Key events
13th over: England 89-4 (Banton 20, Curran 17) Mitch Santner returns and drags down a ‘hit me’ ball, Sam Curran duly obliges and swats behind square for four. Santner then shows all his wiles by dotting up the rest of the over. Just five off it, not enough for England.
12th over: England 84-4 (Banton 20, Curran 12) McConchie is a guilty man on the leg side boundary as he fumbles a Banton slog sweep for four. Banton then uses his long levers to lift Phillips back over his head for four more off the last ball, England just about hanging in there.
11th over: England 73-4 (Banton 11, Curran 10) Sam Curran cuts Ravindra for England’s first four in 16 balls, an epoch in T20 cricket.
10th over: England 64-4 (Banton 9, Curran 3) Banton survives a big shout for lbw by getting a graze on the ball before it hit his pad. New Zealand are constricting England though, just five runs off the over. Ten overs to go and 96 needed from 60 balls.
9th over: England 59-4 (Banton 6, Curran 1) Bethell looked dismayed after Phillips pulled off that catch, he didn’t think he was in danger at all… until he was. Excellent from New Zealand, just three singles and the wicket off Ravindra’s first over. As Mike Atherton says on the tv comms, Mitch Santner has England exactly where he wants them.
WICKET! Jacob Bethell c Phillips b Ravindra 21 (England 58-4)
Brilliant catch from Glenn Phillips! He dashes in and dives forward full length, plucking the ball off the turf to get rid of Bethell. Those are the hardest catches to take and he has nailed it. England in trouble.
8th over: England 56-3 (Bethell 20, Banton 5) Tom Banton joins Bethell and is into his work with a hard sweep for four. Santner is saving his couple of overs for later after the departure of Harry Brook. England won’t take a backward step but it is hard work against spin on this wicket.
WICKET! Harry Brook c Mitchell b Phillips 26 (England 50-3)
Big wicket! Harry Brook holes out to mid off and Glenn Phillips knows how important that scalp is, he hares off in celebration.
7th over: England 50-2 (Brook 26, Bethell 19) Excellent over from Santner, just three singles off it.
6th over: England 47-2 (Brook 24, Bethell 18) More spin now, Cole McConchie into the attack. Brook steps away and lifts him over cover for four. That is very much his area against pace or spin. A single brings Bethell on strike, he cuts for four off the final ball. England fighting back after a nightmare start to their innings.
5th over: England 34-2 (Brook 15, Bethell 14) Mitchell Santner into the attack and it is a different game already. The spinner is a master of varying his speeds, just two runs off the first five balls. Shot! Jacob Bethell unfurls a reverse-sweep and threads it perfectly for four.
4th over: England 28-2 (Brook 15, Bethell 9) Bethell swats Ferguson’s first ball down the ground for four. He clips for a single off the next. Brook on strike and you can’t take your eyes off it. Brook stands tall and crunches four through the off side. Ferguson responds with a toe crushing yorker. It’s a brilliant contest at the moment, every ball an event.
3rd over: England 19-2 (Brook 11, Bethell 4) Brook attempts to reverse scoop Henry and wears it in the chest. He got that all wrong, and the ball ended up hitting him with a horribly dull thud. Henry then beats England’s captain with a doozy that nips away. Brook steps to leg and flays away for four. Great viewing this. Oh my days! What a shot from Harry Brook! He steps to the off side and with a flick of the wrist sends the ball soaring into the scoreboard for SIX. Sublime and ridiculous from Harry Brook. What else did you expect?
2nd over: England 8-2 (Brook 1, Bethell 4) Can Brook and Bethell rescue England? A scampered leg bye gets Bethell off strike. Jos Buttler really did cut a disconsolate figure as he hauled his bones off the pitch. New Zealand will see these early wickets as bonuses, the real threat will be with spin shortly. Gulp.
Brook and Bethell both survive spawny inside edges, the latter picks up four from his. New Zealand are all over England like inexpensive tailoring.
WICKET! Jos Buttler c Seifert b Ferguson 0 (England 2-2)
Buttler is gone for a duck! He fences at a shorter ball from Lockie Ferguson and nicks behind for Seifert to gobble the catch. England in trouble.
1st over: England 2-1 (Buttler 0, Brook 0) Matt Henry has a flight to catch in about four hours, he’s flying home for the birth of his second child. He’s making it count on the field before he departs, landing it on a hankie and nibbling it both ways. Just two runs and the wicket of Salt off the first over. Harry Brook joins Jos Buttler in the middle. Here we go…
WICKET! Phil Salt c Seifert b Henry 2 (England 2-1)
Matt Henry is right on the button from the off. Salt edges for a couple through the slips and then is beaten comprehensively by an outswinger next ball.
Gone! Henry finds the edge and Salt is on his way! What a start from the seamer.
Righto, here come Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. Matt Henry is limbering up for New Zealand, as Nasser Hussain says on the commentary, he is not the bowler you want to face when you are out of form.
New Zealand make 159-7
That helps the cause. Kiwi captain Mitch Santner slams the final ball of the innings for SIX over long off to give his side a final shot in the arm. It will be a tricky chase for England on a spinning surface but the outfield is lightning fast and they bat deep.
