Tanya Aldred's match report
That’s it from me. Thanks for your company, correspondence and collective nouns. We’ll be back at 10am tomorrow to see two other teams trying to remember how to play the 50-over game – England’s women, and their conquerors from Sri Lanka. Until then, goodnight, and many congrats to New Zealand on a thumping victory.
“It was outstanding,” says the winning captain, Tom Latham. “We managed to take wickets at crucial times, and obviously a partnership of 180 – those two guys, the way they played was outstanding on a pitch that wasn't the flattest one going round.”
“Disappointing,” says Jos Buttler. “At halfway I actually thought we had a pretty good score … but credit to that fantastic partnership. We just couldn’t find a way to break that.”
Was there anything else you could have thrown at them, asks his predecessor, Eoin Morgan. “We tried most things. For a little period we built pressure nicely, strung together some good overs, pushed the rate to just under seven, but then Daryl Mitchell played a couple of big shots and brought it away from us again.” He, like Conway, seems unruffled. And although he was England’s top scorer, he singles out another batter. “The impetus that Liam Livingstone gave to the innings got us up to what I thought was a good score.”
The Player of the Match is Devon Conway. “Yeah, pretty happy with the way things went today,” he says, looking magnificently unimpressed with his bottle of sparkling wine. “The nice thing about one-day cricket is you have a lot more time than you think. Helps you create those partnerships and slow the game down.” Ah yes, the slowest form of the international game. That’s why England are getting less good at it.
England’s batting was perfectly decent. NZ’s was out of this world. And England’s bowling was soon left looking threadbare. Adil Rashid started with a magic ball, then went off with cramp, and when he returned, he was treated as hardly as he was the other night in the final T20. Chris Woakes was as classy as ever and David Willey, deprived of the new ball for once, managed to buy a wicket, but the other bowlers were tidy at best (Liam Livingstone), ragged at worst (Reece Topley). England hadn’t played an ODI for ages and the rust was glaring.
That was one of the great ODI partnerships. When Mitchell joined Conway, NZ were 117-2. When they left the field, they had added 180 off only 152 balls. They made a tricky pitch look like a road.
Six and victory for New Zealand!
Mid-46th over: New Zealand 297-2 (Conway 111, Mitchell 118) Mitchell hits his seventh six, and Conway gets his first! To wrap up a stunning victory. They win by eight wickets with 26 balls to spare.
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45th over: New Zealand 283-2 (Conway 104, Mitchell 111) Now we get the fireworks! Facing Rashid, Mitchell hits yet another straight six, plus a four next ball. This is going to be over very soon.
And a hundred to Mitchell too!
44th over: New Zealand 271-2 (Conway 103, Mitchell 100) Mitchell has been hitting the ball so well, he must be going to get there with a six – no, a nudge to leg for a single will do fine. He’s played every bit as well as Conway and scored faster: 100 off 84 balls, with six fours and five sixes. Champion stuff.
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43rd over: New Zealand 264-2 (Conway 101, Mitchell 95) After seeing his mate to a hundred, Mitchell fancies one for himself. He tucks into Rashid: six, four, six! Rashid is good enough to bite back, beating the bat, then drawing Mitchell into a top-edged slice over cover, but it drops into no-man’s-land. The game is up.
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41st over: New Zealand 246-2 (Conway 100, Mitchell 78) The single Conway longed for was the only run off the over from Livingstone, as Buttler had brought the field up into the ring. NZ need 46 from 48 balls.
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A hundred to Conway!
There it is! A push to long-on, and Devon Conway has his first ODI hundred against England, in his first ODI against them. He has 100 off 115 balls. It’s been measured, controlled, masterly – and decisive.
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40th over: New Zealand 245-2 (Conway 99, Mitchell 78) Conway plays two reverse-sweeps to get to 98 with three balls to go in this over, but Rashid is good enough to make him wait for his ton. Dot, dot, single.
40th over: New Zealand 238-2 (Conway 93, Mitchell 77) Buttler is bringing his fielders in, bit by bit – ten yards here, 15 there. The batters are not remotely bothered. They take seven more runs off an over from Atkinson, whose immense promise has not turned into wickets tonight. The PA plays Living On A Prayer, but England aren’t even halfway there.
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39th over: New Zealand 231-2 (Conway 91, Mitchell 72) Mitchell treats Rashid with more respect, but still gets a pull away for four. These two have simply been too good for England.
We have a solution to the mystery of the crowd singing Gold, which comes from a photographer. “To answer your question,” says Gaeth Everett from the Huw Evans agency, “the reason the crowd are singing Gold by Spandau Ballet is every time this bloke gets up to get a drink or go to the loo they sing it at him.” And he attaches a photo of a guy in a shiny gold shirt. Magnificent.
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38th over: New Zealand 225-2 (Conway 90, Mitchell 67) Atkinson manages a thrifty over until the last ball, a bouncer that Conway helps round the corner for four. He’s into the 90s now and eyeing the Player of the Match award.
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37th over: New Zealand 218-2 (Conway 85, Mitchell 65) Rashid’s first spell began with a wonderball and a wicket. His second begins with … a six and a four. Mitchell lofts his loosener back over his head, then glances the resulting quicker ball past short fine. Fifteen off the over, and suddenly the rate required is down to 5.69. NZ need 74 from 78 balls, England need a miracle.
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36th over: New Zealand 203-2 (Conway 82, Mitchell 53) Here is Atkinson. A caption reveals that he has touched 89.5mph, but not 90. His second spell starts promisingly with an over that goes for four. But England are now searching for more than a breakthrough – they need a full-scale collapse. So Buttler is sending for Rashid.
