England hosted New Zealand in a white-ball series featuring three ODIs followed by three T20Is from May 10 to May 25, 2026. The opening ODI proved to be a tense contest, with the home side eventually crossing the line by one wicket in the penultimate over to take a 1-0 lead.
The second ODI was abandoned because of rain, and the weather again threatened to disrupt the third match, which also marked veteran Suzie Bates’ ODI farewell for the White Ferns. However, conditions improved enough for a reduced 33-over contest at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on May 16, 2026.
England made two changes to their XI, with Jodi Grewcock returning in place of Maia Bouchier and Lauren Filer replacing Tilly-Corteen Coleman. New Zealand named the same team that had taken the field in the previous match.
Alice Capsey And Amy Jones Lift England To Competitive Total
England suffered an early setback when Emma Lamb was dismissed in the second over, with Bree Illing giving New Zealand their first breakthrough. Heather Knight and Jodi Grewcock then steadied the innings through a 40-run second-wicket partnership.
Rosemary Mair ended that stand in the 11th over by removing Grewcock, giving the White Ferns their second wicket. England rebuilt again through a key 57-run fourth-wicket partnership between Freya Kemp and Alice Capsey, which helped them move beyond the 100-run mark.
Captain Amelia Kerr broke that partnership in the 25th over, dismissing Kemp for 20 off 28 balls. Later, stand-in skipper Charlie Dean and Amy Jones added a quick 45 runs for the seventh wicket. Dean finished unbeaten on 16 from 16 balls, while Jones made 27 from 21 deliveries, helping England pass 150.
England eventually closed on 181/7 from their allotted 33 overs. Their innings also included 19 extras. Capsey top-scored with 45 off 45 balls, while Knight contributed 28 from 42 deliveries.
For New Zealand, Bree Illing returned figures of 7-0-29-2, while Rosemary Mair took 2 for 41 from seven overs. Jess Kerr finished with 7-0-31-1, Nensi Patel recorded 4-1-23-1, and Amelia Kerr took 1 for 40 from six overs.
Brooke Halliday And Isabella Gaze Steer New Zealand Ahead
Chasing a revised target, Suzie Bates made 12 off 15 balls in her final ODI appearance for New Zealand before being dismissed in the third over after a 21-run opening stand with Georgia Plimmer.
The visitors then slipped to 40/3 in the seventh over. Brooke Halliday joined Maddy Green at the crease, and the pair repaired the innings with an important 57-run fourth-wicket partnership that took New Zealand close to 100.
Danielle Gibson broke the stand in the 18th over, dismissing Green for 37 off 43 balls to give England their fourth wicket. Isabella Gaze then joined Halliday, and the pair strengthened New Zealand’s position with an unbroken 44-run fifth-wicket partnership.
Halliday remained unbeaten on 42 from 54 balls, while Gaze was 22 not out from 23 deliveries when rain returned in the 25th over of the chase. At that stage, New Zealand were 141/4 and 17 runs ahead of the DLS par score.
The rain did not relent, forcing the match to be called off and giving New Zealand a 17-run DLS victory. The result allowed the White Ferns to level the ODI series.
Lauren Bell was England’s best bowler with figures of 5.4-0-29-3, while Danielle Gibson took 1 for 21 from four overs. Halliday was named Player of the Match, while Maddy Green was awarded Player of the Series after scoring 125 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 83.33 and an average of 62.50, including a half-century across the three-match series.
