Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite put on an unbeaten 170 run stand to ease the WHITE FERNS to victory.

WHITE FERNS impress first up

The WHITE FERNS have made a bright start to the ICC Women’s World Cup, claiming a convincing nine wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Bristol.

Scorecard

After winning the toss and electing to bowl, quick Holly Huddleston claimed figures of 5-35 as Sri Lanka's solid start was pegged back to finish on 188-9 at the end of 50 overs.

Auckland's Holly Huddleston was named Player of the Match in her first ever World Cup game. 2017©IBC/Getty Images
Teenager Amelia Kerr, also playing in her first world tournament, performed well and claimed the first wicket of the innings before finishing with figures of 1-13 from her five overs.

The experienced duo of Suzie Bates and Amy Satterthwaite ensured a stress-free run chase, piling on an unbeaten 170 run stand to reach the target in the 38th over.

Amy Satterthwaite notched 3,000 ODI career runs during her unbeaten knock of 78. 2017©IBC/Getty Images

As the required runs were whittled down, Bates was able to push on for her eighth ODI century which included eleven fours and a six.

Suzie Bates looked back to her best in her run-a-ball century in Bristol. 2017©IBC/Getty Images
The WHITE FERNS now head north to Derby to prepare for their mid-week clash with South Africa.

Key Phase
The last 15 overs of Sri Lanka's batting. They were nicely poised at 141-1 in the 36th over, but the wicket of Atapattu Jayangani for 53 sent them into free-fall. They could only manage another 46 runs while losing eight wickets as the WHITE FERNS went up a gear with the ball and in the field. 

The WHITE FERNS were dynamite in the field to finish the innings, claiming some quality catches and a run-out.

The AK-48 
Amelia Kerr entered the tournament with wraps and the 16-year-old didn't disappoint. She came on to bowl when Sri Lanka were cruising at 49-0 and claimed the first wicket. The youngest player at the tournament bowled with great control and looked the most threatening off all the spinners on show.

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