England thump New Zealand to set up India semi-final at Commonwealth Games

England will face India on Saturday with a place in the Commonwealth Games final at stake after routing New Zealand, chasing down a meagre 72 in just 11.4 overs to top Group B.

After a seven-wicket win in their most dominant display at Birmingham 2022 so far, England avoided a semi-final showdown against Australia, Group A winners and the overwhelming gold medal favourites.

But in spite of the absence of injured captain Heather Knight, England are gradually gaining in confidence after a disappointing winter as they recorded a sixth successive T20 victory this summer.

Katherine Brunt was almost unplayable in the powerplay, finishing with outstanding figures of 3-1-4-2, as New Zealand limped to 71 for nine before England cruised to their third consecutive group win.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” said England’s stand-in skipper Nat Sciver. “New Zealand have been a strong side and they usually put up a pretty good fight. It’s really nice to have a calm win.

“If we start like that against any team I think we’ll be in a pretty good position. We’re not thinking about wins in a row, more about attitude and the way we’re playing, we’ve fallen into the rhythm of it.

“Taking on the ball when we’re batting and looking for wickets as much as we can when we’re bowling – that attitude has really helped us play with a bit more freedom and it seems to have worked.”

There were also two wickets apiece for Issy Wong and Sarah Glenn but Brunt hastened England’s charge, uprooting the leg-stump of Sophie Devine with an off-cutter in the opening over after the White Ferns captain had opted to bat first on a pitch where Sri Lanka were skittled for 46 against South Africa.

If we start like that against any team I think we'll be in a pretty good