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Fifty to Mitchell! And drinks, with NZ well on top
35th over: New Zealand 199-2 (Conway 80, Mitchell 51) In his first four overs, Livingstone didn’t go for a single boundary. Now, at the start of his fifth, he gets thumped for six! That’s a great shot buy Mitchell, staying put and summoning so much power that the ball goes over the head of Stokes at long-on. Ah, Stokes. You’d bring him on now if you could. England’s only enforcer type is Atkinson, and Buttler may not want to burden him with that responsibility after his first four overs went for 29.
A few singles, and then Mitchell pulls for two to reach a fine fifty – 51 off 54 balls. This has been game of many fifties, and at drinks, NZ are winning it.
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34th over: New Zealand 187-2 (Conway 78, Mitchell 41) Woakes’s length, like his celebrated hair, is on the short side. It worked in the previous over but now Mitchell sees the bouncer coming and pulls with some authority.
We have an answer to the Rashid question (30th over). He can bowl “in about nine minutes,” Ian Ward says on Sky, and that was a minute or two ago, so we may see him in two overs’ time.
33rd over: New Zealand 179-2 (Conway 76, Mitchell 35) Another good over from Livingstone, who has gone for only 13 off his four. Mind you, Buttler might swap some of that thrift for a wicket.
32nd over: New Zealand 176-2 (Conway 75, Mitchell 33) Woakes elects to bang it into this two-paced pitch. He too finds the edge of Mitchell’s bat, but it’s a strange one – a toe-end as he mistimes a pull, which dies as it goes through to Buttler, and elicits not even an ooh or an ahhh. Mind you, the crowd are busy singing Gold by Spandau Ballet, for reasons that are mysterious.
31st over: New Zealand 174-2 (Conway 75, Mitchell 31) Livingstone lures Mitchell into a top-edged sweep, but it lands safely in the deep. If Mark Wood was playing, he’d be coming back for a second spell right now. Instead it’s going to be his carpool chum, Chris Woakes.
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30th over: New Zealand 170-2 (Conway 74, Mitchell 28) Topley blots his copybook, going short to Conway and getting pulled for four, then doing the same thing to Mitchell. That’s ten off the over, just when the plug was going in. And it’s the fifty partnership (53 off 58 balls), the third out of three in this innings. England need a touch of magic. Has Adil been back out there long enough to come back on?
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29th over: New Zealand 160-2 (Conway 69, Mitchell 24) Livingstone continues and reckons he’s got Mitchell LBW with a leg-break, straightening on the line of leg-stump-ish, but Buttler felt it was going down and he’s right. It’s been a good start by Livingstone, two overs for seven.
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28th over: New Zealand 157-2 (Conway 68, Mitchell 22) Another handy over from Topley, but still no breakthrough. The most interesting thing about the over is a comment made by Broad. “When you’re out of rhythm,” he says, “you go internal. You think about whether your arm is in the right place … I’m at my best when I’m competitive, thinking about hitting the pitch, how can I get this batter out… Jimmy Anderson, standing at mid-off, was able to draw that out of me.”
27th over: New Zealand 153-2 (Conway 67, Mitchell 19) Time for England’s seventh bowler: Liam Livingstone, who made the fastest of their four fifties earlier. The batters are watchful, taking four singles. The run rate required (6.08 an over) has edged ahead of the run-rate achieved (5.63), but they’re still sitting comfortably. NZ need 139, England need wickets.
26th over: New Zealand 149-2 (Conway 65, Mitchell 17) Topley’s rehab continues with an over that goes for just two singles off the bat, plus a wide. His figures are now 4-0-33-0, which would be perfectly respectable in T20.
25th over: New Zealand 146-2 (Conway 64, Mitchell 16) Willey to Conway, and it’s a good duel. Conway opens the conversation with a resounding straight drive, on the up, for four. Willey fights back with three dots, and then lures Conway into a less assured drive, played too early, that very nearly brings a caught-and-bowled.
24th over: New Zealand 141-2 (Conway 60, Mitchell 15) Heartened by the reverse swing, Buttler brings back Topley, who had a sobering time at the top of the innings. He bowls a better over, going for only five.
Also back for a second spell is Brian Withington. “Inspired by your collective noun of ‘cameo’ for a bunch of all-rounders and Kris Paul’s ‘versatility’,” he says, “may I proffer a more cynical alternative, and some other candidates:
1. A compromise of all-rounders.
2. An explosion of pinch-hitters.
3. A coven of mystery spinners.
4. A trundle of medium pacers.
5. A (doppler) shift of genuine quicks; and
6. A closure of late middle-order batters.”
You may.
23rd over: New Zealand 136-2 (Conway 56, Mitchell 14) At this stage, England were dragging themselves up from about four an over to five. NZ have been ticking along at six, with no bother. But Willey is getting the first hint of reverse swing, jagging into the left-handed Conway.
The camera finds a little girl in the crowd, sitting on the steps, watching something on her iPad. She can’t be more than four, and Simon Doull thinks it’s Daryl Mitchell’s daughter. Her mum alerts her to the big screen, where she sees herself and then looks suddenly bashful. Another girl, presumably her big sister, materialises out of nowhere to sit next to her, looking more at ease with the limelight. A glimpse of themselves on the big screen is a lot more interesting than the sight of their dad batting.
22nd over: New Zealand 133-2 (Conway 54, Mitchell 12) Atkinson continues and tries a bad ball too, with less success. It’s on the pads, an easy clip for two for Mitchell, and it’s a no-ball to boot. The free hit is … a wide! He went for the bouncer and got it too leg-side. But his second go is a good one, a yorker that Mitchell can only dig out for a single to deep square. Hang on … Mitchell has now hit a six! Out of nowhere – a classical straight drive, soaring into the top of the sightscreen. For Mitchell, this is a fast start – 13 off nine. For Atkinson, it’s all part of the experience.