New Zealand need to win to make the semi-finals, they might’ve hoped for a few more runs on the board when they were 97-3 in the 11th over but they know how to get the job done on this wicket.
Back for the chase soon and it’ll be all eyes on Jos Buttler, can he hit his away out of the doldrums?
WICKET! Cole McConchie b Rehan Ahmed 14 (New Zealand 153-7)
Lovely ball from Rehan Ahmed, defeats Cole McConchie in the air and splatters the stumps with three balls left in the innings.
19th over: New Zealand 147-6 (Santner 2, McConchie 10) A brilliant last over from Adil Rashid, the New Zealand batters can’t get him away and there are just five runs taken from the penultimate over. Rashid finishes with 2-28 from his four overs and England have put the skids on the Kiwis. One more to go.
18th over: New Zealand 142-6 (Santner 2, McConchie 6) Cole McConchie joins Santner, New Zealand in real danger of petering out in Colombo. As I type that McConchie sweeps Jacks powerfully for four! Two overs to go.
WICKET! Glenn Phillips b Jacks 39 (New Zealand 135-6)
Phillips is bowled! Flighted, missed, stumps broken.
17th over: New Zealand 135-5 (Phillips 39, Santner 1) Captain Santner joins Glenn Phillips in the middle with New Zealand stuttering at the end of their innings.
WICKET! Daryl Mitchell c Jacks b Dawson 3 (New Zealand 133-5)
Liam Dawson wins the battle of wills with Daryl Mitchell, a plop down the throat of long off sees the back of the dangerous ‘Moose’.
16th over: New Zealand 132-4 (Phillips 37, Mitchell 3) Good stuff from Rehan Ahmed, he whistles through his over without a boundary conceded, seven off it. Four to go for New Zealand, they’ll want at least 165-170 on the board.
15th over: New Zealand 125-4 (Phillips 32, Mitchell 1) Excellent over from Rashid, just two runs and the wicket off it. Daryl Mitchell is the new batter for New Zealand, he can hit a loooong ball.
WICKET! Mark Chapman st Buttler b Rashid 15 (New Zealand 123-4)
Rashid strikes the first ball after drinks, looped up above the eyes and Chapman can’t resist a mow, Buttler does the rest with the batter stranded.
14th over: New Zealand 123-3 (Phillips 31, Chapman 15) Jacks is back for his third, he gets in and out of it for seven runs and no boundaries which is a win at this stage. Time for a drink before the final part of the New Zealand innings.
13th over: New Zealand 116-3 (Phillips 29, Chapman 11) Liam Dawson returns for his third over, his first four balls only go for a couple before Chapman releases the shackles with consecutive whips through the leg side with the spin for four. This is a good platform for New Zealand, pressure on England.
12th over: New Zealand 106-3 (Phillips 28, Chapman 2) Mark Chapman joins Glenn Phillips. Bosh! Phillips makes it look so simple, on the front foot and thumping a full ball back over Ahmed’s head for four. Nine runs off the over in total and the hundred up for New Zealand.
WICKET! Rachin Ravindra c Bethell b Rehan Ahmed 11 (New Zealand 97-3)
Rehan Ahmed gets a wicket with his very first World Cup ball! In truth it is a bit of a drag down but he won’t mind one bit, Rachin Ravindra toe ending to Bethell at deep midwicket, the youngster taking a fine tumbling catch.
11th over: New Zealand 97-2 (Ravindra 11, Phillips 21) Ravindra is a classic strokemaker but he doesn’t need any of that business to the first ball from Jacob Bethell, a full bunger is bunted down the ground for four. A single brings Phillips on strike, he looks particularly dangerous for England, he rasps a drive back past the bowler for four and then is lighting quick between the wickets to turn one into two, England’s fielding has been a bit off it in the last couple of games.
10th over: New Zealand 84-2 (Ravindra 4, Phillips 15) Eight runs off Jacks. Ten overs done and the game is well poised. New Zealand have wickets in hand for a back ten assault.
9th over: New Zealand 77-2 (Ravindra 2, Phillips 10) Glenn Phillips has bulked up significantly since I last saw him, he’s absolutely hench. Jacked. Stacked. Rigged. A decent Heathcliff you might say. Anyway, he uses his burly frame to muscle a Rashid googly over the leg side for SIX and then swats a shorter ball through the off for four. No mither.
8th over: New Zealand 66-2 (Ravindra 1, Phillips 0) Just two runs and the wicket off Jacks’s first. Rashid is coming back for his second with two new batters at the crease to have a go at.
WICKET! Finn Allen c Bethell b Jacks 29 (New Zealand 66-2)
That’s a gift of a dismissal for England! Will Jacks loops one down, Allen goes for a big one but gets nowhere near enough on it, just flicking tamely to Jacob Bethell in the deep on the leg side. Softly, softly catchee Kiwi. England will take them any which way.
