Cricket: White Ferns too good as Sri Lanka crushed

Rachel Priest of New Zealand. Photo / NZME.

The New Zealand women's side crushed Sri Lanka by 188 runs at Lincoln yesterday to claim the trophy in their inaugural five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with two games in hand - thanks to a New Zealand record opening stand that featured Rachel Priest's second ODI century in just three games.

The 30-year-old Priest, who came into the series never having scored a ton for the White Ferns, belted four consecutive fours off Inoka Ranaweera to go to 98, then breezed past the three figure mark as she stormed on to an explosive partnership of 196 with captain Suzie Bates.

When Bates fell on 80 (off 77 balls) in the 32nd over, Priest put her foot down en route to an ODI career best of 157 off 146 balls.

She hit a torrent of 23 boundaries (no sixes) and threatened to eclipse Bates' New Zealand record for the highest individual White Ferns score in an ODI. She fell at the death just 11 runs shy of Bates' mark of 168, set against Pakistan in 2009, to settle for New Zealand's second-highest score in ODI history.

It was the fifth time the pair had combined in a 100-run stand in one-dayers - a New Zealand record. The previous record opening stand had been 180 by Barb Bevege and Lesley Murdoch, set at Eden Park in 1981-82.

New Zealand posted 326-5 and Sri Lanka were never in the hunt. Regular breakthroughs saw them dismissed for 138 in 41.5 overs, with Canterbury spinner Erin Bermingham taking 3 for 16 off 7.5 overs as the White Ferns took a 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

They are now one victory from joining Australia and the West Indies at the top of the IWC table. The fourth ODI is at Lincoln on Tuesday.