\u201cWe take lot of confidence heading into the semis,\u201d says England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt
\n Visakhapatnam
\nFormer champions England produced a textbook all-round performance to crush New Zealand by eight wickets in their final Women\u2019s World Cup league game in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
\nThe win catapulted England to second place in the table with 11 points, just below defending champions Australia. They will meet South Africa in the semi-finals.
\nWith qualification for the last four already assured England used the occasion to fine-tune their arsenal, particularly their spinners, who were on the money from the word go.
\nThe spin quartet of Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean, Alice Capsey and Sophie Ecclestone spun a web around the White Ferns, sharing seven wickets to trigger a collapse.
\nNew Zealand, cruising at 89-1, lost Amelia Kerr and Georgia Plimmer in successive deliveries and from there it was a procession. The last five wickets tumbled for just 13 runs as the Kiwis were bundled out for 168 in under 39 overs, their lowest total of the tournament.
\n\u201cWe wanted to put in a good performance. Really happy with that effort and we take lot of confidence heading into the semis,\u201d said England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.
\nThe only cloud in England\u2019s otherwise sunny afternoon was Ecclestone\u2019s shoulder injury. The world\u2019s top-ranked bowler claimed the prized wicket of Brooke Halliday before leaving the field after just four deliveries. England will be sweating on her fitness as the business end of the competition looms.
\nHer exit gave part timer Sophia Dunkley a rare trundle and with England already boasting an array of finger spinners, her wrist spin added another string to their bow.
\nEngland were rarely tested during run chase. Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones put on 75 for the first wicket and Jones then joined hands with skipper Heather Knight in a 83-run stand as England cantered home with 124 balls to spare.
\nJones finished unbeaten on 86, her 16th half-century in WODIs, reaching the landmark with a towering six off Suzie Bates and sealing victory with a silken cover drive.
\nIt was an emotional afternoon for New Zealand great Sophie Devine, who bowed out of WODIs after a stellar career.
\nThough she failed to make a mark with the bat, she leaves as the nation\u2019s third highest run getter (4,279) and second highest wicket taker (111). Both teams formed a guard of honour for the departing legend.
\nThe White Ferns finish a disappointing sixth in the table, with just one win to their name, two of their Colombo fixtures having been washed away by rain.
\n\u201cReally wanted to go on a high, but today\u2019s performance was disappointing. I am humbled to have played for my country for 19 long years. We came with lot of hopes but we weren\u00b4t good enough,\u201d Devine said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe take lot of confidence heading into the semis,\u201d says England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt Visakhapatnam Former champions England produced a textbook all-round performance to crush New Zealand by eight wickets in their final Women\u2019s World Cup league game in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. The win catapulted England to second place in the table with 11 points, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-510911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n