England cruised to a comfortable victory over New Zealand after Heather Knight’s strike gave her captain a 20-point lead in the fifth T20 international match at Lord’s.
Knight’s team were back at the home of cricket for the first time since a dramatic Ashes win last July, but the stakes were low as the five-match series had already been wrapped up.
The prospect of a 5-0 victory and the chance to secure a 13th win in 14 games was on the agenda, but England collapsed to 6-87 and Knight had to score 46 points to take them to 7-155.
Charlie Dean provided strong support with a crucial 24 before backing it up with a two-wicket haul and Lauren Bell’s three for 21 restricted the White Ferns to 8-135 as England continued their unbeaten home summer.
Knight said: “I’m really pleased. We talked about wanting to finish this summer unbeaten. We were ruthless. We talked about beating the teams when we were at the top and that’s what we did. I’m a very happy captain.”
She can now turn her attention to the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October, where Australia will defend its title.
“Before we leave, we have a training camp in Abu Dhabi to get used to the heat and conditions. We have a few weeks off because the summer has been tough and it will be good to rest,” said Knight.
New Zealand’s Amelie Kerr, an all-rounder who also plays for Brisbane Heat, said: “It was a very tough series, we didn’t win a single game.”
“England are a quality team, one of the best in the world, and the best thing we can do is go home and learn from this. I think it’s just about us doing things more consistently and for longer periods of time.”