HOVE   -  England women’s cricket team secured a 23-run victory on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in a rain-curtailed second T20I against New Zealand at the County Ground in Hove. The home side took a 2-0 lead over New Zealand in the five-match T20I series, having won the first match by 59 runs. The match was reduced to nine overs per side after a two-hour rain delay. England while batting first scored 89-6, with the help of Alice Capsey’s 15-ball 28, laced with two fours and two sixes. Opening batter Maia Bouchier scored 23 off 15, while Heather Knight added 15 runs to the total. New Zealand’s Lea Tahuhu and Amelia Kerr picked two wickets each. In response, New Zealand lost Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr in the powerplay to slip to 12-2. Charlie Dean dismissed Suzie Bates and Brooke Halliday in her solitary over to reduce New Zealand to 31-4 in 4.5 overs.  Meanwhile, Lauren Bell, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone also took a wicket each before a spell of heavy rain brought a premature end to the contest with the White Ferns ending on 42-5 in 6.4 overs, 23 runs behind the DLS par-score. The two teams will now meet in Canterbury on Thursday for the third T20I.