New Zealand’s middle order defied an early Lauren Bell onslaught and turned ghastly conditions to their advantage to draw the rain-hit ODI series against England 1-1 with a 17-run victory on the DLS method in the third and final game in Cardiff.

Key partnerships between Maddy Green and Nrooke Halliday, then Halliday and Izzy Gaze put the White Ferns ahead of the required rate when the rain which had hampered play all day long set in.

The hosts posted an unremarkable 181 for 7 from 33 overs in a rain-affected inning, with Alice Capsey’s  run-a-ball 45 and Amy Jones’s 27 off 21 the only highlights.

But with New Zealand initially chasing an adjusted requirement of 184 from 33 overs, Bell ran through their top order in an extraordinary start, taking three wickets for one run in the space of eight balls to leave the tourists 40 for 3 inside seven overs.

Worryingly for Bell and England with a home T20 World Cup less than a month away, she was struck hard on her left, non-bowling hand, which was already strapped, in her follow through by a sharp drive from Green. Bell did, however, manage to complete the over before being taken out of the attack and she remained in the field throughout the New Zealand innings, returning to bowl shortly before play was called off for good.

Suzie Bates was put down on 12 by Heather Knight at slip off Bell but there was to be no fairy tale in Bates’ 184th and final ODI as Bell pinned her low on the front pad with the next ball.

Bell struck again in her following over to snare the big wicket of New Zealand captain Melie Kerr, lbw once more with one that swung on middle and leg.

In trouble at 27 for 2, New Zealand turned to Green, their leading run-scorer in the first match in Durham with 88, and 22-year-old Georgia Plimmer, who carries their hopes for a future beyond Bates, joining fellow great Sophie Devine in retirement after next month’s T20 World Cup.

But Plimmer’s chance to step up would have to wait after she played across the line of yet another pinpoint accurate Bell delivery and was hit on the front pad in line with leg stump to give Bell her third lbw dismissal and put England firmly in control.

Green shared a 57-run partnership with Halliday but, with rain on the way, she was bowled middle stump by a Dani Gibson nip-backer for 37.

With rain falling and New Zealand still in control, Halliday and Gaze combined for an unbroken stand of 44 off 43 balls for the fifth wicket.

Capsey’s innings was her first for England since the 50-over World Cup last October as she missed the first match of this series through illness and had her intended return in the second game Northampton last Wednesday ruined by rain.

Her knock in challenging conditions lifted her side from a precarious position at 66 for 3 but her inability to convert to a more significant contribution underscored a problem throughout the England batting innings.

Jones’s cameo gave them late momentum and Charlie Dean was still standing at the end with 16 off as many balls but, as in the first match in Durham, the opening partnership of Emma Lamb and Jodi Grewcock failed to fire, while Heather Knight was England’s next-best after Capsey with 28 off 42.

After rain pushed the start time back by an hour and New Zealand skipper Melie Kerr put the home side in to bat, Bree Illing – the pick of their bowlers – struck with her third ball, the ninth of the match.

Illing had Lamb caught behind off a thick outside edge to continue a lean run in an England shirt going back to her half-century against India in Durham last July. In seven innings since, Lamb has failed to pass the 15 she scored in the first match of this series, despite two half-centuries for Lancashire from three games in the domestic One-Day Cup.

Grewcock was yet to score when she survived a feathered edge to wicketkeeper Gaze off Jess Kerr shortly after and no one in the White Ferns’ camp appealed. She only managed 10, however, before her attempted drive off Rosemary Mair was keenly taken by a diving Gaze.

Knight had been building nicely with five boundaries but when she was caught behind off Illing in the midst of a significant rain shower, it fell to Capsey and Freya Kemp to take up England’s task with the umpires steadfast in their determination to stay on the field.

With the conditions overhead and underfoot worsening, Kemp slid over while turning for a second run as Capsey swung Melie Kerr to the fine leg boundary. They persisted for four more balls and a drinks break out in the downpour before play was finally halted for more than two hours with the hosts 77 for 3.

Kemp hadn’t looked settled throughout a boundary-less 20 off 28 balls, but she played her part in a 57-run stand off 58 balls for the fourth wicket before sending a Melie Kerr legbreak high into the air towards long-on, where Mair ran in to take a well-timed catch.

Just four balls later, Mair removed Capsey, chipping tamely to cover. Gibson fell cheaply backing away to Nensi Patel, who hit the top of middle stump and Jones miscued a slog-sweep to backward square leg to end her knock.

Brief scores:
New Zealand Women 141 for 4 in 24.4 overs (Maddy Green 37, Brooke Halliday 42*, Issabella Gaze 22*; Lauren  Bell 3-29) beat England Women 181 for 7 in 33 overs (Alice Capsey 45; Bree  Illing 2-29, Rosemary Mair 2-41) by 17 runs (DLS method Target: 125 runs from 24.4 overs)

[Cricinfo]