21st over: New Zealand 120-2 (Conway 54, Mitchell 2) England really needed that wicket. Root had been harmless (4-0-25-0), and Rashid was off the field with cramp. So Buttler turned back to Willey and it worked a treat.
WICKET! Nicholls c Buttler b Willey 26 (England 117-2)
David Willey returns and somehow persuades Henry Nicholls to nick a bad ball – short, wide and highly effective.
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20th over: New Zealand 114-1 (Conway 52, Nicholls 24) A third over for Atkinson, and a second boundary conceded as Nicholls plays a lovely shot, a back-foot push so well timed that it goes zinging back past the bowler.
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Fifty to Conway!
19th over: New Zealand 108-1 (Conway 51, Nicholls 19) Root continues, although he’s been no more than decent. This time he goes for more than ones and twos: Nicholl plays something between a sweep and a pull for four, and Conway drives for four to bring up a commanding fifty – 51 off 57 balls with eight fours. if he gets a hundred, NZ could win this comfortably.
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Drinks: NZ on top
And that’s drinks, with NZ still on top and England still well in with a chance. Good thing they’ve got 290 in the bank, rather than the 270 they were heading for when Liam Livingstone turned up.
18th over: New Zealand 99-1 (Conway 47, Nicholls 14) Atkinson’s second over is faster, harder, stronger than his first, but no more rewarding. One ball goes past the outside edge: “good pace,” murmurs Broad, as the speed gun inches up to 88. Another takes the edge, but it’s a thick one and there is, of course, nobody at fourth slip. In between, there’s a bouncer that looks spicy but is well played by Nicholls, pulled down and into the gap at long leg for four. Atkinson’s figures, 2-0-10-0, only tell a little of the story.
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17th over: New Zealand 93-1 (Conway 46, Nicholls 9) Root changes ends and replaces Rashid, who is now going off the field, with a slight hobble, Nasser reckons. The batters do some milking with five singles and a two.
“I watched Nasser being interviewed with TheBroadOne™️ at the innings break,” says Kim Thonger. “Stuart’s face when Mr Hussain opined that ruthlessness is a more important in a selector than loyalty was a picture. A close-up of a dachshund chewing a wasp, more precisely. But also, the eye roll was based wholly and precisely on mid-period Meg Ryan, don’t you think?” I’ll have to take your word for it. Like a good Guardian writer, I nipped out to buy some fermented yoghurt.
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16th over: New Zealand 86-1 (Conway 41, Nicholls 7) It’s Gus time! His first ball in ODIs is 84mph, on the spot, defended by Conway. Then up to 87, but the line is awry, down the leg side. The second legitimate ball is better, 86, defended again. Then a lifter, pulled, but only for a single. A first go at Nicholls, fuller, pushed for a single. A leave outside off and a nod of respect from Conway. Finally a cut for a single. No fireworks yet, but only four off the over. And Broad, who presented him with his ODI cap earlier, has already likened him to Jofra Archer and Morne Morkel.
15th over: New Zealand 82-1 (Conway 39, Nicholls 6) Rashid gets some lavish turn again, but Conway keeps it out, helped by being a left-hander, unlike his mate Young. A caption reveals that England, at this stage, were 80-1. We’re heading for a tie, aren’t we?
14th over: New Zealand 79-1 (Conway 37, Nicholls 5) Root, warming to the task, goes for just three singles. Broad, so much sharper as a commentator than some players fresh out of the dressing-room, is talking about a ploy of Root’s. “He tries to get through his overs fast, spinning back to his mark, not giving the batters time to think about their gameplay.”
13th over: New Zealand 76-1 (Conway 35, Nicholls 4) Rashid continues, sticking largely with leg-breaks even for these two left-handers, to Stuart Broad’s surprise. Root adjusts accordingly, shunting across from slip to leg slip. Buttler may be tempted to have both.
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12th over: New Zealand 72-1 (Conway 33, Nicholls 2) Buttler turns to his fifth bowler, and it’s still not Gus Atkinson. It’s Joe Root! He was becalmed with the bat and will be itching to make an impact with the ball. He drifts a bit too far towards leg stump and goes for six off the over.
11th over: New Zealand 66-1 (Conway 30, Nicholls 1) That was Adil Rashid’s 100th wicket in home ODIs, a feat achieved by only two other men, both seamers – Darren Gough and Jimmy Anderson. Jos Buttler rewards him with a slip, Joe Root. The rest of the over is tight apart from one bad ball, a long hop which Conway slaps for four.
“Collective noun,” says Kris Paul, wasting no words. “A versatility of all-rounders.” Nice.
WICKET! Young b Rashid 29 (NZ 61-1)
Rashid strikes with his first ball! And it’s a magic ball, not the googly he often starts with but a proper leg-break, pitching on middle and turning sharply to brush off stump.
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10th over: New Zealand 61-0 (Conway 26, Young 29) Woakes’s parsimony fails to rub off on Willey, who gives Young a free gift on his pads, flicked away for four. Conway adds a cover drive for four, slightly uppish but too quick for Root at extra-cover. The Powerplay ends with NZ in the driving seat, although Nasser Hussain points out that it’s “probably the best time to bat here when the ball is hard”.
Here comes Adil Rashid, who bowled about as badly as he ever had the other night when NZ bounced back to draw the T20 series.
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9th over: New Zealand 52-0 (Conway 22, Young 24) A fifth over for Woakes, who begins by holding a little conference with Willey and Stokes. What’s the collective noun for all-rounders? A cameo, perhaps. Their deliberations almost bear fruit as Woakes finds some outswing and beats Young’s edge. Varying his pace smartly, Woakes manages to concede only a leg-bye … so that’s a maiden! The first of the day, Stuart Broad says admiringly.
