England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ODI series against New Zealand with a 56-run win in the second match in Hamilton.

After being dismissed for a duck in the first match on Monday, opener Tammy Beaumont bounced back with a stellar 81-run stand to get England off to a hot start at Seddon Park.

Once Maia Bouchier was caught by Hannah Rowe for 20, England captain Heather Knight set about building an intimidating target alongside Beaumont.

The pair combined for 70 runs before Knight was dismissed by Jess Kerr.

Beaumont was not fazed however, continuing to belt boundaries despite the quick exits of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey.

She lifted England to 158 for five before she was finally dismissed by Rowe.

Amy Jones took the baton from there, contributing 48 from 40 balls as England set a lofty target of 253.

Despite a staunch 57 from Brooke Halliday and a blistering 47 off 48 balls from Izzy Gaze, New Zealand’s batters were unable to threaten England’s score, ultimately being bowled out for 196.

Sciver-Brunt led the way for England’s bowlers with three wickets from her seven overs.

The final match of the series takes place on Sunday.

Maia Bouchier defied injury to hit 91 as England Women outpowered New Zealand to win the fourth T20 international in Wellington by 47 runs and clinch the series.

Bouchier’s 91 off 56 balls, her second successive half-century, helped England to 177 for three, Charlie Dean taking four wickets as New Zealand were restricted to 130 for seven.

England lost Danni Wyatt, back in the side after playing in the Women’s IPL, early but Alice Capsey and Bouchier – hampered by a quad injury – added 75 in 10 overs.

Captain Heather Knight (21 not out) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (29 not out) smashed 35 off the final 14 balls to set the hosts a daunting target.

That target was made more daunting without captain Suzie Bates, injured in the field, and England struck at regular intervals.

Dean grabbed four for 26, and Brooke Holliday was at the top scoring, with 25 for the hosts.

The win gives England an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, which concludes in Wellington on Friday.

Alice Capsey has set her sights on World Cup glory with England this year after a rollercoaster 2023.

The teenage sensation has enjoyed a rapid rise since starring in the inaugural Hundred at the age of 16, being snapped up by franchise leagues around the globe and making her international bow in both white-ball formats during the ensuing two-and-a-half-years.

Capsey played her part in the drawn Women’s Ashes last summer, but was also involved in the England team which lost in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup at the start of 2023.

The next World Cup will take place in Bangladesh later this year and the explosive batter wants to help Heather Knight’s side go all the way.

“Hopefully we can go one better this year and not have the same disappointment we had,” Red Bull athlete Capsey told the PA news agency.

“What we’ve got in the dressing room at the moment is a really fun and supportive culture. Everyone is loving being a part of it and the freedom we’re given.

“People really came out and watched us in the Ashes, so we want to keep building momentum. We want to keep showing what women’s cricket is about.

“We speak a lot in the dressing room about inspiring and entertaining. I think that shows in how we play and I hope it does, but that’s another thing we’ll look to build on and do even better this year. It is a really exciting year.”

Last year started with Capsey facing a race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup in February after she broke her collarbone in the West Indies two months earlier.

Capsey recovered but was out for a duck in England’s semi-final loss to South Africa before she was whisked off to India for the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where she helped Delhi Capitals finish runners-up.

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A maiden Ashes series was the next assignment for Capsey, who struck a classy 46 in a memorable five-wicket victory over Australia at a packed Lord’s and followed it up with an important 40 in another nail-bitter at Bristol.

The final act of 2023, after featuring in the Hundred and Big Bash League in Australia, was England’s tour of India where red-ball disappointment followed for the 19-year-old after she had also been overlooked for the one-off Ashes Test in June.

“It has definitely been a rollercoaster,” Capsey admitted.

“Yeah, international cricket and any international sport is hard. It takes a toll on the mind and also physically so those couple of injuries didn’t help me, but I am starting to find my way now of how to manage it all.

“It was a season of highs and lows, but I probably didn’t perform as well as I would have liked. I was a bit inconsistent and that is something I want to work on and is definitely a goal I am looking towards for 2024.

“It was a really enjoyable year. A lot of firsts again which sounds a bit crazy after the last three years but it was brilliant.

“Playing in a World Cup and things like that, they are all high-pressure moments. Hopefully the more moments like that I have, the better I will get at competing in them and the more experiences I will have to look back on.

“I guess it is kind of building a toolbox so you can come back to when the pressure is on.”

Capsey begins 2024 in India with another edition of the WPL before she joins up with the England squad for the final two T20s of a five-match series in New Zealand.

It kickstarts an action-packed year of white-ball cricket, but the all-rounder’s Test ambitions still burn brightly.

“Everyone had a lot of conversations with the management staff and it was definitely a combined decision over what was best for the individual,” Capsey explained regarding her WPL participation.

“We have a World Cup in Bangladesh and looking even more to the future we have a 50-over World Cup next year in India and this is part and parcel of my development.

“I have targeted an area I want to work on, which is spin and it is another stepping stone in my development to spend a bit longer out here and pick the brains of the people who play spin the best.

“If individuals are getting better and learning how to play their best games in those conditions, it will benefit England as well.

“Having that aspiration to continue working really hard and that end goal to make my Test debut is definitely something at the forefront of my mind and something I’m working towards.”

Red Bull athlete Alice Capsey is an England and Delhi Capitals all-rounder. Find out more about her here.

Alice Capsey warned Australia that England are yet to play their best cricket despite levelling the Women’s Ashes by winning the opening ODI at Bristol.

England secured a nerve-shredding two-wicket win to wipe out the 6-0 deficit suffered after losing the series’ solitary Test and the opening T20 clash.

Australia need to win only one of the two remaining ODIs at Southampton and Taunton to retain the Ashes but they have now lost three consecutive games for the first time since 2017.

“We were 6-0 down but we took a lot of confidence from the Test match because we saw how close we were to winning that,” said number three batter Capsey, 18, who struck 40 from 34 balls in England’s victorious reply of 267 for eight.

“We had another narrow loss in the opening T20 at Edgbaston, but we were pretty confident that once we got that first win we would go on a streak.

“The whole series we haven’t been at our best. In the T20s we were playing at 80 per cent and we weren’t at our best again here.

“But to get over the line in pressure moments when previously we would have crumbled a little bit is great. We were so calm out there, which is something we have focused on.

“It’s really exciting we haven’t played our best cricket and it’s six-all.”

The power hitting of Capsey and Tammy Beaumont was in danger of going to waste after England had reached 103 for one in the 12th over, chasing 264 to win.

Wickets fell at regular intervals and it was left to skipper Heather Knight and Kate Cross, coming in at 10, to get England over the line.

Cross joined Knight in the 44th over, with their partnership of 32 proving pivotal as England triumphed with 11 balls to spare.

Knight made 75 from 86 balls while Cross’ cameo of 19 from 20 deliveries included an audacious ramp shot over the head of Australia’s wicketkeeping captain Alyssa Healey.

Capsey said: “Crossy batted brilliantly – she can bat at three! She came in and played to her strengths.

“We saw her bravery whether it was the ramp or hitting Jonno (Jess Jonassen) down the ground. It was unbelievable to watch.

“She loves the ramp and probably plays it the best out of the whole group. If you don’t see a Kate Cross ramp you might be asking her: ‘Are you OK?'”

Looking ahead to the Ashes’ climax, Capsey added: “We’ve shown a lot of fight in this series that previously we might not have.

“Australia are the most successful cricket team and we knew it was going to be a real challenge.

“We were the underdogs coming into the series but we have put the pressure on the Aussies. They are still a quality side and we go again at the Ageas (in Southampton).”

Australia benefited from the hosts spilling four catches while wicketkeeper Amy Jones missed out on a stumping from a legside wide.

“It would have been really nice to snatch that one at the end when they were under the pump and eight down,” said Australia batter Beth Mooney, who top scored for the tourists with an unbeaten 81.

“We certainly haven’t put out best foot forward at this point and we know we’ve got to give a lot more when it comes to executing our skills.

“I don’t think we’re that far off. Unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on the opportunities to put pressure on England.

“We’ve let ourselves down in the last couple of games, but there’s no complacency.”