New Zealand Women are a formidable team in the ODI format. In June 2018, White Ferns' batters eyes lit up after seeing an inexperienced Ireland bowling lineup on their tour of Ireland and England. In the three-ODI series, they crossed the 400-run mark every time, which is considered a rarity.
Dominating start
On a flat Dublin wicket, skipper Suzie Bates won the toss and elected to bat first. Bates and Jess Watkin smashed the ball all over the park. In the first 10 overs, Watkin was a bit cautious whereas Bates reached her half-century in the 13th over. She started to get into her zone after the fielding restrictions. Watkin could not get a big score and got out in the 18th over.
Bates hits 150
On the other end, Bates was nearing her century. She breached the three figures in the 23rd over. It took her 71 deliveries to reach her century. Soon enough, Maddy Green joined the party as well. In the 30th over, Bates reached her 150 with a boundary. However, she missed a golden chance of scoring a double century and got out to Cara Murray. She scored 151 runs from 94 deliveries. Her scintillating knock was studded with 24 fours and two sixes.
Cara’s embarrassing world record
Green did not let the run rate fall. Amy Satterthwaite was the only batter who got out without scoring a half-century in the game. She fell to Cara as well. The leg-spinner finished her quota of 10 overs in the 38th over. She conceded 16 runs in the over and became the first female bowler in 21st century to concede more than 100 runs. She surpassed the world record for most expensive bowling figures in ODI cricket. She got two wickets but conceded 119 runs in her 10 overs.
Green departs after century
In the 41st over, Green reached her century in 62 balls. Green got out after scoring 121 runs from 77 deliveries including 15 fours and one six. After Green’s wicket, Amelia Kerr accelerated in the slog overs. She took most of the strike and continued to hit big.
Amelia gets NZ to world record 490
Amelia reached her half-century in the 48th over. In the last three overs, she launched a brutal onslaught and helped New Zealand post 490/4. The White Ferns missed a golden chance to breach the 500-run mark but created the world record for highest innings total in the format. Teenager Amelia remained unbeaten for 81 off 45 deliveries alongside wicketkeeper-batter Bernadine Bezuidenhout (23). She hit nine fours and three sixes in her innings.
Massive margin of win
As expected, Ireland Women did not stand a chance to come anywhere near the total. Seven of their batters registered single-digit scores. Skipper Laura Delany was the top-scorer with 37 runs from 65 deliveries. Leigh Kasperek was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets for 17 runs in just 2.3 overs. The hosts managed to post 144 in 35.3 overs and lost the match by a big margin of 346 runs.