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NZ fifty up
8th over: New Zealand 51-0 (Conway 22, Young 24) Young, taking his cue from Conway, steps out to Willey and blasts him past cover for four. Conway adds a pull for four, seeing it early enough to get it past midwicket, and that’s the fifty up off 47 balls. England have been tidy at best and the openers haven’t been remotely troubled. Get Gus on!
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7th over: New Zealand 42-0 (Conway 18, Young 20) Woakes goes round the wicket to the left-handed Conway, who responds by dancing down the track and hitting him through the covers for four. Twice! First a cut, then a clever adjustment – he was looking for the cut again and the ball was too full, so he played a back-foot drive instead. Woakes’s figures suddenly have a hair out of place: 4-0-16-0.
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6th over: New Zealand 33-0 (Conway 10, Young 19) Jos Buttler gives Topley a break and summons David Willey. His reward for an ice-cool cameo with the bat was to miss out on the new ball for the first time an ODI since his first game in 2015. Cruelly deprived of the chance to swing the ball, he deploys the scrambled seam and does well, conceding just a single.
And here’s Brian Withington, pondering England’s selection. “I thought that was much better from Dawid Malan today,” he says. “He seems to be better suited to the rhythm of the 50 overs format, although I’m sure he will be disappointed with that tame dismissal when well set. It’s looking like Jason Roy is increasingly vulnerable now – in my book he’s not one of those players (like Mo) for whom absence makes the heart grow fonder. And I think he dodged a bullet by not playing on this difficult Cardiff track. I expect he will flay a ton on a road in his next game …”
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5th over: New Zealand 32-0 (Conway 10, Young 18) Now even Woakes is wobbling, giving Young enough width with the first ball of this over to be forced for four past backward point. The difference is that Woakes restores order with four dots and a single. Woakes has 3-0-7-0, poor old Topley 2-0-25-0.
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4th over: New Zealand 27-0 (Conway 10, Young 13) Topley is feeling his way back from injury, as so often, and it shows as he bowls a wide, then drops short, then goes too full. Will Young helps himself to a cut and a drive for four, and is seeing the ball well enough to tuck a decent yorker away for three. Then another wide, and a total freebie, on the pads, which Conway can’t fail to clip for four. Seventeen off the over, and NZ are up and rocking.
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3rd over: New Zealand 10-0 (Conway 6, Young 2) More neat-and-tidy stuff from Woakes. The crowd feel restless and who can blame them. Welcome to ODI cricket, now the slowest of the three international formats.
2nd over: New Zealand 8-0 (Conway 6, Young 1) No Gus Atkinson yet: it’s Reece Topley to share the new ball. He’s testing too, though Devon Conway manages to squeeze a steer past point for the first four of the innings. Topley retorts by finding the edge, but it’s an inside edge, something we saw again and again from England, even from Harry Brook. It’s a played-on sort of pitch.
1st over: New Zealand 1-0 (Conway 1, Young 0) England started slowly and so do NZ as Chris Woakes finds a length to match his immaculate hair.
Thanks Tom and evening everyone. The runs weren’t always flowing in that innings, but the words kept coming smoothly. Now the players are out there and we should get a first glimpse of Gus Atkinson in this format.
Right, that’s me done. Time to hand over to Tim de Lisle who will guide you through New Zealand’s chase. Thanks for your emails and for following. Bye.
Interval reading: James Wallace set down with the effervescent Jeremy Coney earlier in the week, and chatted about all manner of stuff, including music, his regard for the 50-over game and 2019 and all that.
And readers who subscribe to The Spin newsletter will have got to read all that, and more, first. So why not sign up?
New Zealand need 292 to win
It’s hard to gauge how good a total that is, but given the pitch and some largely astute New Zealand bowling, it feels like a decent one. Four England batters made 50s, with two with points to prove (Livingstone and Malan) making the most emphatic of them. How will New Zealand fare as the night draws in, the dew drops and this infernal heat relents a tad? Go nowhere.
Talking of dew drops, I’ve just given myself an earworm:
50th over: England 291-6 (Woakes 4, Willey 21). England finish with a flourish. Southee bowls the last over, which begins with a scurried Willey single. An inside-edge along the ground from Woakes adds another before Willey clobbers a confident lofted on-drive to the ropes for four, followed by two more twos. And a good slice of late-innings batting from Willey ends in style when he belts Southee over the long-on boundary for SIX. England have a more than competitive total.
49th over: England 275-6 (Woakes 3, Willey 6). Woakes is initially slow to run a single inviting Henry to pick up and throw at the stumps and miss. Henry continues to bowl tightly though, befuddling Willey with a slower ball that he slashes at and misses. A hook for one by Willey ends a decent spell for Henry, who finishes with 0 for 45 from his 10 overs.
48th over: England 271-6 (Woakes 1, Willey 4). Southee drags New Zealand right back into it with two wickets. Livingstone’s valuable belligerent knock is ended when he holes out to Mitchell, bringing Chris Woakes to the middle. He hands Buttler the strike with a single off his first ball but Buttler squanders it by mistiming a slog and getting caught, but it was a crucial and excellent innings from the captain. New man Willey, another with plenty to prove, finds the gap with a confident pull for four to get off the mark.
Wicket! Buttler c Ferguson b Southee 72, England 267-6
And another! The birthday boy goes, having hardly had the strike of late, hoicking high in the air in desperation and Ferguson takes the skyer.
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Wicket! Livingstone c Mitchell b Southee 52, England 266-5
That handy time at the crease comes to an end for Livingstone, as he tries to belt Southee out of the ground but holes out to Mitchell at long-off.