7th over: New Zealand 64-1 (Allen 28, Ravindra 0) Rachin Ravindra is in at first drop for New Zealand. The stumping was closer than it looked on the replay, nifty work by Jos Buttler with the gloves, that’ll give him some confidence…
WICKET! Tim Seifert st Buttler b Rashid 35 (New Zealand 64-1)
Adil Rashid summoned, here is a key battle, if he goes for some tap then England are in trouble. SIX! Danger signs as Seifert has his eye firmly in now, a slog sweep is nailed over square leg.
Gone next ball! A flighted leggie, Seifert can’t resist and swipes fresh air with his back foot out of his ground. Lovely bowling and England needed that.
6th over: New Zealand 54-0 (Seifert 26, Allen 27) Sam Curran called into action by Brook, he bustles in and floats one down in the slot. Finn Allen does not mis out, smearing away for SIX. Curran is then in survival mode and manages to get out of the over for the cost of ten runs. Powerplay down, New Zealand come out on top, especially given the first over of the match was a maiden.
5th over: New Zealand 44-0 (Seifert 26, Allen 17) Tim Seifert rides the storm and now comes to the party. He backs away to leg and clubs Archer for consecutive fours through the off side and down the ground. SIX! The next ball is climbed into with relish by Seifert, a short ball is sent soaring over midwicket and into the sparsely populated stands. The camera pans to a rueful Harry Brook, maybe one too many for Archer. New Zealand now looking healthy in the Powerplay, 16 runs off the over.
4th over: New Zealand 28-0 (Seifert 11, Allen 16) Dawson wheels away, Allen trots out of the crease and pulverises a full ball over the bowler’s head for SIX. “If it is up it is off” says Nasser Hussain on the Tv comms. Dawson recovers well though, singles the order of the rest of the over. Archer is coming back for a third on the bounce.
3rd over: New Zealand 17-0 (Seifert 8, Allen 8) Archer is up at 91 MPH and has the opening batters hopping. Seifert scampers a leg bye to get off the mark. Over to Finn Allen… GAS. Archer beats him with a rapid ball first up. He follows up with a slower ball that Allen spots, no doubt breathing a sigh of relief – and smashes over mid on for SIX! Keep the pace on I reckon Jofra.
2nd over: New Zealand 8-0 (Seifert 7, Allen 1) Liam Dawson with the second over, spin and pace from England. Seifert attempts a reverse swipe but misses completely. He then goes for a straight sweep off the next ball and connects, the ball loops behind square for the first New Zealand boundary of the match. Archer coming back for more, can Seifert lay bat on him this over?
1st over: New Zealand 0-0 (Seifert 0, Allen 0) Seifert is in all sorts of problems to Archer, the bowler cuts him in two twice in the over with balls zipping off the pitch. Seifert is then given out on the field caught behind but reviews it immediately. Sure enough it was back pad rather than bat. NOT OUT. Archer is on the money though and stitches together a maiden to begin the match.
Tim Seifert and Finn Allen open up for New Zealand. Jofra Archer has the ball in hand for England, play!
There’s a very short 60 metre boundary on one side, New Zealand utilised this well with left-right hand batting combinations against Sri Lanka, essentially someone was nearly always hitting towards the smaller side.
We’ll be underway in a couple of minutes, Simon Burnton is our man on the ground.
The teams walk out onto the field and Ian Smith’s Kiwi tones drift out of my television. The weather is set fair so no chance of the wet stuff scuppering us.
Talking of rain, I went to see “Wuthering Heights” last night. I’ll keep my powder dry on that one but it does beg the question who would be the best Heathcliff in England’s squad – it’s Jamie Overton isn’t it? Though if Harry Brook grew his hair and got a gold tooth he’s already got the accent in place, could probably teach Jacob Elordi a thing or two… I said I’d keep my powder dry, unlike Elordi’s shirt. Am tekkin mick eh Kath-eh.
Teams:
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
England have brought in Rehan Ahmed for Jamie Overton, it’s spin to win in Colombo. New Zealand are unchanged, they need to win to get through to the semis.
New Zealand win the toss and will bat first
Mitch Santner calls the coin correctly and has no hesitation in batting first. It’s a used surface and the chat is that it will spin big so it is a case of get runs on the board and then put the pressure on with the ball. Santner himself will be a handful on this surface.
Harry Brook confirms he would have done the same, he also confirms that he will bat at number three again today. Both captains look extremely UP for it. Confirmed teams incoming…
Preamble
James Wallace
Stick. Move. Drop?
England have qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 world cup but there is one thing nagging away at them – the form of Jos Buttler.
After four single figure scores in the tournament so far and more widely no white ball international fifty in sixteen innings and counting, England’s greatest ever white ball batter is stuck in a rut. Think Charlie Brown in Peanuts being followed by that grey raincloud. Of late Buttler has resembled the Sad Eyed Jossy of the Low Scores from the end of his unfulfilled Test career. He’s got to come good soon, surely?
The signs are that England will stick with their man, today’s match against New Zealand gives Buttler a chance to make a score and stop the chatter before the big business begins. The result in Colombo will determine whether New Zealand also qualify and also who England will play in the final four, they’ll do well to avoid a rampant looking South Africa. There are no unimportant innings and no small matches now.
Play begins at 1.30pm GMT, the toss and the teams are imminent…
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes