Gaze blazes but White Ferns fail to fire
A record Izzy Gaze knock proved in vain as the White Ferns slumped to another defeat to England, and a 4-1 series loss, in their T20I series finale in Wellington yesterday.
The writing was on the wall early for the Sophie Devine-less hosts at the Basin Reserve, as they slumped to 31-4 after stand-in skipper Amelia Kerr had won the toss.
And while 19-year-old Gaze engineered a spirited fightback with a maiden half-century and gave New Zealand at least something to bowl at, their 136-6 did not prove challenging enough, as England secured a five-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.
With captain Devine out of the contest due to a quad injury sustained in game four on Wednesday, New Zealand seemingly needed someone else in the top four to stand up. Instead, after fellow stars Suzie Bates and Kerr had holed out cheaply, they had to rely on No 6 Brooke Halliday and No 7 Gaze to steer them back to something respectable.
When left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone dismissed Maddy Green first ball of the 13th over with a sensational caught-and-bowled, the Ferns were 69-5 and right on the ropes.
Enter Gaze, the 19-year-old in her 18th match, with a previous high score of 16 at T20I level.
In fact, in her total 42-game T20 career, the wicketkeeping right-hander had never even gone past 26, or 49 in her 30 games of List A one-day cricket, too.
Something special it was, then, that the youngster would go on to belt an unbeaten 51 off 28, featuring six fours and a six, bringing up her milestone half-century with a reverse sweep for four off the final ball of the innings.
This was the first time since June 2018 that a White Fern other than Devine, Kerr or Bates had posted a T20I 50.
While Halliday hit just one four in her 33 off 40, there was positive intent in the straight-bat striking of the left-hander, and Gaze, with her innovative shot-making, proved a fine companion in a fighting 56-run stand.
After lapping Danielle Gibson for two fours in the space of three balls, she got the same result against Nat Sciver-Brunt, and next ball hit a big six in an over that went for 17.
The partnership was finally broken first ball of the final over, when Halliday was out to a splendid Alice Capsey diving catch off Ecclestone, who two deliveries later managed to juxtapose her earlier caughtand-bowled by dropping a sitter.
Still needing something special with the ball, the White Ferns started tidily, albeit without the breakthroughs needed.
Gaze was guilty of a missed stumping in the fourth over, standing up to Jess Kerr, and while she made no mistake with another a little later, off Amelia Kerr, England had a solid 57-run fourth-wicket stand from captain Heather Knight (35 off 28) and Sciver-Brunt (31 off 27) to keep them well on course.
The teams now prepare to square off in a three-match ODI series, starting in Wellington on Monday, and moving to Hamilton for games two and three next Thursday and Sunday.