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47th over: England 265-4 (Buttler 71, Livingstone 52). Matt Henry comes back on at the river end and is carved to long-on for one by Livingstone first up. A hack to fine leg from Buttler follows to bring another single. They can’t fully get on top of Henry, who’s producing some good death bowling here. But Livingstone finally gets him away with the last ball of the over, finding the gap with a lofted off drive for four to complete a very timely half-century. He’s made full use of rare lenghty(ish) time at the crease.
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46th over: England 257-4 (Buttler 69, Livingstone 46). Oh Lockie! Ferguson thinks he’s got Livingstone when the batter mis-times a pull straight down deep square leg’s throat … but the bowler’s only gone and over-stepped. The free hit is clattered away on the legside and they run two courtesy of a Phillips fumble at deep midwicket. Buttler, who’s been reduced to an anchor role these past few overs, scoops for one and Livingstone gets two more with a pull in front of square. A single completes a productive over for England.
45th over: England 248-4 (Buttler 68, Livingstone 40). Jamieson is hooked from the attack and replaced by Southee, who begins his eighth over with four dot balls at Livingstone, giving him little room and mixing up his lengths and pace adeptly before Livingstone finally gets some joy, cracking back of square on the off for four and he adds another single to complete the over.
44th over: England 243-4 (Buttler 68, Livingstone 35). After that Jamieson over, England have a tasty total in their sights. Ferguson attempts to rein it in with a tighter over, conceding only three singles. He’s definitely been the pick of New Zealand’s quicks.
43rd over: England 240-4 (Buttler 67, Livingstone 33). At last, some carnage. A combination of fast outfield and slow pitch is making twos and threes hard to come by, so Livingstone cuts out the middle man against Jamieson, who’s been a bit off-key today and sends down a wide before the onslaught begins when Livingstone sends his slower ball sailing over backward square leg for SIX. The next one is aimed firmly at the Taff, and might even have got there – straight over the bowler’s head for SIX MORE. Can he change it? No, he goes short and slower next and Livingstone pulls over deep midwicket for ANOTHER SIX.
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42nd over: England 218-4 (Buttler 66, Livingstone 13). Ravindra’s final overhas an inauspicious beginning, as Buttler carts him over long-on for SIX, but the rest of it is pretty controlled, yielding two singles. Ravindra finishes with fine figures of three for 48.
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41st over: England 210-4 (Buttler 59, Livingstone 12). Jamieson, who still has up to five overs to bowl, returns at the river end and after a couple of singles, Livingstone opens up, advances and wellies one to the long-on boundary for four through sheer power. A couple more singles follow.
40th over: England 202-4 (Buttler 57, Livingstone 6). Ravindra, in his ninth over, continues to provide control and variety, as a couple more singles take England to 200. As has been pointed out in comms, this is a good test of batting in tricky conditions for England, as there’s bound to be some pitches like this in India.
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39th over: England 198-4 (Buttler 55, Livingstone 4). A risky/well-run two adds to Livingstone’s total, though a more accurate throw might have done for him. Buttler then picks up another boundary with a slashed-hard edge for four through the vacant slip area. Eight from a mixed Southee over.
38th over: England 190-4 (Buttler 50, Livingstone 1). Ravindra’s return reaps swift reward, with Stokes’s wicket two balls after he’d been clobbered for six. A chance for Liam Livingstone to stake his World Cup claim. He’s off the mark second ball with a single.
Wicket! Stokes c Nicholls b Ravindra 52, England 189-4
Ravindra returns to bring a change of pace and Stokes provides one by hoiking a short one over the long square-leg boundary for SIX to bring up his own half-century. But two balls later, he’s gone, smacking straight to extra-cover where Nicholls takes a sharp, smart catch.
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37th over: England 183-3 (Stokes 46, Buttler 50). Buttler brings up his more-than-a-run-a-ball 50 with a cut to extra cover that is well fielded but enables the batters to run through for one, then Stokes charges Southee but is deceived by the length and flat bats it weirdly past mid-off for two. Is he about to go through the gears? There’s a look of more urgency about him now. And Buttler has accumulated splendidly.
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36th over: England 179-3 (Stokes 43, Buttler 49). Buttler creams a lovely cover-drive from Ferguson away for four. A couple more singles ensue.
“This Buttler and Stokes partnership is reminding me somewhat of the 2019 WC final,” says Brian Withington, “Same opposition, similar pitch and Buttler more fluent than a slightly struggling but determined Stokes. Apparently Jos said afterwards in the afterglow of the hard-earned victory that the only ball Ben middled all day was the fortuitous deflection for four overthrows. Obviously NZ chasing today and I suspect they may blast the first PP and then look to cruise the next one.”
England had a better bowling attack out that day mind, and that mattered.
35th over: England 173-3 (Stokes 42, Buttler 44). Buttler replaces his bat, the previous one presumably copping some damage from that toe-ender, as Southee returns to the attack and again bamboozles Stokes for pace (or lack of) and length outside off; he wafts and misses. He cracks the next ball past backward point for a single before Buttler pulls to the square leg boundary for only his third four. Stokes still has to deal in singles though – he has 25 of them – but seven from the over will do for England.
34th over: England 166-3 (Stokes 40, Buttler 39). A big let-off for Buttler as Ferguson’s delivery plugs in the pitch, forcing the England captain to toe-end it in the air and just short of the bowler. Stokes is similarly discomforted by a slow short ball that he manages to bunt away behind square on the off. Four singlse from the over. This really doesn’t look a particularly easy surface to bat on.
