New Zealand women rewrite the record books

New Zealand's women achieved their second highest score in One-Day Internationals when swamping the Netherlands in the second match of their three-match series in Amstelveen today.

The TelstraClear White Ferns scored 335/4 when batting first and then dismissed the Netherlands for 87.

The best score in the side's history was their 455/5 against the hapless Pakistan women's team which was beaten by 408 runs during their 1996/97 tour. Today's victory by 248 runs was the fifth greatest margin of runs in all women's ODIs.

An outstanding start was made to today's game when Rebecca Rolls and Kate Pulford put on 118 runs for the first wicket. Rolls was first dismissed for 54 scored off 62 balls while Pulford was third batsman out when the score was 223. She had scored 95 runs off 78 balls.

It was a significant innings for Pulford, easily her highest score in the 11 ODIs she has played. Her previous best was the 36 she scored in yesterday's first game against the Netherlands, and before that 27 against Australia in Melbourne in 1999/00.

Kathryn Ramel moved up the order and batted No 3 to score 37 off 43 balls while Fiona Fraser, who was making her ODI debut after a long wait caused by the cancellation of the tour to India, and a back injury which kept her out of the Rosebowl series this summer, scored 54 off 71 balls.

It was the second highest score on debut by a New Zealander, the best being achieved by Lynda Powell (now Prichard), who scored 70 in New Zealand's first ODI, against Trinidad and Tobago in 1973. And it is only the third occasion a New Zealand woman has scored a half century on debut. Penny Kinsella scored 53 on her debut.

While captain Emily Drumm dropped down the order to give others a chance for some batting, she still managed to achieve the fastest innings, for a score over 25, by a New Zealand women's player. She was 48 not out off 27 balls, and in that total hit only two boundaries.

Sara McGlashan, who was also making her ODI debut, was run out for 11.

The Netherlands lasted only 35 overs against the New Zealand attack, whose greatest concern was the 16 extras conceded in the shape of wides and no-balls.

Rachel Pullar took two wickets for three runs from her five overs while Aimee Mason took four for 26 from eight overs. The other wicket-taker was Anna Corbin who took three for 13 from five overs. Mason and Corbin achieved their best figures for New Zealand.

The White Ferns now have a day off before completing the series on Saturday (NZ time).