After Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr had put together a record stand, the White Ferns hardly needed help to complete a thrashing of Sri Lanka.
But the umpires for the second ODI in Galle contrived to hand the visitors some extra assistance — by handing Eden Carson an extra over.
The off-spinner became the first White Fern in 30 years to bowl an 11th over in a one-day international, finishing with figures of 2-41 in New Zealand’s 116-run victory on Friday.
Fortunately for the match officials responsible for the oversight, Carson’s additional over came with the result beyond doubt and returned no wicket.
But the 21-year-old will now hold an unusual place in the record books, with no Kiwi bowling more than 10 overs in an ODI since 1993, when women’s matches were contested over 60 overs.
When she finished the 45th over in Friday’s encounter, Carson had seemingly become the first White Fern to complete her allotment. Sri Lanka were down to their final wicket and still 122 runs short of their target after the visitors had posted 329-7.
But despite six of her teammates still having overs available, Carson returned to the crease for the 47th and ceded a single.
She was then replaced by Fran Jonas who summarily claimed the final wicket to see New Zealand level the three-match series ahead of Monday’s decider.
Counting mishaps aside, it was an impressive result and performance from the White Ferns after they had suffered a nine-wicket defeat in the series opener, Sri Lanka’s first win over New Zealand’s women in any format.
The triumph was built on centuries from Devine and Kerr, who came together with their team on 57-2 and proceeded to bat for the next 33 overs.
Devine registered her seventh ODI ton while finishing with 137 and Kerr reached the milestone for a third time while posting 108, helping the Ferns compile their biggest total in Asia before Lea Tahuhu’s 4-31 hamstrung the hosts’ reply.
Devine and Kerr put on 228 runs and moved into third on the White Ferns’ all-time list of highest ODI partnerships, with Kerr also occupying top spot after she and Leigh Kasperek joined in a 295-run stand against Ireland in 2018.
“It was a great day out there,” the 22-year-old said. “To have that partnership with Sophie was pretty special.
Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine both celebrated tons. Photo / photosport.nz
“To get a hundred for your country any time you play is a real honour, and it was awesome to be out there with Soph and represent Tawa as well as New Zealand.”
Coming together after the dismissals of Suzie Bates — playing her 150th ODI — and Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Kerr said the focus for her and Devine was to play straight while turning over the strike. The junior partner was especially effective in that regard, hitting only seven boundaries while still batting at a run a ball.
“Just keeping each other in check, keeping things boring and taking what’s an offer, that was really key,” Kerr said. “She’s obviously a world-class player so it always helps batting with someone like her. Knowing the damage she can do, we were always going to have the run rate under control.”
That damage came late as Devine finished with a flourish following the loss of her partner, who was dismissed in the 44th over after reaching her first century on the continent.
“Asia is a pretty special place to play cricket,” Kerr said. “You come here to these conditions and think it’s going to suit your bowling better, so it was nice to score runs in spin-friendly conditions where they can be tough and it’s hot.”