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33rd over: England 162-3 (Stokes 38, Buttler 37). Stokes tries to charge Henry again, but just clatters the ball towards his own feet and it’s another dot ball. But it’s worth advancing sometimes just to give the bowler something to think about. Stokes and Buttler trade another couple of singles before – Lord be praised – an actual boundary, as Buttler’s forceful hook shot is fumbled over the ropes by the man at wide fine leg.
And that’s drinks.
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32nd over: England 155-3 (Stokes 37, Buttler 31). Ferguson returns at the Cathedral Road end, and Buttler on-drives him for one first off. It brings up a somewhat sedate 50 partnership. Stokes pulls another shorter ball for one but it’s still not quite coming on to the bat so England have to get ‘em in ones for the moment. They’re faster than this in Tests, but New Zealand are doing a fine containment job mind.
31st over: England 150-3 (Stokes 35, Buttler 28). Henry mixes his lengths up on this variable pitch and tempts Stokes into a mis-timed pull that goes for one when it could have been four. Three singles from the over brings up the 150, and a fairly modest ripple of applause.
“I can recall the John Player League and before that, Ted Dexter’s International Cavaliers, all televised live on the BBC,” trills John Starbuck, pulling up a chair by the fireside and lighting up his pipe. “Does that make me great-grandad age? I’m already a great-uncle several times over so it can’t be long now.”
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30th over: England 147-3 (Stokes 34, Buttler 26). Phillips continues to keep it tight, though is not really causing either batter any discomfort, and the longer this slow-burn partnership continues the better for England and the worse for the Black Caps. Nonetheless, an over that yields only three runs, at this stage, is not to be sniffed at.
29th over: England 144-3 (Stokes 33, Buttler 24). Matt Henry returns from the river end (a change of ends from where his fine first spell was delivered). Stokes tries to charge him but only finds the man at mid-on. Five singles keep the strike rotated and the scoreboard whirring but England can’t find many gaps at the moment.
28th over: England 139-3 (Stokes 31, Buttler 21). Phillips continues the all-spin diet, and the old-school middle-overs meandering goes on, with nudges and pushes for one aplenty. All very Benson & Hedges Cup (ask yer grandad).
27th over: England 135-3 (Stokes 29, Buttler 19). These two batters staying together now feels like a significant determinant of how this match goes. They’re not on top particularly, but they’re there, waiting. Ravindra’s seventh over on the spin is as parsimonious as most of his others have been, and four singles are all it concedes.
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26th over: England 131-3 (Stokes 27, Buttler 17). Phillips may not be a front-line spinner but he’s not offering many freebies, so Stokes and Buttler have to work the gaps and knacker themselves out in the heat in pursuit of singles. And, having typed that, Phillips offers a freebie to Stokes, short and sitting up, and clubbed to the deep midwicket boundary.
25th over: England 123-3 (Stokes 21, Buttler 15). Stokes swats Ravindra behind square on the legside for one, Buttler adds another before Stokes’s attempted clattering straight drive to the boundary is thwarted by fine fielding. Buttler ends the over with a risky four, uppish and close to the man at midwicket but he gets away with it. England needed that, though New Zealand might be the happier at the halfway stage.
24th over: England 114-3 (Stokes 18, Buttler 9). A new bowler, Glenn Phillips, comes on to show us his off-breaks, which tie up the left-handed Stokes nicely for four dot balls before he bunts one to long-off for a single. Should I dignify the Hundred by describing this as Phillips’ home ground? I’m not sure if I should, but there, I have. It’s a good start anyway.
23rd over: England 113-3 (Stokes 17, Buttler 9). At last, a bit of tap, as Buttler gets hold of a fuller ball from Ravindra and drives it in that effortless way of his in the direction of the Taff for SIX. Eight from the over takes some of the pressure off.
22nd over: England 105-3 (Stokes 16, Buttler 2). Jamieson continues, cramping up Stokes by varying his pace, and I begin to wonder whether saying 300 is possible was one of my more astute predictions. England’s two most explosive hitters of a cricket ball are currently having to make do and mend with the odd one or two.
21st over: England 103-3 (Stokes 15, Buttler 1). It remains brutally hot out there, and Sofia Gardens is one of the most punitively exposed international venues in these lands, with little in the way of cover. And the roasting spectators have another wicket to ponder when Root’s ponderous innings is ended, bringing the white-ball captain out to join the red-ball one. Buttler’s off the mark straight away with a single but Stokes decides to be cautious for the rest of the over.
“Bad news for Michael White,” laments Tom Rebbitt, “the commentary is on Sports Extra not TMS & there’s no link on the BBC website to the coverage. The BBC Sounds app doesn’t have Sports Extra over here either, so I think Michael will have to make do with your coverage. Or do as my Dad (also in Sicily) is doing and find some bizarre re-enaction on YouTube.
Wicket! Root c Mitchell b Ravindra 6, England 101-3
Root’s been struggling to middle it throughout and perishes for six off 15 balls when he mis-hits a slog sweep off Ravindra, up and up it goes, and down into the waiting hands of Daryl Mitchell at square leg.
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20th over: England 101-2 (Root 6, Stokes 14). Jamieson replaces Ferguson at the Cathedral Road end. Stokes decides to open his shoulders a bit, hoicking a two on the legside before picking up a boundary with a slash wide of third man that Ferguson stops but crashes into the boundary foam in doing so. Jamieson responds by going round the wicket, but can’t stop Stokes from bringing up England’s 100 with a glide to third man. Sky commentary box newbie Stuart Broad reckons this is a good score and a good rate.
19th over: England 93-2 (Root 5, Stokes 7). There’s some turn and variable bounce in this pitch for spinners, which Ravindra exploits to give even as expert a player of spin as Root some frustrations. He struggles to work him away until he bunts a single down the ground. Only two from the over.
