Heather Knight admits England women were beaten by the better side after suffering a 67-run loss to New Zealand in the first one-day international.
Despite winning the toss, England were always up against it after a superb opening partnership of 157 between Suzie Bates and Rachel Priest at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Speaking exclusively to ecb.co.uk, Knight said:“(It’s) not the start we were looking for. We let them get away with the ball, Suzie Bates batted very well up front and we pulled it back nicely in the middle.
“I thought Becky Grundy bowled brilliantly on her one-day debut but it was just not good enough in all departments today.”
Knight, who took career-best figures of 4-47, and debutant Grundy, a fellow spinner, helped to restrict the hosts to 240 for eight, but the reply faltered with some poor calling between the wickets resulting in three run-outs.
Reflecting on the batting performance, Knight said: “It’s criminal to have three run-outs in an international game.
“It’s not good enough and it’s something we’ll look at and look to improve for the next game.
“We never really got going with the bat, we got tied a little bit down in the middle and credit to New Zealand they bowled very well, but it’s about us having an answer to that and we didn’t really do that today until the tail-end came in and showed us how to play.”
Knight did however praise what was a fantastic innings from White Ferns captain Bates, who hit 106 before she was eventually dismissed by Danielle Hazell.
The vice-captain said: “She’s been a performer for them for many years and she batted very well again today. We’ll have to have our plans in place for her for the next game and it’s about executing those, which we probably didn’t today.”
One of the encouraging signs for England was the emergence of Grundy. The 24-year-old slow left-armer was handed her ODI debut and returned figures of 1-35 to check New Zealand's progress.
Reflecting on a bitter-sweet day, Grundy told ecb.co.uk: “It was really good. Obviously there were a few nerves before we started but it was good to get out there and get the ball in my hand as well but it was disappointing to lose first up.”
She revealed she had extra support from the stands, after her parents flew over to see her make her bow.
“They were making a bit of noise on the sidelines,” she added. “It’s obviously a good opportunity for them to come out here and experience New Zealand but yeah they’re happy I made my debut.”