England secured a commanding seven-wicket victory over the White Ferns in the first T20 international held in Derby.
New Zealand posted a total of 136 for seven in their 20 overs, but England met the target with 16 balls left, largely due to a stellar unbeaten 74 from Alice Capsey.
The New Zealand innings began poorly when Georgia Plimmer edged the first ball of the match onto her stumps.
Captain Melie Kerr scored eight before being caught, leaving Devine to inject some momentum into the innings.
Devine responded effectively, scoring 45 from 22 balls, which included four sixes and four fours. Her dismissal in the ninth over, however, saw New Zealand at 70 for four.
Maddy Green and Izzy Sharp then worked to steady the innings, both maintaining a run-a-ball rate to lead New Zealand to a final score that fell short of expectations. Sharp remained not out on 26, while Green contributed 23.
Kerr acknowledged the team was short on runs, stating, “That middle phase after Sophie got out it just looked hard to score for our group so I would have loved 150-160. There were too many dot balls and not enough boundaries.”
“A loss that hurts and we were nowhere near our best so we’re looking to bounce back quickly,” Kerr added afterward.
Suzie Bates was scheduled to bat at number nine.
England’s bowlers Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean each claimed two wickets.
Despite losing a couple of early wickets, England’s Alice Capsey and Heather Knight stabilized the innings, maintaining the required run rate.
Capsey, aged 21, was named player of the match, scoring 74 off 51 balls, including 10 boundaries.
Bree Illing also took two wickets for New Zealand.
England played without their injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
The second match is scheduled for Sunday at Canterbury.
