Key events
WICKET! Mark Chapman st Buttler b Rashid 15 (New Zealand 123-4)
Rashid strikes the first ball after drinks, looped up above the eyes and Chapman can’t resist a mow, Buttler does the rest with the batter stranded.
14th over: New Zealand 123-3 (Phillips 31, Chapman 15) Jacks is back for his third, he gets in and out of it for seven runs and no boundaries which is a win at this stage. Time for a drink before the final part of the New Zealand innings.
13th over: New Zealand 116-3 (Phillips 29, Chapman 11) Liam Dawson returns for his third over, his first four balls only go for a couple before Chapman releases the shackles with consecutive whips through the leg side with the spin for four. This is a good platform for New Zealand, pressure on England.
12th over: New Zealand 106-3 (Phillips 28, Chapman 2) Mark Chapman joins Glenn Phillips. Bosh! Phillips makes it look so simple, on the front foot and thumping a full ball back over Ahmed’s head for four. Nine runs off the over in total and the hundred up for New Zealand.
WICKET! Rachin Ravindra c Bethell b Rehan Ahmed 11 (New Zealand 97-3)
Rehan Ahmed gets a wicket with his very first World Cup ball! In truth it is a bit of a drag down but he won’t mind one bit, Rachin Ravindra toe ending to Bethell at deep midwicket, the youngster taking a fine tumbling catch.
11th over: New Zealand 97-2 (Ravindra 11, Phillips 21) Ravindra is a classic strokemaker but he doesn’t need any of that business to the first ball from Jacob Bethell, a full bunger is bunted down the ground for four. A single brings Phillips on strike, he looks particularly dangerous for England, he rasps a drive back past the bowler for four and then is lighting quick between the wickets to turn one into two, England’s fielding has been a bit off it in the last couple of games.
10th over: New Zealand 84-2 (Ravindra 4, Phillips 15) Eight runs off Jacks. Ten overs done and the game is well poised. New Zealand have wickets in hand for a back ten assault.
9th over: New Zealand 77-2 (Ravindra 2, Phillips 10) Glenn Phillips has bulked up significantly since I last saw him, he’s absolutely hench. Jacked. Stacked. Rigged. A decent Heathcliff you might say. Anyway, he uses his burly frame to muscle a Rashid googly over the leg side for SIX and then swats a shorter ball through the off for four. No mither.
8th over: New Zealand 66-2 (Ravindra 1, Phillips 0) Just two runs and the wicket off Jacks’s first. Rashid is coming back for his second with two new batters at the crease to have a go at.
WICKET! Finn Allen c Bethell b Jacks 29 (New Zealand 66-2)
That’s a gift of a dismissal for England! Will Jacks loops one down, Allen goes for a big one but gets nowhere near enough on it, just flicking tamely to Jacob Bethell in the deep on the leg side. Softly, softly catchee Kiwi. England will take them any which way.
7th over: New Zealand 64-1 (Allen 28, Ravindra 0) Rachin Ravindra is in at first drop for New Zealand. The stumping was closer than it looked on the replay, nifty work by Jos Buttler with the gloves, that’ll give him some confidence…
WICKET! Tim Seifert st Buttler b Rashid 35 (New Zealand 64-1)
Adil Rashid summoned, here is a key battle, if he goes for some tap then England are in trouble. SIX! Danger signs as Seifert has his eye firmly in now, a slog sweep is nailed over square leg.
Gone next ball! A flighted leggie, Seifert can’t resist and swipes fresh air with his back foot out of his ground. Lovely bowling and England needed that.
6th over: New Zealand 54-0 (Seifert 26, Allen 27) Sam Curran called into action by Brook, he bustles in and floats one down in the slot. Finn Allen does not mis out, smearing away for SIX. Curran is then in survival mode and manages to get out of the over for the cost of ten runs. Powerplay down, New Zealand come out on top, especially given the first over of the match was a maiden.
5th over: New Zealand 44-0 (Seifert 26, Allen 17) Tim Seifert rides the storm and now comes to the party. He backs away to leg and clubs Archer for consecutive fours through the off side and down the ground. SIX! The next ball is climbed into with relish by Seifert, a short ball is sent soaring over midwicket and into the sparsely populated stands. The camera pans to a rueful Harry Brook, maybe one too many for Archer. New Zealand now looking healthy in the Powerplay, 16 runs off the over.
4th over: New Zealand 28-0 (Seifert 11, Allen 16) Dawson wheels away, Allen trots out of the crease and pulverises a full ball over the bowler’s head for SIX. “If it is up it is off” says Nasser Hussain on the Tv comms. Dawson recovers well though, singles the order of the rest of the over. Archer is coming back for a third on the bounce.
3rd over: New Zealand 17-0 (Seifert 8, Allen 8) Archer is up at 91 MPH and has the opening batters hopping. Seifert scampers a leg bye to get off the mark. Over to Finn Allen… GAS. Archer beats him with a rapid ball first up. He follows up with a slower ball that Allen spots, no doubt breathing a sigh of relief – and smashes over mid on for SIX! Keep the pace on I reckon Jofra.
2nd over: New Zealand 8-0 (Seifert 7, Allen 1) Liam Dawson with the second over, spin and pace from England. Seifert attempts a reverse swipe but misses completely. He then goes for a straight sweep off the next ball and connects, the ball loops behind square for the first New Zealand boundary of the match. Archer coming back for more, can Seifert lay bat on him this over?
1st over: New Zealand 0-0 (Seifert 0, Allen 0) Seifert is in all sorts of problems to Archer, the bowler cuts him in two twice in the over with balls zipping off the pitch. Seifert is then given out on the field caught behind but reviews it immediately. Sure enough it was back pad rather than bat. NOT OUT. Archer is on the money though and stitches together a maiden to begin the match.
Tim Seifert and Finn Allen open up for New Zealand. Jofra Archer has the ball in hand for England, play!
There’s a very short 60 metre boundary on one side, New Zealand utilised this well with left-right hand batting combinations against Sri Lanka, essentially someone was nearly always hitting towards the smaller side.
We’ll be underway in a couple of minutes, Simon Burnton is our man on the ground.
The teams walk out onto the field and Ian Smith’s Kiwi tones drift out of my television. The weather is set fair so no chance of the wet stuff scuppering us.
Talking of rain, I went to see “Wuthering Heights” last night. I’ll keep my powder dry on that one but it does beg the question who would be the best Heathcliff in England’s squad – it’s Jamie Overton isn’t it? Though if Harry Brook grew his hair and got a gold tooth he’s already got the accent in place, could probably teach Jacob Elordi a thing or two… I said I’d keep my powder dry, unlike Elordi’s shirt. Am tekkin mick eh Kath-eh.
Teams:
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
England have brought in Rehan Ahmed for Jamie Overton, it’s spin to win in Colombo. New Zealand are unchanged, they need to win to get through to the semis.
New Zealand win the toss and will bat first
Mitch Santner calls the coin correctly and has no hesitation in batting first. It’s a used surface and the chat is that it will spin big so it is a case of get runs on the board and then put the pressure on with the ball. Santner himself will be a handful on this surface.
Harry Brook confirms he would have done the same, he also confirms that he will bat at number three again today. Both captain’s look extremely UP for it. Confirmed teams incoming…
Preamble
James Wallace
Stick. Move. Drop?
England have qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 world cup but there is one thing nagging away at them – the form of Jos Buttler.
After four single figure scores in the tournament so far and more widely no white ball international fifty in sixteen innings and counting, England’s greatest ever white ball batter is stuck in a rut. Think Charlie Brown in Peanuts being followed by that grey raincloud. Of late Buttler has resembled the Sad Eyed Jossy of the Low Scores from the end of his unfulfilled Test career. He’s got to come good soon, surely?
The signs are that England will stick with their man, today’s match against New Zealand gives Buttler a chance to make a score and stop the chatter before the big business begins. The result in Colombo will determine whether New Zealand also qualify and also who England will play in the final four, they’ll do well to avoid a rampant looking South Africa. There are no unimportant innings and no small matches now.
Play begins at 1.30pm GMT, the toss and the teams are imminent…
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes