Sophie Devine and Maddy Green smash record partnership as White Ferns level England T20 series

Sophie Devine and Maddy Green dragged the White Ferns out of a four-wicket hole and built one of the great rescues in New Zealand women’s cricket on Sunday, sharing a record 159-run fifth-wicket stand to set up a 14-run win over England at Canterbury’s St Lawrence Ground and level the three-match T20 series at 1-1. The win could hardly have looked less likely after the opening five overs. Sent in to bat, the tourists slumped to 11 for four as the England seamers found early swing and the top order chopped on or nicked off in quick succession. Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr and Brooke Halliday were all back in the sheds before the powerplay was over, and the series, until that point, looked to be drifting away from New Zealand.

What followed was the most valuable partnership the White Ferns have produced in a T20 international. Devine, walking in at five, dug in for an over before deciding the only way out of the hole was to swing. She finished with 87 off 57 balls, including six sixes, and was run out off the final delivery of the innings as she tried to find one more boundary for the total. Green played the perfect foil at the other end, picking the gaps for 56 off 48 balls and absorbing the strike when the captain was hitting it cleanly.

Their stand of 159 is a New Zealand record for any wicket in a women’s T20 international and, as the Sky Sports match report noted, also the second-highest fifth-wicket partnership in the history of the format worldwide. New Zealand finished on 170 for five, a total that looked unreachable when Devine first walked to the crease. “It shows the growth of the group, to be able to rebound and post 170,” Devine said afterwards, in comments carried by RNZ Sport. “We absorbed pressure really well and then threw it back at them. It’s a fantastic confidence builder for us.” England’s reply began smoothly. Opener Maia Bouchier punched the new ball through the off side and looked set for a big score, taking the hosts to 76 for one through 10 overs and putting the chase well ahead of where the White Ferns had been at the same stage.

From there, however, England never quite kicked on. The required rate crept above ten, the boundaries dried up, and the New Zealand spinners began to land the ball in the awkward areas just short of a length. The turning point came in the 16th over, when debutant off-spinner Nensi Patel had Bouchier caught for 38 to break the chase open. Patel finished with two for 25 from her four overs and was the difference between a tight defence and a comfortable one.

Amelia Kerr, Lea Tahuhu and Bree Illing each picked up a wicket as England were squeezed to 156 for six, finishing 14 short of the target. It is the second time this month the White Ferns have shown they can take a punch and stay on their feet. The squad arrived in England after a difficult home summer in which the batting was repeatedly accused of folding under pressure, and the opening T20 of this tour ended in a heavy defeat. Coming back from 11 for four against a full-strength England side, on an English ground, against a bowling attack that had just put 170 on the board itself in the first match, is a markedly different result.

For Devine, captaining what is likely her last full T20 cycle before the next major global tournament, the innings was also a personal statement. She turned 36 last year and has spoken openly about managing her workload, but on Sunday she ran the hard ones, found the gaps and cleared the rope at will. The six sixes were the most she has hit in a single T20 international innings. Green’s contribution should not be lost in the noise around her captain.

The Auckland Hearts batter has spent the past 18 months working on her tempo against spin, and her 56 included a clean sweep off Sarah Glenn and a lofted on-drive that broke a quiet middle stretch. The pair’s running between the wickets, often a weakness in past White Ferns collapses, was sharp throughout. The series now goes to a decider on Monday at the County Ground in Hove, with first ball at 6.30pm local time, or 5.30am Tuesday New Zealand time. England will be expected to bring their senior seamers back into form on a ground that typically favours stroke play, and the White Ferns will need their top order to fire so the rescue acts are not the only story of the tour.

For a side that came into this tour under real pressure, a record partnership, a series-levelling win, and a deciding match still to play is about as good a midpoint as the White Ferns could have hoped for. What do you make of Sophie Devine’s innings, and can the White Ferns close out the series in Hove? Have your say in the comments below.