Skipper Dean targets series win as England Women host New Zealand at County Ground
England Women will be aiming to wrap up a One Day International series success when they host New Zealand at the County Ground in Northampton on Wednesday (start 1pm).
Charlotte Edwards' side took a 1-0 series lead with a nervy one-wicket win over the White Ferns in Durham on Sunday, and they will win the three-match series if they can make it 2-0 at Wantage Road.
England looked to be on course for a regulation win when they were 110 for three in the 26th over, having restricted New Zealand to 210 at Chester-le-Street.
But a collapse saw them slip to 160 for seven, only for the lower order to fight back and get over the line, with stand-in skipper Charlie Dean (31no) and 18-year-old Tilly Corteen-Coleman, on her England debut, seeing them home with 10 balls to spare.
Earlier, Maia Boucher had hit 59 and Freya Kemp 30, while with the ball the main performers for England were Dean (2-21), Lauren Bell (2-38) and Corteen-Coleman (2-49).
Like England, New Zealand collapsed, losing their last eight wickets for just 63 runs having been 147 for two thanks to 88 from Maddy Green and 55 from skipper Melie Care.
"We didn't make it easy for ourselves with the chase, but it was brilliant to be out there at the end and winning the game," said Dean, standing in for the injured Nat Sciver-Brunt as skipper.
"It feels good when you win games like that where it could go either way, but credit to our bowlers for restricting them and that made it more manageable towards the end when we lost a few wickets.
"It was brilliant to get over the line."
There were three ODI debutants in the England side, with most of the focus landing on teenager Corteen-Coleman, and Dean was impressed with the performance of the youngster.
"Tilly has such a good head on her shoulders, and it is really exciting," said the skipper. "She was fantastic.
"She had to bowl a few hard overs in the powerplay and at the batters who have been set for a while.
"But she really held her nerve with ball and bat, and that is all you can ask.
"It's great where we are in a place where debutants like that are having such a big impact in the game, and that's where England cricket feels like it is."
An ODI series win would be a big boost for England in a huge summer that sees them also take on New Zealand in a T20 series ahead of the T20 World Cup that starts in June.
They also play India later in the summer, and Dean is keen to get this series wrapped up at the County Ground.
"Another win would be fantastic," admitted Dean.
"It wasn't the perfect game on Sunday, so we have lots to work on, and I am looking forward to see if we can put a together a full game as we move to Northampton."