Simon Burnton’s report:
Summing up
So, once again, England lose in New Zealand before most of their fans back home have even woken up, skittled cheaply for a second game in a row against a New Zealand who remain a serious ODI force, particularly at home, and for whom Blair Tickner was excellent on his return to the side.
Not a serious ODI force, at present, are England, who for all their occasional record-breaking fireworks are struggling to pace an innings with the bat and to excel consistently. Probably because they don’t play 50-over cricket consistently. To think that a decade ago this was the form of the game English men’s cricket prioritised.
Anyway, Simon Burnton’s report from Hamilton will be up shortly and then English women’s cricket is in the spotlight next, with the big World Cup semi-final against South Africa. So take a quick power nap and rejoin the site then. Thanks for your company. Bye.
Less chuffed is Harry Brook: “It’s disappoing to say the least,” says the England captain. We’ve got to come back stonger and better on Sunday, dig in and get a win against these boys who are second in the rankings and played well. The wickets here are like England’s but we need to start getting through 15-20 balls and cash in from there.
“We want to get out there and entertain the world and the crowds and it’s just not been coming off in the last couple of games. It was only a few games ago that we got a record score against South Africa so we’re not far off. We’ll continue to try to entertain and be aggressive but dig deeper and hope it comes off.”
The captain adds a bit of praise for Archer, England’s best performer today. “He’s an awesome bowler, everyone loves watching him, for him to take 3 for 23 is amazing and it’s great to have him back.
Brooks’s counterpart, Mitchell Santner, meanwhile hails a “great game, which started up front wth the ball – the boys were exceptional, first thing, and credit to [Tickner], he’s a world class bowler, and then with the bat I thought Kane and Rach did a hell of a job toget us through that powerplay. And [Daryl] Mitchell loves playing in these situations.”
The player of the match is Blair Tickner, whose four-wicket haul defined the match. “I just thought I’d come to run some drinks,” he says at the post-match presentation. “Last night I was just having a barbecue at Josh Clarke’s house when I got the call but it’s awesome to play. Taking early wickets always helps and I just continued the job off.”
Simon Burnton had more on Tickner yesterday:
So, England’s 50-over travails continue and New Zealand take the series after another substandard batting display from England, who bowled decently – especially Archer – but just didn’t have enough runs in the bank. The in-form Mitchell and Santner guided the Black Caps home in style.
Meanwhile, Danny B mails in with more Bracewell chat: “I cannot believe that no one has raised the wonderful Melanie Bracewell! She is a great Kiwi comedian who is obviously closely related to the Bracewell clan and demonstrated some cricket skills on Taskmaster NZ but unless that counts as an internationally televised sporting content then surely she is the first non-sporting Bracewell.”
New Zealand beat England by five wickets
33.1 overs: New Zealand 177-5 (Mitchell 56, Santner 34). Target 176. And we’re done. Mitchell slashes hard at the first ball of Carse’s over, and the thick outside edge races away to the third man boundary for four. The match and series are theirs.
England had a glimmer of hope 20 minutes ago, but this pair have made short work of snuffing that out.
33rd over: New Zealand 173-5 (Mitchell 51, Santner 34). Target 176. Overton replaces Rashid, to no avail, as Santner sends his first, short, ball high through the offside for four. He then flatbats an inelegant hack high over extra cover for two, and concludes the over with another controlled slog over long off for SIX Santner has 34 from 17,
32nd over: New Zealand 158-5 (Mitchell 51, Santner 21). Target 176. With a required run rate of well below two an over, the hosts don’t need to do anything daft but if there are SIXes to be had, why not take them, as Santner does when simply helping a short ball from Carse high round the corner and onto the grass banks. Santner is playing brilliantly, and then essays a controlled, placed pull for four, turning Carse’s pace against him. The rattled bowler then sends down a no-ball, and Santner cracks the free hit away for one. Only 18 more needed.
