Kent captain Charlotte Edwards and Laura Marsh led England women to 48-run victory over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 of the series.

England posted 166-7 from their 20 overs and bowled New Zealand White Ferns out for 118 with four balls to spare.

Edwards and Marsh put on a lightening 82-run partnership which saw Marsh top score hitting 48 off 29 balls, finding the boundary 11 times and Edwards clearing the ropes on two occasions. Marsh was finally bowled in the ninth over, but Edwards continued looking for boundaries before falling to an impressive diving catch by Frances MacKay in the covers.

Sarah Taylor continued to keep the score pushing on and brought up 100 runs off 69 balls for England with Lydia Greenway who hit a quick 13 before being bowled by Lucy Doolan.

After the rate steadied, Arran Brindle looked for a boundary but fell short and was caught by Liz Perry, putting England on 135-4. With four overs remaining and six wickets in hand, the tourists looked to accelerate as Jenny Gunn came to the crease. Gunn hit 11 from the eight balls she faced before Amy Satterthwaite took an outstretched catch that was clearing the boundary.

England continued to play for boundaries and after another solid contribution Taylor(45) was caught by Perry in the final over which also saw Kent’s Tamsin Beaumont run-out on the final ball.

The hosts gave New Zealand little chance to attack the target as Anya Shrubsole bowled Frances MacKay in the second over. After settling the White Ferns and chipping away at the target Sara McGlashan was bowled by Marsh, leaving New Zealand on 58-2.

Danielle Wyatt returned in the fifteenth over to first have Satterthwaite caught at long-off by Shrubsole, then on her following delivery Susie Bates was stumped by Taylor leaving the host on 89-4.

England piled on the pressure and New Zealand collapsed as Danielle Hazell bowled Perry and then trapped Perkins lbw in the sixteenth over. Wyatt finished with figures of 3-24 and Marsh and Shrubsole returned at the death to claim a second scalp each as New Zealand were bowled out for 118.

Player of the match Laura Marsh said: “It’s been a great start to the series and to go two nil up is fantastic.

“It was a great track to bat on and I enjoyed being able to put runs on the board with Charlotte. The outfield was quick and the pitch was good, so it was important that we bowled to the right areas to defend our total.

“It was another great team performance today and we’ll be looking to continue this up in Auckland.”

The third T20 of the series will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on Wednesday.

Highlights of all matches can be viewed on the New Zealand Cricket website

England women match schedule

Wednesday 22 February, 3rd T20 Eden Park, Auckland 1445 (0145 GMT) (before Black Caps v South Africa)

Saturday 25 February, 4th T20 Queens Park, Invercargill 1400 (0100 GMT)

Sunday 26 February, 5th T20 Queens Park, Invercargill 1400 (0100 GMT)

Thursday 1 March, 1st ODI Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University1030 (2130 Wed 29th Feb GMT)

Saturday 3 March, 2nd ODI Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University 1030 (2130 Fri 2nd March GMT)

Monday 5 March, 3rd ODI Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln University 1030 (2130 Sun 4th March GMT)