NZ-W vs SA-W 5th T20I: Kerr's 105 seals 4-1 series win for New Zealand

Match Overview

New Zealand skipper Amelia Kerr’s 55-ball 105 and a frugal two-wicket haul headlined her team’s mammoth 92-run win over South Africa at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch in the final T20I of the five-match series, as the hosts clinched a dominant 4-1 win.

Inserted to bat, New Zealand lost opener Isabella Gaze cheaply in the second over before Amelia walked in and added 45 runs for the second wicket with Georgia Plimmer. Ayabonga Khaka, who pinned Gaze lbw, had a chance to send back Amelia as well, but she grassed a difficult catch to give her a reprieve.

Amelia made a watchful start before opening up with consecutive fours off Nadine de Klerk after the powerplay. Pacer Tumi Sekhukhune threatened to derail the momentum with two wickets in two balls in the ninth over, dismissing Plimmer (27 off 26) and the veteran Sophie Devine for a golden duck. However, runs continued to flow from Amelia’s bat as she picked two fours each off Sune Luus and Sekhukhune in consecutive overs. She got good company from Brooke Halliday (26 off 24), who held one end up in the 73-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Amelia, who brought up her half-century off 34 balls, pressed the accelerator in the death overs even as Khaka removed Halliday in the 16th over. New Zealand scored 66 runs in the last four overs, as Amelia brought up her second T20I century with a hat-trick of boundaries against Masabata Klaas in the penultimate over. She eventually fell to Khaka in the final over of the innings after smacking 19 fours and a six, but her splendid century fired the hosts to a formidable 194 for 6.

In response, South Africa lost the plot as early as the powerplay, losing four wickets in the first six overs as Lea Tahuhu and Devine made hay. Chloe Tryon picked mid-off against Tahuhu; Sune Luus was sent back by Nensi Patel before Tahuhu returned to dismiss Anneke Bosch, while skipper Laura Wolvaardt nicked Devine behind to end her side 40 for 4 in the powerplay.

Amelia, not satisfied with the batting exploits, outfoxed de Klerk with a googly and returned to see the back of Annerie Dercksen for an 18-ball 23 as she holed out in the deep. Devine added one more to her tally as Karabo Meso played her onto the stumps in the following over, while Flora Devonshire dismissed Kayla Reyneke soon afterwards. Tahuhu had Klaas caught in the 17th over, but the tenth-wicket partnership of 13 between Khaka and Sekhukhune ensured that South Africa were not bowled out.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the match

Amelia Kerr

Amelia Kerr continued her purple patch, smashing her second century in the format. Her 55-ball 105 was laced with 19 fours and a six. She also scalped two wickets with the ball, returning exceptional figures of 3-0-6-2. Amelia was rightly adjudged the Player of the Match and the Series.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Player of the Match and Series, Amelia Kerr (NZ-W)

"I fought hard at the start [with the bat]. Early on it was nipping around, and their seamers bowled really well. I kind of battled through the powerplay, but the wicket got better. Once you're in, things do get easier. The partnerships we managed to build, even after losing two wickets, allowed me to play my style and just go out and enjoy it. You've seen our intent with the bat through this whole series; people are coming in and coming hard. Once you've got a platform, you're allowed to get to party time, and often you get out before that. It was nice to be able to enjoy that at the end. 

"[Team work] When you're building towards a squad of 15 for a World Cup, any player could have a go due to injuries. You see that in sport a lot, so every player has to be ready to step up. It's been pleasing to see every player in the squad step up at different times and nail their role. It is an exciting space for this group and where I believe we can go. 

"[ODI series and the World Cup coming up] For sure. We've got three really important games coming up soon that are worth points in the 50-over format. Then we head over to the UK for a World Cup, which is exciting. If we keep sticking to our strengths and building on what we've got, we give ourselves a really good chance at winning the title."

Losing Team Captain, Laura Wolvaardt (SA-W)  

"[New Zealand] They're really good. Outplayed us in pretty much all facets of the game today. Amelia batted really well. We didn't execute very well with the ball, and she hurt us when we missed. We just lost our way with the bat. It was high pressure in that chase; it would have been a record here and a big chase anywhere in the world. 

"[Positives from the series] There's a lot to learn for us. We came out here with plans for what we wanted to execute, but I think we just missed a bit. We can learn from our mistakes, and there is enough time to reset and come back for the ODIs. It's a different format, so we will take the learnings and hopefully be better for it.

"[Crowd] The atmosphere was brilliant, and I'm sure it will be the same for the One Day Internationals."