Taylor revels in England win

Opener Sarah Taylor claimed England's win in Lincoln was all-important © Getty Images

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Sarah Taylor deflected any praise directed her way after leading England women to a six-wicket win against New Zealand in the third one-day international.

The 18-year-old opener’s unbeaten 86 was the cornerstone of England’s successful pursuit of 200, achieved with 11 balls to spare at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

It represented a second victory in four days for the tourists, who lead the five-match series 2-1 with two games to play.

“Today wasn’t about personal gain; it was about going 2-1 up in the series, which we accomplished,” said Taylor, whose innings spanned 137 deliveries and contained seven fours.

Taylor added 145 for the second wicket with namesake Claire, who hit a fluent 70, her sixth half-century in her last seven innings on the tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Though Claire was the first of three wickets to fall for 10 runs as New Zealand reduced England to 167 for four, Sarah eased any nerves in the visitors’ dressing room by seeing them home in the penultimate over.

Taylor was doubly determined to bat through the innings

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She said: “My aim today was to bat through because, unlike in the previous game, the total wasn’t as high so we didn’t need to get off to as quick a start.

“All credit to New Zealand – they bowled in good areas today and it was a lot harder to get runs in the beginning. But I made sure I was in and I knew I had to stay there towards the end.

“We’ve got a day off tomorrow and then two back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday, so we’ll prepare ourselves accordingly.”

Acting head coach Mark Lane took particular delight in England’s all-round display, which also featured two-wicket hauls for Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn and Charlotte Edwards.

“We’re improving in all areas of the game,” he said. “Different players are stepping up and contributing to the team performance, which is great.

“These have been two terrific victories against a quality New Zealand side,” he added, referring to Monday’s comprehensive nine-wicket triumph.

“We now have a day off to regroup and our intention is to come back on Sunday and try and improve on the last two performances to wrap up the series.”

Lincoln University will again be the venue for the final two matches of the series.