Dean and debutant Corteen-Coleman steer England to one-wicket win over New Zealand

England’s depth was tested to the edge at Banks Homes Riverside, and Charlie Dean answered with the kind of control that can steady a tour. With the top order gone and the chase wobbling at 149 for 6, Dean and 18-year-old debutant Tilly Corteen-Coleman carried England to a one-wicket win over New Zealand in the first ODI, finishing on 211 for 9 with 10 balls remaining.

Dean finished unbeaten on 31 from 46 balls and was named Player of the Match after also taking 2 for 21. Corteen-Coleman, making her ODI debut, added an unbeaten 3 in the finish and had earlier returned 2 for 49. Their unbroken 10-run stand for the tenth wicket turned a tense chase into a victory that said as much about composure under strain as it did about runs on the board.

The escape act mattered because England had already lost Nat Sciver-Brunt to a calf tear and fielded three ODI debutants, with Corteen-Coleman joined by Jodi Grewcock and Dani Gibson in a makeshift home side. Maia Bouchier offered the only substantial resistance at the top, making 59 from 69 balls, but once she fell with England on 160 for 7, the innings looked vulnerable again. Dean then shepherded the lower order, including a 35-run partnership with Lauren Bell, before Corteen-Coleman stayed with her to see the finish through.

New Zealand had been placed in a winning position by Maddy Green and Melie Kerr. Green top-scored with 88 from 107 balls and Kerr made 55 from 82, the pair sharing a 105-run third-wicket stand that put the visitors in control. But once that partnership ended, England forced an 8 for 63 collapse and closed out New Zealand for 210 in 48.4 overs.

For England, the result was more than an opening win in a three-match series, with the next ODI scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, 2026. It also sharpened the scrutiny on selection and resilience ahead of a packed home summer that includes the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins in England on June 12. Corteen-Coleman had already been named in England’s 15-player World Cup squad on April 28, while Dean’s calm on Sunday reinforced why she remains central to England’s plans when the margins tighten.