The cramps didn’t help, but Maddy Green hung in there to score a career-best 141 not out and lead New Zealand to an ODI series win over South Africa in Wellington on Saturday. Green later called it “probably my best” innings in international cricket.
“Always ready, always ready. Probably a little bit earlier than I would have liked to be,” Green said of walking out at No. 4 as early as in the third over after Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer had fallen. “I thought the African opening bowlers bowled really nicely.”
Amelia Kerr went soon too, but Green and Brooke Halliday took New Zealand from 3 for 3 to 214 before Halliday fell in the 40th over.
“The ball was moving around a little bit early, and they made it really tricky for us,” Green said. “It was probably not where you want to be. It was nice to have Brooke at the other end. She’s such a calm head. We just knew if we stuck in there and tried to absorb a bit of pressure early, and if we could get to that 30-over mark with not too many wickets down, we’d back the power in our lower order to be able to put on a really good total. I think to get to 300 from the position we were in early was a really good effort.
“I was really gutted for [Halliday, who fell for 98]. I thought she deserved a hundred. She grafted away, and she was really patient. And we’ve talked about getting to 30 overs, and, you know, we’re playing some really good T20 cricket of late. So we get to 30 overs, we’ve got wickets in hand, let’s treat it like a T20 and push hard. And I think we got 190 [185] off the last 20 overs.”
Beating South Africa, one of the best teams in the fray, was crucial from the point of view of the ICC Women’s Championship points table, where New Zealand have a lead at the top now.
“You know, these ICC championship games are so important. So, yeah, to take the series against South Africa 2-1, get those points on the board for World Cup qualification for us is super important,” Green said. “And, yeah, South Africa are a really quality side. They’ve been in the last three finals of ICC events.
“So to beat them in two series here back end of our summer is really pleasing. And, yeah, it’s awesome for the group. Hopefully that gives us heaps of confidence going into T20 World Cup later on in the year. We’re certainly seeing the momentum, you know, coming behind us in terms of the support for women’s cricket.”
The double-series win was also a big positive for Amelia Kerr, who took over the full-time captaincy only in February this year.
“Melie’s got a great cricket brain, and, yeah, she’s slotted into this role pretty seamlessly, and she’s been part of the leadership group for the last few years now with Sophie [Devine] as captain, and learning off her as well,” Green said of her captain, whose 179 not out in the second ODI brought New Zealand back into the series.
“So, yeah, it seems like it’s bringing out the best in her and her cricket. Obviously today wasn’t quite her day with the bat [she fell for a duck], but she’s had an amazing summer internationally this back end of the summer. So, yeah, I think she’s enjoying the captaincy so far. And, yeah, there’s always things to learn and things to get better at, but she’s that sort of cricketer that always wants to get better no matter what she’s doing, what skill set that is.
“So, yeah, it’s been really pleasing to see her sort of take to it like a duck to water. And, yeah, I know that she’s got a lot of confidence in the ability of this group. So, yeah, hopefully these results at the back end of the summer will put us in a really good place when we head over to England later in the year.”