“Care to estimate what England’s target should be from here?” asks our old mucker John Starbuck, “200 or so seems likely but will only be competitive if the bowlers have a good one and there’s no guarantee of that.”
I think 300 could still be reachable with a destructive partnership or two, but there’s encouragement for England’s bowlers here. So 250 wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world.
18th over: England 91-2 (Root 4, Stokes 6). The combination of Ferguson’s pace and Ravindra’s drift and guile is causing England problems at the moment, as Root is beaten outside off by another shortish outswinger. Next ball he unconvincingly slashes over backward point for one. Stokes is largely watchful but he gets a first boundary when he nudges fine behind the keeper.
17th over: England 85-2 (Root 3, Stokes 2). Lbw Review! Ravindra’s first ball strikes Root’s pads and prompts an appeal from Latham behind the stumps that’s so loud it almost breaks my telly but it’s clearly bat first upon review and the former England Test captain survives to clip a single off the next ball. The current one then drives forcefully to long on for another single. Only three off another good over.
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16th over: England 82-2 (Root 1, Stokes 1). Ravindra had initially appealed for lbw against Malan for that wicket, and was looking plaintively at the umpire when the ball hit the stumps, but no sooner do we stop discussing that wicket when another follows, Brook edging behind. What’s the verdict on today’s opening pair now? It means we now have two seasoned returnees at the crease, Root and Stokes, the latter almost being snared first ball, also for pace, as he fends another lifter dangerously close to and over gully. It gets him off the mark with a single though, and Root then does likewise. England are being asked questions now.
A time-honoured request from Michael White: “I’m on holiday in Sicily and cannot find any live radio commentary for this game. Can anyone help?”
Can anyone oblige? I don’t have the Magic Keys to the overseas TMS link.
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Wicket! Brook c Latham b Ferguson 25
One brings two. Brilliant from Ferguson, who sends down an almost-unplayable lifter on off-stump that Brook can only edge behind.
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Wicket! Malan b Ravindra 54, England 80-1
15th over: England 80-1 (Brook 25). A bit of spin comes into the attack in the form of the left-armer Ravindra, and it’s a change that has immediate positive impact for New Zealand. His first ball grips in the pitch strikingly and consequently bamboozles Brook as he prepares to cut. A push for one and three more dots are followed by the breakthrough, as Malan plays a nothing shot at one turning into him, it ricochets off pad and gloves and dribbles onto the stumps. A disappointing end to a fine knock.
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14th over: England 79-0 (Brook 24, Malan 54). Ferguson is pretty on the mone with three dot balls followed by a tricky lifter that Brook manages to fend off towards gully for a single. Malan cuts the final ball of the over for two but it’s New Zealand’s best over for a while.
13th over: England 76-0 (Brook 23, Malan 52). I reverse-jinxed Brook into hitting out with my comment about his approach in the last over, as he cracks Jamieson through mid-on for four. A firmly pulled two ensues as the consolidation continues
“It’s not strictly true that England haven’t played many 50 overs matches recently, the test team has been playing 50 overs innings for the last couple of years,” honks Mark Beadle.
12th over: England 69-0 (Brook 17, Malan 51). Another bowling change as the always-watchable Lockie Ferguson replaces Henry. But his first ball goes for four, sliced over the third slip region by Malan, who brings up an excellent half-century with a crisp legside pull for four. Brook, on the other hand, continues to deal uncharacteristically only in ones and twos. England are ticking along nicely here in a distinctly old-school way, all swift running and proper-shot boundaries
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11th over: England 57-0 (Brook 15, Malan 41). Brook nudges Jamieson away on the legside for one before Malan gets his first pull-shot boundary, battering a short one outside off-stump across the line and in front of square on the legside.
10th over: England 50-0 (Brook 14, Malan 35). Henry continues and successfully cramps up Malan on leg stump this time with a shortish one that the batter swats fairly cluelessly at, then beats him outside off with a beauty. It’s a very good over to end the power play, yielding only the one single that enables England’s opening pair to bring up a calm, quite un-England like 50 partnership.
9th over: England 49-0 (Brook 14, Malan 34). Big Kyle Jamieson replaces Tim Southee at the river end, and is given the same treatment that was meted out to Southee, as Malan cover drives his first ball for four with gusto. Jamieson responds well, dragging his length back and beating a more uncertain Malan, pinned to his crease. Malan dabs another single to third man before Brook adds another well-run two through square leg.
Mala on the march! 💪 #EnglandCricket | #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/YNswRI1mPs
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 8, 2023
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8th over: England 42-0 (Brook 12, Malan 29). A better over for New Zealand: Brook drives Henry square on the offside to the long boundary for two, then glides down to third man for one more. Extras get off the mark at last, as Henry seeks to rein in Malan’s driving instincts and strays too far down leg for a wide. Brook, who hasn’t found the boundary since the first ball of the match, can’t get Henry away and is well beaten by a rare short one to round off the over.
7th over: England 37-0 (Brook 9, Malan 28). There’s not much movement in the stiflingly hot air but there’s plenty off the seam, Southee beating Malan with a cutter outside off, but the batter follows it up with a crisp cover drive for four, perhaps the pick of his shots so far. He repeats the trick when Southee again offers him too much width and is belted for four more. Malan is playing himself into form here, and preparing that nice headache for the selectors.
6th over: England 29-0 (Brook 9, Malan 20). Brook’s turn to be beaten by a gem of an outswinger from Henry, before deflecting a shorter one through square leg for a single. Malan is finding his mojo quicker than his partner though, and drives a half-tracker down the ground for four. This is good Proper 50-over Cricket, an increasingly under-cherished art, with encouragement for both teams and a pleasing balance and ambivalence about the scoreline and who’s on top
5th over: England 22-0 (Brook 8, Malan 14). That’s more like it from Malan, cracking a wider Southee delivery through backward point for four and, a couple of balls later, driving a fuller one past the bowler for another boundary.