31st over: New Zealand 146-5 (Mitchell 51, Santner 10). Target 176. An over of carnage that might just have taken the game away from England. Santner, new to the crease, isn’t messing about and smacks the best SIX of the innings high down the ground off Rashid. The captain adds another single before Mitchell joins the party with a similarly emphatic SIX off Rashid’s carrom ball – hammered over long-off, before a reverse-swept four brings up another timely 50 for Mitchell.
All of which means New Zealand go to drinks with their tails back up.
30th over: New Zealand 129-5 (Mitchell 41, Santner 3). Target 176. Carse returns to the attack, some singles are taken, but there’s still a decent amount in this pitch for pace bowlers
Some more famous-Bracewell discourse, from Ewan Glenton: “You’ve apparently forgotten Paul Bracewell, who played football for England. The question perhaps is are there any famous Bracewells who haven’t played international sport?”
Good spot – that Everton mid-80s team were magnnificent.
29th over: New Zealand 125-5 (Mitchell 39, Santner 1). Target 176. With Archer bowled through, and Rashid in his seventh, will England run out of key bowlers if they can make this go deep? Anyway, Mitchell seeks to render such questions irrelevant with a controlled sweep for four, and NZ can enjoy their best over for a bit.
Wicket! Bracewell c Buttler b Archer 5, NZ 118-5
28th over: New Zealand 118-5 (Mitchell 33). Target 176. Archer begins his final over by getting away with a full beamer that looks an above-waist no-ball but it’s not called. Bracewell then eases some of the pressure by punting a low attempted yorker down the ground for four but Archer follows with three dots and then ends a superb spell by snaring Bracewell, gloving down leg. He ends with 3 for 23 from his 10 and he’s kept England in the game.
27th over: New Zealand 114-4 (Mitchell 33, Bracewell 1). Target 176. England have their box office bowlers on at both ends, pace and spin, and it’s halted the runs. Rashid bamboozles Bracewell with a ripper low outside off that the batter plays and misses at. The first run in 20 deliveries arrives when Bracewell hacks down the ground for one, but this is excellent bowling now, albeit probably in a losing cause.
26th over: New Zealand 112-4 (Mitchell 33, Bracewell 0.) Target 176. Archer continues to look threatening, finding lift and movement, and Mitchell opts for caution, granting the bowler his third maiden.
25th over: New Zealand 112-4 (Mitchell 33, Bracewell 0.) Target 176. Rashid cleverly dismisses Latham with a looping full ball that the batter makes a hash of, bringing out another left-hander in Bracewell. It’s a wicket maiden and England have a small slither of hope. Rashid is now joint second on England’s ODI wicket takers list.
Here’s a thing: have there been any famous Bracewells who haven’t played cricket for New Zealand.
Wicket! Latham lbw b Rashid 2, NZ 112-4
Ooh. A misjudgment from Latham, who tries to reverse sweep a teasing looping full one from Rashid, misses and is hit low on the pad bang in front. No appeal considered.
24th over: New Zealand 112-3 (Mitchell 33, Latham 2) Target 176. Latham scurries through for a quick single, almost as if he wanted to get off strike against Archer. Mitchell is cool with that prospect though, and directs an edge through the vacant slip cordon for four.
23rd over: New Zealand 107-3 (Mitchell 29, Latham 1) Target 176. Mitchell is equal to a dart fired down leg by Rashid and advances to turn it away for a single. Latham doesn’t look entirely comfortable against the spinner but does manage to get off the mark with a glided single. Two from the over, so England have stemmed the flow, for now
22nd over: New Zealand 105-3 (Mitchell 28, Latham 0) Target 176. Archer, bowling from the opposite end to that from which he begun the innings, sends down three dots then strikes when Ravindra picks out Rashid in the deep. And Archer has his second wicket maiden of the innings. An effortless leader of the attack pack.
Wicket! Ravindra c Rashid b Archer 54, NZ 105-3
From nowhere, Ravindra holes out with a pull to deep square leg where Rashid just has to watch it into his hands.
21st over: New Zealand 105-2 (Ravindra 54, Mitchell 28) Target 176. Ravindra sweeps Rashid for four, then thumps him down the ground for another that brings up a composed 50. The hundred comes up too for NZ and England’s need for wickets is now in the desperation zone. Rashid hasn’t quite been at it on this tour.
