Jos Buttler echoes Latham, saying Livingstone and Curran produced a fantastic partnership. “Delighted after the position we found ourselves in,” he says. “[If anything] I’d want us to go harder. It’s been a hallmark of the team to make sure we fall on the positive side. We need to do that, encourage everyone to be ultra-positive.” He almost sounds like Ben Stokes.
That’s it from me. Thanks for your company, correspondence and prescient predictions (Kim Thonger, 21st over). A soggy day turned into a fascinating contest, dominated first by Trent Boult, then by Liam Livingstone, and finally settled by a fine team effort from England’s bowlers. Do join us on Wednesday for the next instalment – and before that, on Tuesday, to see if England’s women can wrap up their series against Sri Lanka.
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Tom Latham steps up to talk to Isa Guha, who has a fearless first question: where do you think things fell apart? He takes it well. “They had a couple of great partnerships and unfortunately we weren’t able to take those last two wickets. Credit to Liam [Livingstone] for a fantastic innings.”
Time for the presentations. The player of the match award, which was in Trent Boult’s pocket at one point, ends up going to Liam Livingstone for his 95 not out, the biggest and best innings of his ODI career.
“I wouldn’t quite say it was a rescue mission,” he says with a smile. “It’s something we pride ourselves on, we’ve got a lot of depth.” Asked about his lean patch, he adds: “It’s a frustrating game and sometimes you can overthink things. I’ve not been at my best, I’ve probably overthought things at times, but thankfully today my hard work has paid off.”
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An email comes in from Jonathan McKinley. “Never mind nudging ahead of Brook and Ali – who once again answered the call with a responsible knock and some effective bowling – Livingstone is currently looking in better form than Root. A Brook-Livingstone-Ali-Curran-Woakes 5-9 would be a daunting prospect for any middle to late over bowler.”
What is it with these two teams? They drew the T20s 2-2, and now they’re drawing the ODIs 1-1. We may need a super series.
England battled back from the brink thanks to Jos Buttler, who showed that it was possible to go at a run a ball on a seaming, turning surface, and then to Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran, who put on 112. This was the fifth-highest stand for the seventh wicket by England in ODIs, and the best not involving either Buttler (three of the top four) or Chris Woakes (also three).
After giving themselves a sporting chance with the bat, England showed a sharp improvement with the ball. Reece Topley was himself again with three wickets and two catches. David Willey was spot-on with three wickets and a run-out. Gus Atkinson was impressive too and Moeen Ali stepped up to play the role of the injured Adil Rashid, taking the big wicket of Daryl Mitchell. The World Cup winners are back in business.
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England win by 79 runs!
NZ 147 all out (Boult c Curran b Willey 1, Henry 3no) It’s all over! Boult clumps to mid-on, and England complete a fabulous recovery. They were 8 for 3.
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WICKET! Southee c Bairstow b Willey 4 (NZ 145-9)
And another! One catch for Bairstow brings two as Southee picks him out at deep midwicket. At least this means the crowd will get to see Trent Boult bat.
26th over: New Zealand 144-8 (Henry 1, Southee 4) Southee, who can hit the ball a long way, gets going with a slap over mid-off for four.
The first of those two wickets, by the way, was Moeen’s 100th in one-day internationals. Whatever he discussed with Buttler and Root in those conferences, it seemed to do the trick. Moeen’s fifth over went for 11 runs but included the wicket England really needed.
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WICKET! Santner c Bairstow b Moeen 4 (NZ 140-8)
One brings two for Moeen. Santner goes for the big heave-ho and can only give the simplest of catches to backward point, where Bairstow waits for the ball rather theatrically and then grabs it safely. Game over, surely.
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WICKET!! Mitchell c Topley b Moeen 57 (NZ 139-7)
Got him! Moeen, just after being hit for six by Mitchell, somehow gets rid of him. The ball was a full toss, and Mitchell picked the wrong man to try and hit it over at mid-off – Reece Topley. His dreamy evening now contains two catches as well as three wickets.
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Fifty to Mitchell!
25th over: New Zealand 133-6 (Mitchell 51, Santner 4) Buttler summons Willey, who took a big early wicket (Allen) and followed it with an outstanding run-out (Young). He too keeps it tight, although Mitchell takes a single to reach another fine fifty off 49 balls with six fours. NZ need 94 off nine overs. England are firm favourites, but Mitchell may have other ideas.
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24th over: New Zealand 128-6 (Mitchell 48, Santner 2) Buttler keeps two overs of Atkinson up his sleeve and goes back to Moeen. He keeps it tight, restricting Mitchell to singles and holding conferences with both Buttler and Root. England have so many captains out there, they don’t even have to consult Stokes.
