By Oliver Brett BBC Sport

Clare Connor and Jane Smit celebrate another Kiwi wicket

When the Women's World Cup begins in South Africa next March, one of the teams who the other sides will want to avoid as much as possible is England.

On Sunday, England scored their third win over the Cup holders New Zealand for an unassailable 3-1 series lead.

The result means that Clare Connor's team could go to South Africa rated second in the world.

And although Australia are virtually unbeatable at present, everything is going according to plan for England.

Speaking to BBC Sport from the team bus as it made its way to the final match of the series at Old Trafford, Connor said the team had done particularly well to win the series at Derby.

"We thought that maybe 197 was about 20 runs short of a good score but we just bowled and fielded superbly.

"We set a very high standard in the first one-dayer at Hove when the fielding was best I've known it.

"When the bowlers feel supported like that it creates a sensational buzz and you feel like you are working as a very close unit. When we take to the field we know we can defend anything over 180."

One of the key elements in the success of the England side was stifling the Kiwi run-machine Rebecca Rolls.

Youngsters Lydia Greenway and Isa Guha have shone

Rolls hit 42 in the Kiwis' sole victory at Northampton but managed only nought, one and 10 in England's three wins.

Connor said: "She can be a very destructive player and has played one or two awesome innings against Australia.

"But if the first 15 or 20 balls she gets are really good she doesn't know how to react to that. All credit to our bowlers."

The success of the youngsters against New Zealand was a major factor.

Connor said: "We've got players like Jenny Gunn, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha and Rosalie Birch who have no fear of failure.

"They know they are here because they are good players and that makes it easier for them to step up and perform.

"Everyone talks about having the right mix of youth and experience - it's a bit of a clich� but we've got that right at the moment."

It seems that there are only positives as far as the future is concerned.

"We go into the World Cup in March with a lot of confidence," said Connor. "We've beaten the Kiwis well in all the games we've won.