“We played with a smile on the field”: White Ferns search for positives, despite disastrous whitewash in England

The home of cricket became the home of another disappointing loss for the White Ferns on Thursday (NZ time), ending their miserable tour of England falling 20 runs short in the fifth and final Twenty20 international.

The result completes an eight-game whitewash to the hosts, losing the three-match ODI series and five T20s. Through 16 matches against the English side in 2024, the NZ women have won just two.

Melie Kerr and Brooke Halliday were on course to create a potential upset at Lord’s, chasing 53 runs from 27 balls to salvage a much-needed win. But in the 16th over, Halliday swung at a Lauren Bell delivery destined to be called a wide, only to edge it into the keeping gloves of Amy Jones.

At 103/4, the fifth and sixth wickets followed soon after, with Kerr stumped and Maddy Green bowled out in the same Charlie Dean over. By the time Jess Kerr and Izzy Gaze came to the crease, the equation had increased to 34 runs from 10 balls.

Earlier in the match, Fran Jonas was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers, putting up an impressive 4/22, taking the wickets of both openers Danni Wyatt (0) and Maia Bouchier (13), plus a stunning solo effort to dismiss Nat Sciver-Brunt, before also sending Freya Kemp back to the famed pavilion.

The rest of the White Ferns’ bowling attack struggled, with Heather Knight’s defiant captain’s knock of 46 not out steering the hosts to their winning total of 155.

With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup taking place in Bangladesh this October, recent results for New Zealand would suggest there’s plenty of cause for concern.

However, listening to the White Ferns’ post-match press conferences after being swept by England on this current tour, their responses featured largely the same buzz words that have become familiar to Kiwi cricket fans.

“We played with a smile on the field,” captain Sophie Devine said after their eighth and final loss.

“The way Fran Jonas bowled was outstanding. We leaked a few in the back end. Disappointed with the finish.

“We have learnt a few things, dealt with a strong England side. Have key events coming up. Was a long tour, hard one for us. Need to look in the mirror and learn. We as individuals need to work hard and see what we can do to win big games.”

The same sentiments were echoed by Jonas after her highlight reel-worthy performance with the ball.

“Obviously, this tour hasn’t gone as how we planned, but I think we can take a lot of learnings,” Jonas mused.

“I think consistency will be a big work on for us, but we’re definitely eager to get into our prep for the T20 World Cup.

“I think we showed a lot of fight tonight and we were able to push them. There’s still positives to take from it, which is good.”

It begs the question: how did the White Ferns get to this point? And what can be done to correct the calamitous course the team is currently on?

Ben Sawyer is two years into his tenure as their coach, which started off well with a bronze medal win over hosts England at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games that surprised many. But since then, the ‘process’ is yet to yield consistent results.

The T20 World Cup, plus the upcoming matches against Australia both home and away, serve as potential tipping points for change.