The target comes down to two figures. NZ need 99 off ten overs.
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23rd over: New Zealand 123-6 (Mitchell 45, Santner 0) England’s bowlers have been much better here and none better than Topley, who finishes with figures to match: 7-0-27-3. NZ need 105 from 11 overs, and although Santner is handy, Mitchell is going to have to get another hundred.
WICKET! Rabindra c Root b Topley 2 (NZ 123-6)
One brings three! And it’s Topley again, dishing up our old friend line’n’length. Rachin Ravindra gets the nick and this time there is a slip, Joe Root, who takes a fine low catch. Dismissed for a duck, ignored as a bowler, Root has finally come to the party.
WICKET! Phillips c&b Topley 2 (NZ 119-5)
Add two wickets, said Kim Thonger, and England have! In fact Topley has. He persuades Glenn Phillips to return to sender and somehow holds onto a sharp chance, perhaps because the only alternative was to get hit on the hip.
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22nd over: New Zealand 119-4 (Mitchell 45, Phillips 2) Buttler takes Moeen off (3-0-14-0) and brings back Atkinson, so it’s height at both ends. Mitchell pulls a bouncer for a majestic four, then takes a tight single … but Harry Brook can’t take the chance to run him out. This series is not going well for England’s next great batter, but a minute later he has a smile on his face, so maybe he’ll bounce back.
Meanwhile, the rate is climbing. NZ need 108 from 12 overs at exactly nine.
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21st over: New Zealand 113-4 (Mitchell 40, Phillips 1) The sun comes out to see what’s going on. The shadows are long, and none longer than that of Reece Topley, the amiable beanpole who now has his first international wicket in four innings. His comeback over is excellent – a wicket and four singles. The only problem is, he has just the one over left.
A couple of minutes before that wicket, there was an email from Kim Thonger. “Even as I type this,” he wrote, “I realise it’s cliched and pedantic, but nevertheless, true in these circumstances. Add 2 wickets to the score, however they happen, and England are in complete control. I favour a bizarre run-out and a six being scooped back into play over the boundary to be snaffled by the assisting fielder, for what it’s worth.” Ha. You’ve already been proved at least half-right.
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WICKEY! Latham c Buttler b Topley 19 (NZ 111-4)
Just what the blogger ordered! Jos Buttler brings back Reece Topley, who does the trick with his extra bounce as Latham feathers a nick.
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20th over: New Zealand 109-3 (Mitchell 38, Latham 18) Moeen continues and finds some turn. Latham reverse-sweeps for three, helped by some sloppiness in the field. Before that, a single brings up the 50 partnership off 48 balls. It’s been steady, and England ned to break it, knowing what Mitchell can do in the closing stages. NZ need 119 from 14 overs at a rate of 8.5.
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19th over: New Zealand 104-3 (Mitchell 37, Latham 14) Mitchell, so often a thorn in England’s Test side last year, is doing it again. As Sam Curran goes round the wicket, Mitchell pulls for four, tucks for two … then edges for four, and edges for four again! No slip in! Slip is a run-saving position. Curran bowls well enough to bamboozle a dominant batter twice, and still concedes 15 off the over. NZ need 124 off 15 overs.
18th over: New Zealand 89-3 (Mitchell 23, Latham 13) Moeen to Latham: this should be promising for England – an off-spinner, a left-hander, and a turning pitch. Latham encourages them by playing the sweep, shakily, not once but twice. Neither attempt gets past Ben Stokes on the 45. No joy for Mo yet, but only three off the over.
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17th over: New Zealand 86-3 (Mitchell 22, Latham 11) Drinks are like a line break in a piece of writing, a chance for a fresh start. Latham, facing Curran, takes that chance by pulling the first ball for a very punchy four. Curran is up for the fight, as ever, and manages three dots, but Latham adds a two and a single to move into double figures. At the halfway stage, NZ need another 141 at 8.35 an over.
Drinks: England narrowly ahead
16th over: New Zealand 79-3 (Mitchell 22, Latham 4) Time for some spin as Buttler turns to Moeen Ali. He’s standing in as England’s No.1 spinner, a role he has seldom relished, because his great mate Adil Rashid has a slight calf injury. Mitchell is on the attack right away, spotting a long hop and pulling for four, but the rest of the over is steady.
At drinks, England are just about on top, thanks to Willey and Atkinson, but they need to get rid of the mighty Mitchell.