20th over: New Zealand 94-2 (Ravindra 44, Mitchell 27) Target 176. Dire necessity prompts the return of Archer to the attack. Ravindra is unfazed, cracking a too-full delivery to the long off boundary for four.
“I’m currently going around the Hanoke open air museum in Japan (think Yorkshire sculpture park – but in Japan),” writes Paul O’Neill, “so my grasp of cricket start times is confused to say the least. Should we be concerned about the form of England’s top order batters, given that most of them will be facing Starc, Lyon et al in Perth in a few weeks’ time?”
We should, up to a point, but it is a different form of cricket and, in general, England are paying the price here for the complete trashing of domestic 50-over cricket.
18th over: New Zealand 88-2 (Ravindra 39, Mitchell 26) Target 176. Ravindra mis-hits an attempted slog off Rashid but still grubs a single, as the steady accumulation continues. The hosts are Bon Jovi-ing it now (halfway there) and this’ll be done before anyone else in my household is up.
17th over: New Zealand 83-2 (Ravindra 37, Mitchell 23) Target 176. Mitchell has looked confident from the off, as he usually does, but Overton’s still getting the odd one to do something, and he beats Ravindra with a seaming beauty outside off but then undoes his good work with an overpitched delivery that’s creamed back past him for four.
“Did you notice this?” write M Varadarajan from Aluva in India. “Curious figures after Archer’s wide to begin second over were 1.1.1.1.!!! First over was a maiden with 1 wicket then it was 1.1.0.1. After bowling a wide to begin second over it became 1.1.1.1. Has it ever happened before, I wonder”
Almost certainly you’d think, but the beauty of cricket stats is it’s perfectly plausible that it hasn’t.
17th over: New Zealand 75-2 (Ravindra 31, Mitchell 21) Target 176. Spin now, with Rashid, and England needing some of his wizardry desperately, but the batters continue to work the gaps for respectful singles.
16th over: New Zealand 71-2 (Ravindra 29, Mitchell 19) Target 176. New Zealand only need to go at a little more than three an over so why Mitchell opted for a dab and run single is a bit of a mystery, but Overton’s rolled run-out attempt is off target. Ravindra then suddenly injects some aggression, with a brutal pull for SIX that threatens people and picnics on the grass banks.
15th over: New Zealand 63-2 (Ravindra 22, Mitchell 18) Target 176. The field is more scattered now as we near the end of the powerplay, and we could be in for some old-school middle-overs meandering. Two singles are followed by an edge from Mitchell high through the now-vacated slip area. If Mitchell didn’t mean that, he certainly meant the next – a high, pose-holding lofted straight drive for SIX. Low risk but aggressive. Perfect.
So they take drinks with New Zealand fairly in control of this chase after a tricky start.
14th over: New Zealand 51-2 (Ravindra 21, Mitchell 7) Target 176. The new ball may be starting to soften but Overton’s managing to find a bit of vim here and there, sharply beating Ravindra with a lifter outside off, as the hosts bring up their 50.
12th over: New Zealand 43-2 (Ravindra 19, Mitchell 1) Target 176. Overton replaces Carse and is appealing for a caught behind straight away, a possible strangle down leg, but Williamson’s not nicked it, and never looked like he had to my mind. But England burn a review on it, possibly on Joe Root’s advice.These batters are beginning to work their ones and twos but then, suddenly, Williamson is castled, and England are back in the game.
Wicket! Williamson b Overton 20, New Zealand 42-2
Just as they were getting on top, New Zealand lose Williamson beaten by an in-jagging cutter.
11th over: New Zealand 40-1 (Ravindra 18, Williamson 20) Target 176. A change of bowling, as Curran replaces Archer. His second ball is cracked through extra cover for four by Ravindra but Curran comes back brilliantly with a scrambled-seam inswinger that Ravindra plays all around, but another productive NZ over concludes with a textbook straight drive for four.