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4th over: England 13-0 (Brook 8, Malan 5). Brook on-drives Henry for a single before Malan twice wafts frustratedly at balls slanted across him and doesn’t get anywhere near them. He’s forced to defend for much of the over – this is good, tight, accurate stuff from the experienced New Zealand opening bowlers.
3rd over: England 11-0 (Brook 7, Malan 4). This pair are running sharply between the wickets, a sign of a good instinctive understanding in an unfamiliar pairing. Which is just as well, as boundary opportunities don’t present themselves in a tight Southee over that yields only two singles.
2nd over: England 9-0 (Brook 6, Malan 3). Matt Henry opens up at the Cathedral Road end, and beats Malan outside off first up with classic corridor-of-uncertainty length. Three singles ensue, one of which – a firm cover drive from Malan – could easily have been four but for a fine Will Young stop, but Brook seems happy to leave or defensively prod at a few if necessary.
1st over: England 6-0 (Brook 5 Malan 1). Tim Southee takes the first new ball from the river end, two slips up, and … Brook is off the mark with four. Of course he is, glancing a stray one down to the fine leg for four. There’s not a lot of movement in the first three balls before the fourth jags sharply off the seam outside off. A dabbed single and a confident legside clip for one from Malan complete the over.
The players are on their way out at a scorching-looking Sofia Gardens, as the climate-apocalyptic weather continues. You’d fancy bowling second, for comfort reasons, in this heat.
“Thought I’d go early,” writes Will Juba. “Always good to make a prediction pre-warm up games, no chance of things changing, form slipping, tear away tyros excelling…
To my mind we have 7 guaranteed starters, Bairstow, Root, Butler, Stokes, Woakes, Rash and Wood. Then it’s 8 in to 4 from Roy, Malan, Brook (who’s going, let’s face it), Livingston, Mo, Curran, Topley, Atkinson. Apologies to Willey but I see another 2019 on the horizon for him. If I had to go now, I’d pick:
Malan
Bairstow
Root
Brook
Butler
Stokes
Ali
Woakes
Rashid
Wood
Topley
Stack the batting right down to 6 (and Malan plays, he’s a monster in ODIs, people should not conflate his t20 slow starts with not being good at white ball generally). Roy misses out based on a few years of poor form - the centuries come between scores of no substance whatsoever - our 5 best bowlers on form and experience, each covering a different skill/angle/period of the game, plus a couple from Root and/or Stokes depending on conditions. My only concern is the death bowling but you can’t have it all. Others’ predictions please.
*disclaimer - Roy and Livingston will start, Malan and Brook will miss out is what I suspect will actually happen.”
Yeah I’m not sure about Roy – even though his immense contributions to 2019’s triumph were sometimes under-acknowledged – and Livingstone hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential in England colours, for all the destructive possibility he offers.
Those teams in full
England: Harry Brook, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler † (c), Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Reece Topley.
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Will Young, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham † (c), Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson.
In the spiritual home of the bucket hat, a suitably-hatted Ben Stokes has a chinwag with his old skipper, Eoin Morgan, on his return to ODIs: “When I decided to step away there was a few things to consider but it’s been a while since then and as you go forward, you’re in different situations and different opportunities present themselves and you feel differently. I had conversations with Keysy [Robert Key], Motty [Matthew Mott] and Jos [Buttler], and there’s a World Cup to defend. Being involved in that 2019 period was an amazing thing to be a part of and going back and trying to defend it.”
Some team news. No Santner, Boult, Allen or Milne for New Zealand, and Bairstow and Roy will miss out for England with minor injuries. Opening in their stead is none other than Harry Brook, with Dawid Malan. And Gus Atkinson, the latest off the Surrey conveyor belt, makes his England debut
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New Zealand win the toss and bowl
Jos Buttler, on his 33rd birthday, tosses the coin and Tom Latham calls correctly. He’s going to have a bowl. Buttler said he’d have batted had he won the toss, so everyone’s happy.
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A fair few England players are reacquainting themselves with the one-day game after a lengthy absence, including Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, both of whom are making their first ODI appearances since July last year, but the most high-profile of the returnees is of course Ben Stokes, hero of 2019, who reversed his ODI retirement for this series and the World Cup.
Whether he can ever be an all-rounder again remains a doubt though, as Tanya Aldred reported from yesterday’s presser:
Preamble
Afternoon everyone. And welcome to coverage of a lesser-spotted one-day international series. It’s increasingly hard to conveive that the 50-over game was English cricket’s overwhelming priority between 2015 and 2019. A mere four years later, the world champions at the format find themselves a month out from a World Cup preparing for their first ODI in six months, their entire squad having played no 50-over cricket throughout the summer due to their participation in the Hundred. How will they step up to the 300 today?
And England could do with some tuning up. Their white-ball cricket has been pretty patchy since 2022’s World T20 success, with struggles in South Africa and Bangladesh early in the year and an inability to handle New Zealand’s powerful fightback to square the recent T20 series. But any squad that has the luxury of grappling with whether to pick a talent as assured and in form as Harry Brook should have plenty to work with.
As for the Black Caps, this is their first ODI in a while too, their most recent series a 4-1 shellacking in Pakistan in May, but some of the T20 series’ stars will be augmented by the return of the likes of Tom Latham and Trent Boult. All of which makes this match and series fiendishly difficult to call. Bring it!
Play starts at 12.30pm BST.