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15th over: New Zealand 73-3 (Mitchell 17, Latham 3) Atkinson bothers Mitchell again with the bouncer, but his pull is so badly mistimed that it falls well short of the men out in the deep. Mitchell tries to assert himself by trying his lofted straight drive on Atkinson. It half-works, going for two. The rate required reaches 8.17: NZ need 154 off 19 overs.
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14th over: New Zealand 68-3 (Mitchell 12, Latham 3) Now Mitchell does something he kept doing in Cardiff: he plays a lofted straight drive with the greatest of ease. The bowler is Curran, who perhaps forgets that he’s got mid-on and mid-off up, as he goes full and allows Mitchell to go aerial with impunity. So much depends on him.
13th over: New Zealand 60-3 (Mitchell 6, Latham 1) Mitchell does something he barely did at all in Cardiff: he plays an uncontrolled shot, squeezing Atkinson into the leg side with a thick inside edge. He won’t mind too much as it goes for three. NZ need 167 off 21 overs, so the run rate required is very nearly eight.
12th over: New Zealand 56-3 (Mitchell 3, Latham 0) That over was bowled by Sam Curran, who kept the pressure up and conceded only a single.
NZ’s changes worked a treat in the field, as Boult reduced England to near-rubble and Santner kept things tight in the middle overs. But their change to the batting did not come off as Finn Allen flopped. And at this delicate stage, they could do with the man they dropped, Henry Nicholls, who was steady in Cardiff. Instead they have Tom Latham, who didn’t bat there. The game may well hinge on whether he can get a partnership going with Mitchell.
WICKET! Young run out Willey 33 (NZ 55-3)
This is very tight … but it’s out, because Will Young didn’t bust a gut and David Willey did. Swooping on the ball at mid-off, Willey saw the need to get rid of the ball fast, went under-arm and scored a direct hit. “Young was a little slow, a little lazy,” says Simon Doull.
Mitchell saved by a review
11th over: New Zealand 55-2 (Young 33, Mitchell 2) After a few balls from Atkinson to Young, the duel Sangakkara wanted to see is on. Atkinson greets Mitchell with a snarling bouncer and the finger goes up! But he reviews right away… It’s missed the glove, maybe brushed the sweatband … not out, says the third ump. Still, very promising from Atkinson, who has 2-0-8-1. The wicket, by the way, was his first in ODIs.
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10th over: New Zealand 51-2 (Young 32, Mitchell 0) After getting shot of one of their tormentors from Friday night, England now have to handle another: Daryl Mitchell, who was alarmingly dominant by the end of that game. He hasn’t faced a ball yet, as Young takes this over from Topley, which goes for just one run off the bat, plus a wide. “I’d like to see Atkinson really go at Mitchell,” says Kumar Sangakkara.
WICKET! Conway c Buttler b Atkinson 14 (NZ 49-2)
9th over: New Zealand 49-1 (Young 31) The ball has been swinging, which might persuade Buttler to turn to Curran, his third left-arm swinger. But he opts for greater pace and height in the form of Gus Atkinson, and the bet pays off handsomely as a lifter proves too much for Conway. He played about as badly as you can when you’ve just made a magnificent hundred.
Key event
8th over: New Zealand 45-1 (Conway 13, Young 28) Topley gets driven for four by Young, but fares better against Conway. He beats him outside off, then thinks he’s got him caught behind – but Conway reviews, and Ultra-Edge backs him up with a flat line. Topley has good figures, 4-0-17-0, and deserves even better. NZ need 183 more at seven an over.
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7th over: New Zealand 39-1 (Conway 12, Young 23) Willey continues, and at first the openers continue to have trouble locating the middle of the bat. Young plays a wild slice that isn’t far from a catch in the deep for Sam Curran. Conway, finding himself on five off 15 balls, resorts to the scoop and gets just enough of it to reach the rope. He likes that so much, he tries it again, and gets four more. The Powerplay ends with honours about even, NZ perhaps just ahead.
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6th over: New Zealand 29-1 (Conway 3, Young 22) Good from Topley too – another play-and-a-miss from Young, a half-arsed pull for a single from Conway, and no other runs off the over.
Here’s Damian Clarke, quoting something I said at 17:04. “‘The second [ball], swinging back in off a length, was so good, it could have been bowled by Mahika Gaur.’ What a wonderful phrase. Utmost respect.” Ha, thanks. The women have to put up with plenty of comparisons to their male counterparts, and I’ve been one of the guilty men, so it’s good to be able to go the other way.
