Maddy Green batting for New Zealand against Zimbabwe. Photo: Photosport
Captain Melie Kerr has stood out in both bowling and batting as the White Ferns completed an easy victory in their second one-day international at the University of Otago Oval in Dunedin.
The win gave them a series win, after they beat Zimbabwe by 180 runs in the first match, also in Dunedin on Thursday. The third match will be played at the same ground on Wednesday.
The Zimbabwe team, who have had a challenging time with injury and illness, had a nasty scare early in their innings, when opener Kelis Nhdlovu was hit on the side of her helmet by a bouncer from fast-bowler Bree Illing. Medical staff attended to Nhdlovu on the ground, before she was taken to hospital, with the team reporting after the match that she was recovering well.
Ndhlovu looked set, but after her departure, Zimbabwe would not cope with Kerr's wiles, as they were dismissed for 102 in just 29.1 overs.
Kerr took career-best ODI figures of 7/34 off 9.1 overs, while Molly Penfold took the other three for 17 runs off four overs.
The skipper also set a new record for a New Zealand women in one-dayers, surpassing Jackie Lord's 6/10 against India in 1982.
She relished the conditions, after opting to field first, with rain forecast for later in the day. She cleverly used the wind for extra drift with her spinners.
Opener Modester Mupachikwa was the only batter to score more than 13 runs, with a gritty 32.
Kerr also starred with the bat, topscoring with 45 off 40 balls. Opener Izzy Gaze scored 20, while Maddy Green was unbeaten on 27, hitting a boundary to secure the win in the 17th over.
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