Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Melie Kerr shines in White Ferns captaincy debut
Logan Swinkels • December 9th, 2023 4:56 pm
Melie Kerr with her White Ferns teammates I Photo: Photosport
New Zealand have done enough in the third T20I against Pakistan to pick up a consolation win, thanks to a masterclass by Melie Kerr with the ball, plus veteran Suzie Bates with the bat.
The White Ferns squeaked by to win by 6 runs via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method with rain ending play early at Queenstown's Sir John Davies Oval.
An hour out from coin toss, New Zealand Cricket broke the news that regular White Ferns captain Sophie Devine had been ruled out of Saturday’s match after receiving a Cortisone injection in her right knee.
The decision was made to undergo the medical procedure with the intention of the skipper being involved throughout the upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan.
The move paved the way for all-rounder Melie Kerr to debut as the New Zealand captain with 131 international appearances already to her name. Immediately the 23-year-old made an impact by winning her first coin toss and electing to bowl first with the threat of rain forecasted for late Saturday afternoon.
NZ missed an opportunity to dismiss Muneeba Ali while the Pakistani opener was on 14 runs, Kerr’s often reliable hands were tested by the strong winds at the end of the fifth over, unable to reel in the high ball.
The first breakthrough finally came in the tenth over - lamenting from a possible missed stumping opportunity for NZ wicketkeeper Bernadine Bezuidenhout on the previous ball, Kerr’s bowling challenged Muneeba – a wild swing made slight contact with the ball, sending it into the keeper’s gloves and an almighty shout ensued. Eventually umpire Shaun Haig’s finger was raised and Muneeba departed on 27 runs off 31 balls.
That wicket was quickly followed by another in the next over from the off-break bowling of Eden Carson, a stunning catch from Fran Jonas diving to her left sent Sadaf Shamas back to the Sir John Davies Oval pavilion on zero.
Kerr struck again for New Zealand when Molly Penfold snatched the ball mere inches from the ground, opener Sidra Ameen falling seven runs short of her fourth T20I half-century as the White Ferns’ spin attack found their stride after their initial struggles in the match.
Carson claimed her second scalp in the sixteenth over, Aliya Riaz caught out by Hannah Rowe on 4 runs, Pakistan 95/4 heading into the final five overs of the innings.
After a couple of missed catches, the White Ferns rallied together for debutant captain Kerr to bag her third wicket – Pakistan skipper Nida Dar out on 25, leaving Fatima Sana and Natalia Pervaiz to finish up their twenty overs.
Setting a target of 138 to chase, the NZ openers stormed ahead to 31 runs with Suzie Bates looking to tally up a score quickly as the threat of rain loomed, however Bezuidenhout (4) was stumped by her opposite, Muneeba knocking the bails off in the fifth over.
Pakistan would rue Melie Kerr being dropped in the tenth over, the stand-in skipper showed her class with the bat, picking off space in the outfield to help the Ferns tick the score over to keep them ahead of the DLS par.
On 35 runs, Kerr was undone while attempting to sweep the ball – the left-arm spin of Nashra Sandhu instead finding leg stump, bringing Maddy Green to the crease at 94/2.
The TV camera progressively showed more raindrops on their lenses as Bates brought up her 27th T20 half-century. After 15 overs, the decision was made for the covers to come out and delay the match’s conclusion with New Zealand on 101/2.
Just ahead of the 4.15pm cut off time, the decision was made to end the match, giving Pakistan a 2-1 victory in the T20I series ahead of the three-match ODI series beginning Tuesday at the same venue.
Tune into SENZ for live ball-by-ball commentary of the White Ferns v Pakistan, available on the SENZ app and radio - find your local frequency HERE.