5th over: New Zealand 28-1 (Conway 2, Young 22) Better from Willey, who begins this over by beating Young twice – once on the outside edge, once on the inside. He also gets the better of Conway twice, in more subtle ways – seeing him coming down the track and adjusting his length to make sure he doesn’t get the half-volley he’s after.
“Regardless of the result,” says Colum Fordham, “this match bodes well for England in terms of Livingstone finding his form just in time for the World Cup in India. Sam Curran played second fiddle extremely well and his bowling could be a key factor in the New Zealand innings. Quite a rebuild from the dire straits of the first few overs. I agree that Dawson would have been a good pick, if only to try him out for India.”
One of the good things about Dawson is that he’s so dependable, you don’t need to try him out. Everyone loves Moeen, but wouldn’t Dawson get more wickets, and at least as many runs?
4th over: New Zealand 26-1 (Conway 2, Young 21) Topley digs the ball in at the ribs but Young is equal to it, guiding it past third man for yet another four. NZ, unlike England, have got going in the first few overs, which means England will have to keep taking wickets.
3rd over: New Zealand 19-1 (Conway 1, Young 17) Willey starts his second over poorly, going too short and then too full – the classic over-correction that today’s batters are waiting for. Young cashes in with a force and an off-drive, and then gets lucky with an inside edge for a third successive four. Conway, who can barely get a shot in edgeways, is off the mark with a tuck off the pads.
2nd over: New Zealand 5-1 (Conway 0, Young 4) Jos Buttler keeps faith with Reece Topley, who used to take wickets for fun but has none from his last three outings. He starts better than he did the other night, producing a nasty bouncer for Will Young and then beating the bat of the all-conquering Devon Conway.
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1st over: New Zealand 1-1 (Conway 0, Young 1) Willey has been involved in eight balls of this game. With the bat, he faced two and hit seven runs (just). With the ball, he has bowled six, taken one for one – and even that one run came off a thick edge.
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WICKET! Allen b Willey 0 (New Zealand 0-1)
Castled! Allen, sent in to have a go, has to go after two balls. The first brought a review for LBW. The second, swinging back in off a length, was so good, it could have been bowled by Mahika Gaur.
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The players are out there in the gentle September sunshine. The new white ball is in the hands of David Willey, who missed out on it the other night.
Trad stats don’t always mean much in white-ball cricket, but Liam Livingstone’s average in ODIs has just gone from 33 to 44. In the league table of England’s blasters since the last World Cup, he now slots in between Jos Buttler (45) and Jonny Bairstow (41).
An email comes in from Philip Cornwall, better known to us OBO writers as the boss. “‘Fifty to Livingstone, I presume’,” he says, “reminded me of Vic Marks writing this in 2017: ‘Rashid and Moeen remain fragile assets and would welcome the reassuring presence of Saqlain as their spin doctor. Livingstone, I presume, may well get his chance later in the year...’” Ah, Vic – we miss his touch.
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England finish on 226-7
34th over: England 226-7 (Livingstone 95, Willey 7) Curran hit his penultimate ball for four, and Willey hits his first for six! But only just, as Daryl Mitchell caught it on the long-off boundary and tried the now-standard ploy of throwing it up and catching it, only to find that he had brushed the Toblerone with his foot. Livingstone can only manage a single and a two to finish, so no hundred for him. But it’s as good as: a magnificent innings that has somehow levered England from 8-3 to 226-7. They have a chance.
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WICKET! Curran c Boult b Southee 42 (England 215-7)
Curran brings out the ramp, has to switch it from the leg side to the off as Southee follows him, and ends up chipping a simple catch to short third. But Curran has done a superb job, digging England out of a deep hole.
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33rd over: England 211-6 (Livingstone 91, Curran 38) Boult gets a second over in a row and uses it expertly, targeting the batters’ toes and slipping in the odd wide slower ball. Livingstone can’t hit those out of the ground, so he may just miss out on a first ODI century. Boult is done for the day: after making a fairytale comeback with three for one inches 100th ODI, he ends up with three for 37 off his seven overs.
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32nd over: England 203-6 (Livingstone 88, Curran 36) Henry returns as Latham makes his umpteenth bowling change (how does he keep track of them all?). But it works as Henry manages something we haven’t seen for 21 balls: a dot. And another, as Curran misses with a waft at a bouncer. There’s a wide in between, but the over goes for only five … until the extra ball, which Livingstone pulls for six. Into the crowd! That’s the way to bring up the 200 – and the hundred partnership.
