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Kerr's brilliant series with the bat one of the best ever

Amelia Kerr's unbeaten ton helped the White Ferns to victory.

Amelia Kerr's superb performances with the bat have guided the White Ferns to a 4-1 series win over cricketing powerhouses India on the eve of the women's World Cup.

The 21-year-old scored 353 runs in the five-game series, including one century and three 50s, and an average of 117.66. She also struck at a rapid strike rate of 97 and was the anchor of the White Ferns top order that had otherwise looked a touch frail.

Unsurprisingly, she was named player-of-the-series for her efforts.

"For me it's about carrying on this form into the World Cup," Kerr said.

"As a group we are heading in the right direction, we have a lot of confidence - I think we have not fielded as well as we could've in this series, if we do so, we could've saved 20-30 runs."

Kerr's level of production doesn't come around often. Only a handful of women have ever produced such numbers in a five-game series in ODI cricket.

At the top of the tree sits fellow White Fern Amy Satterthwaite, who annihilated Pakistan in late 2016, scoring 393 runs, including three centuries in four innings, as the White Ferns romped to a 5-0 series victory.

Aside from Satterthwaite, only West Indies' Stafanie Taylor (390) and England's Charlotte Edwards (380) have ever scored more runs in a five-game series than Kerr's 353 against India.

It's just what the White Ferns needed from their young superstar too.

Before this series, the side had not won an ODI series since they beat Ireland in 2018. Kerr played a part in that series too, smashing an unbeaten 232, the highest score ever by a batter in women's ODI cricket.

The White Ferns now head into a home World Cup full of confidence and will be hoping their young talisman can take them to the top of the world for the first time in a generation.

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