For the second game in a row England donned their pyjamas and calmly put New Zealand to bed. After Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook powered the home side to a daunting total of 198 for four the Kiwis crumbled – halfway through their reply they were 77 for five and from there their task was already forlorn; less than four overs later the game was over, England winning by the mammoth margin of 95 runs.
True, halfway through their own innings England had scored one run fewer, but they had lost only two wickets and were starting to purr. Brook’s omission was the big talking point of their provisional World Cup squad and with each passing innings the decision looks more puzzling. Here he was magnificent, coming in with England 43 for two and the game in the balance, and departing with the score 174 for three and his team ascendant.