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31st over: England 192-6 (Livingstone 79, Curran 35) We interrupt this run-fest to inform you of an unexpected sighting in the Southampton area: some sunshine. Boult returns to find it’s a different ballgame from the one he found so easy earlier on. The batters have no trouble working him around for four singles and two twos, both to Curran.
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30th over: England 184-6 (Livingstone 77, Curran 28) Yet another bowling change as Southee returns. Livingstone tucked him into earlier, bashing 17 off an over, and now he produces consecutive fours – a pull to midwicket, mistimed but muscular, and then a pull to long-on, properly middled. The first of these fours takes England’s run rate to six for the first time. Curran adds two, chipped over extra-cover. Southee, deprived of the new ball for once, has gone for 50 off his six overs, and England can now dream of more than 200.
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29th over: England 171-6 (Livingstone 68, Curran 26) Latham, ringing the changes as if this was a T20 game, goes back to Santner. He finds some turn but the ball is too wide and Curran hits his second six. It’s even better than the first – inside out, over extra-cover, the sort of shot his brother Tom was reeling off a fortnight ago in the Hundred final.
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28th over: England 158-6 (Livingstone 63, Curran 17) Phillips returns for a second over. It’s a bold move from Tom Latham and it almost pays off as Livingstone tries too hard to go big. The last ball hits him in the groin, bang in front of the stumps, and when NZ review, it looks out – but it’s umpire’s call.
Key event
27th over: England 154-6 (Livingstone 60, Curran 16) Livingstone, facing Henry, misses a pull, groans, but gets it right next ball to beat the man at long leg. A couple of singles take these two to a fifty partnership from 37 balls, riches indeed after the rags of 8-3. According to Sky’s statisticians, this is the first time Livingstone has faced 50 balls in any form of cricket for two years. It’s as if his whole working life is a series of TikTok videos.
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26th over: England 147-6 (Livingstone 54, Curran 15) Right on cue, Curran turns into Willey and swings Ravindra for six! The partnership is 44 off 33 balls, much quicker than anything that went before. And as England look down the tunnel, they can just make out 200 at the other end.
25th over: England 137-6 (Livingstone 52, Curran 7) Just four off the over from Santner, who has been very thrifty (6-0-25-1). ngland were unlucky today with the toss, which allowed the NZ seamers to bowl in mouth-watering conditions. But they haven’t helped themselves with some of their decisions. They could have opened with Jos Buttler, who is used to the Powerplay, and held Harry Brook back. They could have picked Liam Dawson in their squad: he must be tearing his hair out seeing how well the NZ slow left-armers are doing on his home patch. And they could have sent David Willey in ahead of Sam Curran, who missed the last game. Curran has seven off ten balls: Willey, whose eye was in the other night, might well have 15 by now.
Fifty to Livingstone, I presume
24th over: England 133-6 (Livingstone 50, Curran 5) Henry replaces Ravindra. He’s hard to get away, but these two run well and a hard-hit hook for a single takes Liam Livingstone to a fine fifty off 47 balls with six fours. “Super-talented cricketer,” says Eoin Morgan.
23rd over: England 125-6 (Livingstone 47, Curran 1) This is more like it from Livingstone. Facing Southee, he plays a pull with such fast hands that it beats the man at fine leg, then does the same to the man at extra-cover with an inside-out drive. He adds a nudge to leg for two, a gorgeous glide for four, a shovel for two, and finally a dab for a single to nick the strike. That’s 17 off the over. England’s run rate has finally got past five, and Livingstone has booked his place for the World Cup. He’s not just ahead of Harry Brook: he may well be sneaking past Moeen too.
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22nd over: England 108-6 (Livingstone 30, Curran 1) Phillips can’t have been badly winded because he’s now bowling, purveying his part-time off-breaks. Livingstone is itching to launch him into the Solent, but has to settle for a two and the odd single.
21st over: England 103-6 (Livingstone 26, Curran 0) Moeen had made 11 off his last five balls, including the dismissal, but only 22 off 27 before that. Buttler apart, England have batted as if they misheard the instructions and thought they had 84 overs, not 34.
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WICKET! Moeen c Phillips b Southee 33 (England 103-6)
What a catch! Moeen flashes and miscues, the ball loops up towards cover, and Glenn Phillips leaps like a salmon to make a phenomenal grab. He lands heavily and seems to wind himself, but may feel it’s worth it.
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20th over: England 99-5 (Moeen 29, Livingstone 26) The shortest game that would count here is 20 overs a side, so England’s innings could be done and dusted even sooner than we thought. Moeen wakes up, smells the coffee and slog-sweeps Ravindra for six. He may have been aiming for his own face, blown up on a poster on the concourse.
