Two games into this series England were rampant and New Zealand, in the words of their own captain, Tim Southee, were “rotten”. But on a balmy evening at Trent Bridge in which Jonny Bairstow’s batting and Rehan Ahmed’s precociousness represented the home side’s only bright spots, the Black Caps completed their comeback with the fourth emphatic win of a topsy-turvy 10 days.
England won the toss and were powered through a promising start by Bairstow, but New Zealand spun their way back into contention before picking up their bats and bludgeoning their way to victory by six wickets, with 16 balls to spare. By the end England were ragged, and it was fitting that Rachin Ravindra’s winning boundary was helped on its way by a misfield.
