England’s batting capitulated and with it their hopes of salvaging a bronze medal from cricket’s Commonwealth Games debut went up in smoke after defeat to New Zealand at Edgbaston.
Stand-in skipper Nat Sciver, deputising for the injured Heather Knight, admitted her side did not deserve to win after being humbled by eight wickets.
The hangover from an agonising four-run semi-final loss to India on Saturday still loomed large as England crawled to 110-9 from their 20 overs with Sciver’s 27 and 26 for wicket-keeper Amy Jones the only contributions of note.
Sciver’s counterpart Sarah Devine stole the show for the White Ferns, taking 2-11 with the ball before bludgeoning an unbeaten 51 off 40 to help her side onto the podium barely 12 hours after their own demoralising defeat to Australia.
While it was a Devine day for New Zealand, Sciver’s stiff Sunday was encapsulated by her drop off the final ball of the game which allowed her opposite number to take New Zealand to bronze.
After crumbling to 63-6, England never looked like turning it into the competitive contest this home crowd of nearly 17,000 deserved.
In fact, they barely got value for money as New Zealand knocked off the runs with 49 balls to spare, one ball more than it took England to hammer them in the group stage on Thursday, a result well and truly avenged here.
Sciver said: “It’s very disappointing but the way that we played today we didn’t deserve to get a medal so it’s easier to take than yesterday.”
Her wife Katherine Brunt, 37, refused to confirm if this would be her last game in an England shirt but wiped away tears knowing there would be no second chance for her at a Commonwealth medal.
“I don’t know. I need to reflect and get up and play the Hundred in two days which is savage but that’s sport. I need to see where I’m at and what my next goal is,” said Brunt, who bowled three wides in her second over to set a sloppy tone in the field.
“It felt like the actual whole country was behind us and we are sad we let them down. We couldn’t quite do it.
“I’m gutted, we are a lot better than that. We are a finalist team. It’s my one and only shot at that and I’m taking it quite badly. I’m exhausted, I gave it everything I’ve got.”
England elected to bat but lost dangerous duo Danni Wyatt and Alice Capsey inside three overs before Sciver hit four boundaries to drag her side to 41-2 at the end of the powerplay.
She sent another one to the rope but then had her stumps splayed by Devine, departing for 27 from 19 balls.
Opener Sophia Dunkley, selected for the Games ahead of Tammy Beaumont to give England a flyer at the top, never got going and went for eight off 14 when she was bowled after dancing past Amelia Kerr’s off-spinning delivery.
Maia Bouchier and Brunt soon followed for four as both fell victim to slow left-armer Fran Jonas.
Hometown hero Jones and Sophie Ecclestone launched the rearguard action, putting on 37 from 38 balls to belatedly bring up England’s 100 in the 18th over.
Criminally they then lost three wickets in five balls without adding to the score as Ecclestone, whose 18 included the only six of the innings off Lea Tahuhu, had her off stump knocked back by Devine’s cutter before taking her frustration out on a chair outside the changing room.
Hayley Jensen, who recorded the best figures of 3- 24, bowled Jones, and fellow Birmingham girl Issy Wong for a duck before England scraped to a small total that looked even more insignificant when New Zealand came out all guns blazing.
Devine and Suzie Bates’ opening stand of 54 came at a scintillating strike rate of 200 and even though Sciver removed Bates and Freya Kemp dismissed Georgia Plimmer for four, they got home at a canter as Amelia Kerr supported her skipper with 21 not out from 15 balls.
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