“Long batting line-up,” murmurs John Starbuck. “Is Gus Atkinson a belter, then? Even if he isn’t, a long innings from him would be highly valuable.” Ha, it would. Gus is a man of few runs in white-ball cricket, but he has a first-class best of 91.
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19th over: England 88-5 (Moeen 20, Livingstone 24) Latham goes for the kill, replacing slow left-arm with moderately fast left-arm. Back comes Trent Boult, who already has one hand on the Player of the Match award after taking three for three at the top of the innings. Buttler did go after him in his fourth over, and Liam Livingstone emulates him now with a lofted cover-drive that goes off like a rocket.
And it’s raining again.
18th over: England 82-5 (Moeen 19, Livingstone 19) Another over of slow left-arm, another over of slow batting. Buttler was his usual exuberant self, and Stokes tried to be too, but the rest have been strangely tentative.
17th over: England 79-5 (Moeen 18, Livingstone 18) Tom Latham continues with slow left-arm at both ends, and Santner beats Livingstone with a ball so good that all the batter can do is miss it by a foot and smile ruefully.
Thanks Geoff and afternoon everyone. When the teams were announced, I couldn’t work out why England had picked such a long batting line-up for such a short game. Now we know.
That’s the drinks break. And now that there’s a game up and running, that’s enough for me from late-night Melbourne. For the rest of this strange day you’ll be with Tim de Lisle.
16th over: England 73-5 (Moeen 17, Livingstone 14) Rachin Ravindra comes on for his first over, another left-arm spinner to pair with Santner. He doesn’t start so well though, dragging down a ball that Livingstone can heave for four over midwicket, then serving up a slow full toss that Livingstone can’t hit cleanly and only gets a couple. Still, eight from the over is helpful for England.
15th over: England 65-5 (Moeen 16, Livingstone 7) That leaves 20 overs to come. A format familiar to Livingstone and Moeen, but they won’t be used to doing it with only five wickets to spare. Moeen gets down low and slog-sweeps, Livingstone drives hard behind point, but they still only get singles. Four of those in total, plus a wide.
14th over: England 60-5 (Moeen 14, Livingstone 5) The Kiwis want to attack in the field, bringing seven men up and leaving only two out. Livingstone finds the gap anyway, slashing Southee behind point. Allen slides across from deep third but parries the ball laterally and into the rope rather than back into play. Other than that Livingstone gets driven back onto his stumps by a hard line and length, so can’t get any more than those four runs from the over.
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13th over: England 56-5 (Moeen 14, Livingstone 1) A good over from Santner continues after the wicket from the first ball. Mixes up his pace to Livingstone, slowing one up to turn past the edge, spearing others, and the big hitter can only push a single from his fifth delivery.
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WICKET! Buttler b Santner 30, England 55-5
The most important one! Buttler has been on a different plane today, but he’s on his bike now. Santner drives a non-turning delivery into the pitch from his hgh release point. It sticks, bounces high. Buttler cuts but mistimes, edging it from above his bails back down into the stumps.
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12th over: England 55-4 (Buttler 30, Moeen 14) Still all quiet: a couple of runs to point for Buttler from Southee, a few more singles. Remember they only have 34 overs to bat today.
11th over: England 49-4 (Buttler 26, Moeen 13) Santner gets shovelled down the ground by Moeen for one, then drops short to Buttler and is cut for another. Three singles from the over is a return he will happily accept.
10th over: England 46-4 (Buttler 24, Moeen 12) Tim Southee for his first over. Remember when he tore England apart at the 2015 World Cup? Seven wickets for nothing much. Beats Moeen twice here, cramps him with a shorter ball, but still gets caressed through cover for four, then tries again for two more.
9th over: England 40-4 (Buttler 24, Moeen 6) Santner on for some spin, the fielding restrictions are done given this is a reduced game. Buttler drives him through cover for four! In a match where everyone else has struggled, Buttler is 23 from 14 balls. A little yelp for lbw later in the over but it’s slanted down leg side.
8th over: England 34-4 (Buttler 19, Moeen 5) An early entry for Moeen Ali. Defends his first ball standing up straight, trades singles with Buttler, then effortlessly drives through cover for four.
WICKET! Brook c Allen b Henry 2, England 28-4
With England having just taken some momentum, Brook gives it back! Swings across the line at Henry, not a slog but trying to pick it up off his pads. Instead it’s a leading edge that goes high in the air, descending into the hands of mid on.
