England cruised to a comfortable 27-run victory over New Zealand in the first T20 in Dunedin. Captain Heather Knight's classy 63 from just 39 balls led the visitors to 160-4 after losing the toss, supported by Maia Bouchier's unbeaten 43.
White Ferns skipper Suzie Bates struck 65 in reply but struggled for middle order support as they were restricted to 133-5. Seamer Lauren Bell starred in England's dominant bowling performance with 2-29.
England's victory was impressive in the absence of key players Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone and Alice Capsey, who are missing the first three T20s because of the clash with the end of the Women's Premier League in India.
Opener Tammy Beaumont returned to the XI after an absence of more than two years from the T20 side, managing 15 in her 100th match in the format. Fellow opener Sophia Dunkley added a dynamic 32 from 24 balls before an entertaining partnership of 91 between Knight and Bouchier propelled England to their competitive total.
New Zealand fought admirably with the ball on a flat pitch but were let down in the field, with three dropped catches and a missed stumping.
They were also without important players in usual captain Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr because of the WPL, and their absence piled the pressure on Bates in the chase as the rest of the line-up struggled to counter England's discipline in the middle overs.
The second of five T20s takes place at the same venue on Friday.
England punish wasteful New Zealand
The absence of some of the side's big names presented Knight and England with opportunities. Beaumont may have two more innings to press her case at the top of the order before Wyatt returns, but Bouchier, who has now played 25 international T20s, snatched her first opportunity.
The 25-year-old has struggled to nail down a place in a competitive batting line-up but looked assured with the experience of Knight for company, sending reverse ramps over the keeper and displaying great fitness with her running between the wickets.
She made the most of chances gifted by New Zealand's sloppy fielding, as she was dropped twice on 27 and 37 with a missed stumping on 31, while Beaumont was also dropped on one in the third over. Knight, who skipped the WPL to focus on this tour, looked all the better for it with an emphatic innings of innovation and power, reverse-sweeping the spinners effectively and striking with intent down the ground.
There were positives for New Zealand's bowlers, who missed Kerr and Devine's experience in the attack, with seamers Hannah Rowe and Rosemary Mair creating chances and defending well at the death while Jess Kerr was the standout with an economic 1-26.
Bates' class stands alone
Bates' 28th international half-century was a class apart as New Zealand's depleted batting line-up could not cope with England's relentless accuracy in the middle overs. After the six-over powerplay, it was honours even with the White Ferns reaching 44-1 – ahead of England's effort of 41-1 at the same stage.
Georgia Plimmer added 59 for the second wicket with Bates but she was tied down once the spin of Sarah Glenn and Charlie Dean was introduced, eventually falling to the former for 21 from 24 balls.
The spinners bowled beautifully in tandem, providing promising signs for England without world number one Ecclestone. Both were miserly and constantly cramped the batters for room, Glenn finishing with 1-17 and Dean 0-21 while Knight finished with 0-10 from two overs of her part-time off-spin.
Bates was caught by Dunkley off Bell in the 17th over to leave the hosts 109-4 and their slim hopes departed with her after a counter-attacking innings, which included nine boundaries. Lauren Filer bowled two overs for 22 on her T20 debut while all-rounder Danielle Gibson finished with 0-33 from her four as coach Jon Lewis looks to test young talent before the autumn's T20 World Cup.
‘England took it from us in the middle overs' – reaction
Player of the match England's Heather Knight on TNT Sports: “It was quite tough to start, I felt like it was quite slow but once I got settled in, I felt in a really good place. I feel fresh mentally and physically after some time away so it's great to contribute.
“The boundaries weren't easy to come by so our running between the wickets was important.”
New Zealand captain Suzie Bates on TNT Sports: “We started pretty well with the ball but they took it away from us in the middle overs. We didn't adjust quickly enough and there was a lot that we could learn from England's bowlers, because taking the pace off the ball worked really well for them.”
— CutC by bbc.com
