New Zealand 160 for 4 (Devine 64, Tryon 2-13) beat South Africa 159 for 6 (Dercksen 55*, Jess Kerr 3-16) by six wickets

Devine power

Amelia Kerr and Georgia Plimmer actually set themselves up for that. They remembered to hold their shape for that millisecond longer. They were happy to make their own pace, running at the bowlers, even if the ball was short. They produced sequences of four successive boundaries followed by three successive boundaries during a partnership of 48 off 34. Plimmer’s on drives were special too, never over-hit, all timing. Her wicket, however, ushered Devine to the crease and she showcased her smarts differently.

The 15th over of the chase began with New Zealand needing 53 off 36 balls. Devine took guard well outside off stump because she had clocked the bowling plan – go wide – and wanted to reach those balls because if she could, she had the strength to clobber them all the way, which is exactly what happened when she flicked Masabata Klaas over deep square leg. Ordinarily that ball would’ve been in line with off stump but Devine had changed the game. By the end of those six balls, New Zealand’s required rate had come down from 8.83 to 7.

The helplessness that South Africa felt trying to stop Devine was exemplified when Tazmin Brits was mic’d up and she started with a nervous laugh when asked whether their plans against Devine were working. She knew they weren’t.

Dercksen a class above

Dercksen outscored the other end (strike rate of 172 vs 111), hitting nine of the 13 boundaries that came South Africa’s way while she was in the middle, including a breathtaking straight six off Amelia Kerr. With New Zealand trying to tuck them up on the stumps, she profited by tapping the off side fence as well instead of just looking to drag balls to midwicket. The range of shots, the ability to execute them even on a slow pitch when under pressure and the acceleration towards the end marks her out as a long term No. 4. Considering she also bowls steady seam-ups, South Africa won’t have to worry about life after Marizanne Kapp.

Dercksen struck her first ball for four – a cut shot that highlighted how well she picks length and how quickly her feet move. She had South Africa scoring 10 and 12 runs immediately after overs that produced just two, six, seven and four, and she was there at the death, scooping and reverse sweeping good balls for fours. The visitors bagged 51 runs in the last four overs to finish on a healthy 159 for 6.

Sister act

“Double, double, toil and trouble. Beware the Kerr sisters” said a sign in Wellington. The little girl holding it up had also included a line drawing of Amelia and Jess. It was so good and the real life versions lived up to that big billing.

Jess was responsible for limiting the damage of big-hitter Chloe Tryon, whom South Africa promoted to open and give them a quicker start. Jess then came back to dismiss Laura Wolvaardt as well, who is part of the reason why they had to try something as out of the box as pushing their finisher up top. The South Africa captain has 88 runs in 95 balls in the series so far, and on Sunday she fell for 10 off 17.

Amelia used her knowledge of the ground she plays her domestic cricket on, slowing her pace to as far as 64 kph, which made it even harder for the ball to slide onto the bat. One of these deliveries – at 75 kph which was a full 5kph slower than her average speed in the last game – stumped Sune Luus on 30 off 29.

Tahuhu’s landmark