England bowler Kate Cross was pleased to mark her New Zealand tour debut with wickets, even if the end result did not go to plan in what has been a "back and forward" series.
England lost the second Twenty20 international by six wickets to New Zealand today at the Cobham Oval in Whangarei, just a day after the White Ferns were beaten at the same venue in the first outing.
With the one-day international series also poised on an edgy 2-1 scoreline in favour of the hosts, and with two to play after next week's third T20, any predictions on final outcomes are being steered well clear of.
As to whether both teams are just too evenly matched or if a lack of consistency is contributing to the topsy-turvy series, Cross told ecb.co.uk: "It's a bit of both.
"They’ve obviously shown improvements since we last saw them but we’ve still not played our best cricket in any format. Both teams haven’t hit their straps yet.
"This whole series, since we’ve been over here, has been very back and forward. We’re obviously going to look to come out pretty hard when we go to Christchurch."
Cross' two wickets included that of the dangerous Rachel Priest, who made 41, and helped England fight back after putting on 122 in their 20 overs.
On her tour debut, which came after Katherine Brunt was rested, Cross said: "I’ve been itching to play since I got here. Katherine’s got some big boots to fill!
"I was a bit nervous coming in to today but the coaches backed me. Just a little disappointed with how I started, but it’s always nice to get a couple of wickets to your name."
Lauren Winfield had earlier top-scored for England with 48, while Heather Knight made a valuable 30 off just 15 balls at the death.
But openers Suzie Bates, who clocked 33, and Priest conspired once again to take the game away from the visitors, with their 64-run partnership helping New Zealand finish the run chase with just four balls left and level the T20 series at 1-1.
Lydia Greenway, who remained not out on 18 off 17 for England, gave credit where it was due and not just to the batting displays of Winfield and Knight.
"Obviously they’ve (New Zealand) batted well on a few occasions," Greenway said. "We can’t take credit away from people batting well.
"The bowlers have got their plans and sometimes they’ve worked and sometimes they go in favour of the New Zealand girls.
"We built ourselves a good platform and we had a good finish with Heather Knight coming in and batting really well.
"It did give us momentum going into our fielding. Lauren Winfield batted really well in our innings, anchoring it for us, and giving the people coming in the freedom to play some good shots.
"It's obviously disappointing not to come away with the win."
As England next travel to Christchurch for their game at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Greenway added: "We want to show the fight that we know we can do. It's a big game for us.
"We want to come away with a series win. We’ll certainly be doing everything we can to make that happen."