ collapse: Bundled out for 80, their 8th-lowest T20I total. Only 3 batters reached double figures, Jess Kerr top-scored with 20. Team effort: England’s spin attack + Gibson meant NZ never got going. Allrounder Gibson dismissed Sophie Devine in another game this week. Career-best figures of 3 for 14 for Dani Gibson combined with 3 for 13 for stand-in skipper Charlie Dean allowed England to bounce back from a 14-run loss in the second game in Canterbury on Saturday, bowling New Zealand out for a paltry 80 with five balls to spare. That previous defeat was made all the more disappointing for the hosts by the fact that they had their opponents in a similary precarious position at 11 for 4 before the White Ferns hit back. There were to be no similar batting heroics this time from Sophie Devine, or anyone else for that matter, as the visitors collapsed to 33 for 6 on the back of another excellent powerplay by Linsey Smith in which she took 1 for 6 from two overs before Gibson chimed in with the big wickets of Melie Kerr and Devine. England’s Chase: Clinical Finish Start: Sophia Dunkley’s breezy 22 off 21 got England going. Middle: Heather Knight 18, caught reverse sweeping Melie Kerr. Finish: Maia Bouchier 19 not out, Freya Kemp hit winning run off Bree Illing. *Chase time: Wrapped up in 13.5 overs. 7th straight T20 bilateral series win vs NZ for England. England bowling: “Clinical bowling display spearheaded by Dani Gibson”. NZ struggles: Prompted “loose shots in search of boundaries” due to tight spin. New Zealand missed an opportunity to remove Heather Knight on 4, sweeping towards deep square leg where Halliday strode in and dived forward to get both hands to the ball very low before it popped out of her grasp as she hit the ground. But even when Melie Kerr had Knight caught at backward point off a reverse sweep, New Zealand couldn't haul themselves out of the mire left by their batters. Bottom line: Gibson’s career-best 3-14 and Dean’s 3-13 blew NZ away for 80. England knocked off the runs inside 14 overs to take the series 2-1, continuing their dominance over the White Ferns in T20Is.