Tough loss after strong early position for White Ferns

The White Ferns were given a lesson not to let their foot off the throttle in Friday afternoon international T20 action at Saxton Oval.

In the return of women's international cricket to Nelson, the world number two-ranked England looked to be on the ropes, only to be given respite in what was ultimately a 15-run loss for the fourth-ranked home side.

An expensive final few overs saw England grow a score that they could bowl at after struggling through their innings, before a late collapse saw the White Ferns finish with their tails between their legs.

Having once had England 112/6 with three overs to play, a 19-run final over gave England a lifeline of 149/7.

The run chase saw New Zealand start strong, finishing the power play slightly ahead of their opponents at the same spot.

With Melie Kerr still in the mix, things were looking good before she was dismissed with an ill-advised ramp shot that went straight into the air with a top-scoring 44 runs.

The loss of her wicket precipitated a collapse which saw a number of cheap wickets fall as things went from bad to worse for the White Ferns as scoreboard pressure started mounting.

Despite the loss, there were several bright spots, including the instant impact of key players who rejoined the team after finishing up with the India Women's Premier League just days before.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, White Ferns captain Sophie Devine did not take long to reintroduce herself to the international level.

Having returned from India after missing the first game of the series, it only took one ball for her to strike as she picked up the wicket of Sophia Dunkley to get the White Ferns off to a strong start.

Her second over, to end the power play, saw Sophie strike again as she clean bowled Tamsin Beaumont (19).

Star counterpart Melie was quick to get stuck into the action after also finishing her commitments in India as she picked up the catch of Maia Boucher, with England off to a poor start.

Ending the first power play at 34-2, the White Ferns were all over the visitors with good bowling and better fielding to restrict the England team.

Melie then struck with the ball as she clean bowled Danielle Gibson. England was starved of boundaries and facing a plateauing run rate.

The star pair were also strong with the bat, as Melie top scored and Sophie added a handy 17 before she was caught LBW looking to sweep.

White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer says the pair's ability to come back into the fold shows their quality.

"It's the nature of cricket at the moment. They're pretty well-versed about being able to come back into a team.

"They're world-class players and highly sought after."

Ben says the team is working hard to identify the issues that have caused them to lose the last two games, but that will take time.

"With the ball, we started really well, but there's improvements to be made in the back end with the ball. It was the same with the bat, it started really well."

He says it's disappointing to watch the game slip away in the middle overs of the innings again, but it's not through a lack of intent.

"I don't think jumping in the nets (tomorrow) is going to solve anything.

"If you asked me at the start if we would have been happy to chase 150, I would have said yes."

But, even as it looked like the White Ferns were on the cusp of their first victory of the series, England showed their experience.

Wickets at key times were the downfall of the home team, with no established batswoman able to be there at the death.

The loss sees England on top in the five-game T20 leg of their tour, with three games still to play, including a rematch Sunday at Saxton Oval.