Knight and Lewis will be pleased with England's resilience in the field, despite the pressure put on them by the returning Kerr.
Glenn's superb throw resulted in an early run out of Bernadine Bezuidenhout. Bates' dismissal was a key moment, preventing New Zealand from getting away in the powerplay after some wayward bowling from the seamers.
Dean finished with figures of 2-28, trapping White Ferns captain Sophie Devine lbw. This allowed England to apply pressure through their spin trio of Dean, Glenn, and Smith, ultimately increasing the required run-rate.
Knight's captaincy was also commendable, with fielders positioned 10-15 yards off the boundary rope to limit the number of twos available.
Knight's return to Gibson and Bell allowed them to use slower balls effectively. Knight had Kerr caught at short fine leg as the all-rounder looked to ramp to the boundary.
England's bowling depth is improving with the return of Sophie Ecclestone and the availability of Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, and Kate Cross.