Capsey stars as England clinch series against New Zealand

England have secured a T20 series victory over New Zealand with two matches to spare thanks to a six-wicket win in the third T20 international in Canterbury.

Having won the first two matches, they sealed the best-of-five contest by going 3-0 up after chasing down the target of 142.

Alice Capsey was the star, hitting an unbeaten 67 off 60 balls, with Freya Kemp getting the job done with a flurry of late boundaries.

Spinner Sophie Ecclestone earlier did the damage with the ball, taking 4-25 from her four overs.

England's target would have been far less had it not been for some late-innings hitting from New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine, who made an unbeaten 58.

Devine said she was proud of the fight her side showed to take the match into the final over after being comfortably beaten in the first two T20Is.

"At the start of the day we asked the group for a bit of fight, a bit of ticker, and I thought today we showed that," she said.

"We were a lot more competitive and to think that we didn't do so well with the bat but to scrap our way 140 and then to take it to the last over, it was a hell of a lot more competitive than the last couple of games.

"As a group you can't ask for much more than that."

It needed Devine's intervention after England stifled the White Ferns, having struck in the first over when Lauren Filer dismissed Georgia Plimmer for a golden duck. 

Opener Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr repaired the damage with a stand of 57, Bates becoming Ecclestone's first victim for a 27-ball 38. 

Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn kept it tight through the middle of the innings. 

But Devine made the target competitive with some late hitting, whacking seven fours and two sixes in her 42-ball knock. 

England's response got off to the worst possible start as Maia Boucher was trapped leg before off the first ball, bringing former Melbourne Star Capsey to the crease. 

The No.3 put on 66 with Sophia Dunkley, who hit 35 off 26 before being bowled by Fran Jonas. 

Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt also went first ball but Capsey's half-century kept England on course.

It was still in the balance as the hosts needed 17 off 12 balls, but Kemp whacked three fours to ensure victory with four balls to spare.

Capsey, who played for the Melbourne Stars for the past two Weber WBBL seasons, is enjoying her new position in the batting order and feels it gets the best out of her.

She said in the post-match presentation: "I love batting number three in T20, you get the best of both worlds, you get the Powerplay and you get a bit of time in the middle as well.

"I am really loving batting at three, I feel like I have got a good understanding of my game.

"At the end of the day I just want to perform for England so I was happy to get a performance in today."