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7th over: England 28-3 (Brook 2, Buttler 18) Swat! Boult might be hoovering wickets, but that won’t stop Buttler taking him on. Whacks a length ball off the top of its bounce down the ground. Second boundary for the day in the seventh over, and the first was a nick. Boult tries bowling it wider, across the right-hander, but Buttler waits to size it up and repeats the does, this time through mid off rather than mid on. Wider still goes Boult, and Buttler chases it to deep point for two. Then lofts the final ball down the ground for four more, over mid off!
Wow. Where did that come from? Trent Boult had 3 overs, 3 runs and 3 wickets to that point. Then his fourth over goes for 15.
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6th over: England 13-3 (Brook 2, Buttler 4) Brook walks at Henry and gets a run via an outside edge. Slip half slaps the ball down as it bounces by. Buttler is more controlled, again gliding a couple of runs.
5th over: England 10-3 (Brook 1, Buttler 2) Genuine bounce from Boult too when he drops one in short. Almost another wicket maiden but Buttler dabs two from the sixth ball.
WICKET! Stokes c Southee b Boult 1, England 8-3
Another one down! The old firm combines once again, Boult and Southee: Boult with a length ball swinging away from Stokes, Southee with the straightforward catch as Stokes charges the bowler, goes through with the shot despite needing to reach for the width of its line, and drives hard and flat at mid off.
Updated
4th over: England 8-2 (Brook 0, Stokes 0) Brook glides his first run. Henry keeps up the pressure that Boult has built, wobbling the ball in the air, then off the seam, cutting into the pads of Stokes. Eventually England’s Test skipper gets off the mark with a flick square to start his day.
3rd over: England 6-2 (Brook 0, Stokes 0) How things can change in an over. Double wicket maiden! Stokes tries to bash the ball back past Boult but the bowler dives to the ground to get in the way.
WICKET! Root lbw Boult 0, England 6-2
Two balls later, another! Make that 189 wickets for Boult. This one is all his own doing, the quintessential left-armer’s dismissal. Over the wicket, starts across, swings back, pitches on middle, hits Root in front of middle and leg, would have hit leg stump flush. Brook has the confidence to tell his far senior Yorkshire mate not to bother with a review - just tuck the bat and have a stroll, champ. Root is not an egotist, and rightly does so.
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WICKET! Bairstow c Santner b Boult 6, England 6-1
What a grab! ODI wicket 188 for Trent Boult, getting into the action early on his comeback, but it’s all due to Mitchell Santner. Bairstow aims through the leg side, gets a high leading edge that is surely clearing cover. But Santner gets on the Marcel Marceau stepladder, climbs up into the air, and periscopes his left hand up to the ball. It sticks!
Santner can sometimes frustrate by underdelivering with his batting or bowling, but people do forget that he adds that ability in the field.
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2nd over: England 6-0 (Bairstow 6, Brook 0) Stuart Broad has shifted straight from the Ashes into the commentary box, and has already said “role clarity” about eight times as they talk about whether Harry Brook should go to India. Bairstow nicks Matt Henry for four, genuine edge pushing at the ball but no slip. Takes a run off his pads. Brook is beaten on the outside edge.
1st over: England 1-0 (Bairstow 1, Brook 0) Back in the groove right away, Trent Boult. Left-arm swing, across the right-handers and back in or moving away. Beats Bairstow’s edge, takes the inside half as well. Concedes just a single.
“Brightening up rapidly here just outside Bath. Clear afternoon ahead. Game on. Just about time to get out of bed to a bacon sarnie I reckon,” says Showbiz.
Chris reports, “Rain stopped here in Fair Oak (4 miles from the ‘Rose Bowl’) and the sun is trying to pop his hat on.” Hip hip hip hooray!
The two wicketkeeping captains give their changes. Bairstow, Curran, Moeen in for England. Jason Roy still has some problem with his back, apparently, which conveniently lets Brook stay in. Dawid Malan has just welcomed a new baby into the world so he’s off duty. Chris Woakes is the other change.
New Zealand bring back Trent Boult… for ODI #100 in his career. It’s been a long wait on 99 since he forewent his national contract to play franchise T20s. But NZC have brought him back for the big event. Lockie Ferguson makes way for him. Finn Allen returns to open the batting with Will Young moving down and Henry Nicholls dropping out. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner is the third swap, for tall pace bowler Kyle Jamieson.
Teams
England
Jonny Bairstow
Harry Brook
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Liam Livngstone
Jos Buttler * +
Moeen Ali
Sam Curran
David Willey
Gus Akinson
Reece Topley
New Zealand
Finn Allen
Devon Conway
Will Young
Darryl Mitchell
Tom Latham * +
Glenn Phillips
Rachin Ravindra
Mitchell Santner
Matt Henry
Tim Southee
Trent Boult
New Zealand win the toss and bowl
“With things changing with the weather and a bit of weather about later on,” says Tom Latham in time-honoured style, knowing what they’re chasing will be the most helpful way to approach the day.
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It won’t be the full half hour gap, in fact – they’ll plan to start play at 2pm local, 20 minutes after the toss.
We have a schedule for the toss! That will be 14 minutes from now. That still leaves the ground crew another half hour to finish getting everything ready.
Good news: the rain has stopped and they’re cleaning up pretty quickly at the ground now.
They’re mopping up the rain in Colombo, but not yet in Hampshire.
“Rain just stopped here in the New Forest - even trying to look sunny,” reports Charlie. That’s over to the west of our game.
To answer some questions on whether any play will happen – it could, if it stops raining. We are already well into losing overs, nearly two hours after the scheduled start of play. Clean-up generally takes at least 45 minutes, often more than an hour. Then the umpires will determine how much time is left. We could go as short as 20 overs a side – although this would still not be classified as a T20. We’re some hours away from such a big reduction though.
It’s now raining in Colombo as well. Which is a big surprise given we’re in monsoon season. India were 147 for 2 when that happened. Could be a second India-Pakistan washout in the space of a few days.
Meanwhile in Colombo, Rohit got out for 56, Gill for 58, with India now 146 for 2 against Pakistan. Near the halfway mark of the innings. Kohli and KL Rahul at the crease.
Persistent rain, is the word. Not drenching the place, but settled in. I’m not there but I just got off the phone with an unnamed source at the ground for a fresh, up-to-the-minute report. This is the kind of interrogative research, the endless hunt for truth, the unvarnished reality, that you can expect from the Guardian. We will stop at nothing. If that doesn’t make you sign up as a supporter, nothing will.
Updated
Still raining at the Bowl.
Rohit Sharma has gone up several gears, battering three sixes in quick time from Shadab Khan’s spin. Both Indian openers are into the 50s.
“Allow me to be the 2,516th reader to point out that Conway and Mitchell also clearly like batting in Wales, given that Friday’s match took place amid the pleasant surrounds of Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.”
Very fair, Peter Rees. The silent W in the ECB being overlooked as ever.
The Australians had a good win over South Africa yesterday, too. That included ODI century number 20 for David Warner, equal 14th on the all-time list. He went past Jayawardene, Lara, and (for now) Babar Azam. Warner was already second for Australia behind Ponting’s 30. He won’t catch that, but he could add a couple more between now and the end of the World Cup when his one-day career ends.
Here’s the match report.
In the meantime, India have started off their innings against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. None down for 63, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill starting off.
If you’re looking for something else to do in the meantime, Tanya Aldred has the county championship blog running from the parts of the country where it isn’t raining. Which, if I understand correctly from Melbourne, is all of them.
The Formerly Rose Bowl at Southampton (or more truthfully, vaguely near Southampton) is the culpable bit of geography for today’s interruption. If there’s one rule in cricket, always blame the place for the rain. It gives you something to do.
The coin toss is delayed
Some rain around, so heads-and-tails freaks will have to wait a little longer to get their fix.
Meanwhile, if you’re annoyed that Brook isn’t in England’s World Cup squad, spare a thought for Liam Dawson. According to George Dobell’s reporting in The Cricketer, the spin all-rounder was led to believe that he was going to be picked only to have the offer yanked thanks to Ben Stokes suddenly un-retiring. Which would suggest that Brook wasn’t going to be there even before the Stokes call.
Preamble
Hello world. Specifically, two of the bits of it that consist of small long wonky-shaped islands, joined by a mutual interest in cricket. It’s been quite the back and forth between England and New Zealand over the white-ball matches so far, with the home team blasting through the first two T20s before the Kiwis rebounded to take the next two and square that series, then going on to win the first 50-over game in a canter(bury). Devon Conway and Darryl Mitchell really like batting in England, hey?
Meanwhile, nobody in the home crowd even notices the results because everyone is busy groaning “Broooook, Harrrry Broooook” in anguish as they contemplate him not going to the World Cup because of the influence of Reasons (chiefly, one might argue, that his interesting career so far hasn’t in fact contained any 50-over cricket and his brief 20-over batting in India hasn’t been very good).
More of that to come today, with Cherrington likely to open the batting again, although those maverick renegades of the England camp might just do so with Reece Topley to keep things unexpected.
