Such has been the zing by which this reborn England side have played their one-day cricket this summer that the message coming from the camp before Saturday’s series decider with New Zealand at Chester-le-Street was one of continued relaxation rather than any pre-match nerves. Following thrilling wins at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge – and notable showings in defeat at Southampton and The Oval – the result here should allegedly not be considered the be-all and end-all.
That philosophical outlook is hard to take issue with, especially when delivered by the sparky fast bowler Mark Wood who, alongside his Durham team-mate Ben Stokes, addressed the assembled media with the reputedly haunted Lumley Castle as a backdrop, offering the latest opinions as to why Eoin Morgan’s side have well and truly laid the ghost of their horror World Cup to rest. Not that a local marketing drive was required – the game is a sell-out.
Win lose or tie – the latter perhaps most fitting for these two well-matched sides – Wood believes this series can only be viewed positively from an England perspective, representing progress against, if not always with, the white ball. Brendon McCullum’s hell-for-leather tourists have played their part too and now just 287 runs are required for this to pass the India and Pakistan’s efforts in 2004 and become the heaviest-scoring five-match rubber in history.
Following their epic chase of 350 at Trent Bridge on Wednesday – a win that drew the series level at two apiece and further underlined the elan by which England now play – Wood was happy, in his own way, to talk up their chances of securing a first bilateral series victory in 15 months at the ground where he learned his trade.
“Does the win at Trent Bridge give us an edge? Let’s be controversial and say yes it does,” joked Wood, who claimed his home town of Ashington will be coming to watch the game. “We’ll chase down anything eh? The manner of the victory was obviously pleasing, to win with six overs left, but we know how dangerous New Zealand are and they’ll come back fighting hard. It’s been a topsy-turvy series in terms of who’s come out with the end result but both teams have played some really good cricket.”
England’s preparations have been dented somewhat by a blow to the left hand of wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler in training. Splitting the webbing between thumb and forefinger, Buttler could play with a pain-numbing injection in the morning but it is far from an ideal option given the feel a gloveman requires in taking the ball and the proximity of the looming Ashes series – something Wood admits is hard not to think about, even ahead of a first international on his home ground.
While the medical staff are confident no further damage would be risked by Buttler playing, Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow was called into the squad on Friday and looks the sensible option – not least because of his own form with the bat this season that has seen him average 80 in the County Championship. Sam Billings, a specialist batsman at No7 this series, is the alternative given his status as Kent’s first-choice behind the stumps but it is Bairstow, we are told, who is next in line.
That issue aside, England have no reason to change tack from Nottingham – a game in which Butter’s scoring talents were not required as they chased down their target with just three wickets down – and the Chester-le-Street pitch looks another belter if your chosen profession is with bat in hand. For New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor, who was Durham’s overseas player five years ago, there is hope for the leather hurlers however.
“The ball tends to swing around a bit here, and it is a day match,” Taylor noted. “If you look back on Southampton that was also a day match and it has been the only game where the ball has swung – and swung consistently. You need to assess the conditions and a score between 280 and 320 could be a winning score here.”
That such numbers now represent a low-scoring one-day match is something in itself. The last time the two countries played out a decider for a five-match series was in Dunedin in 2002, where the home side triumphed by chasing down England’s 218 for eight with seven balls to spare thanks to an unbeaten 122 from Nathan Astle. Nasser Hussain, captain that day, scored 50 from 80 balls from No3, while Nick Knight’s 24 from 25 balls was considered racy and not a single six was struck by the tourists.
Fast-forward 13 years and the boundary rope has been cleared 69 times in these four games to date, with just another seven maximums required for what would be another record in a five-match series. With a match still to play, this series has already yielded 338 boundaries, more than any previous five-game series. It is little wonder therefore that bowlers, who would once snap your hands off for 10 overs, one for 40, are now rethinking what merits a decent set of figures.
“If you can go at under six an over then you’ve done pretty well,” said Wood. “Even eight an over is OK, especially in the powerplays. David Willey was disappointed to go at eight an over at Trent Bridge, but I just said to him: ‘Look, you’ve bowled up front when the field is in, and you’ve bowled at the end when they’re trying to hit it.’ If you go at eight as a bowler in those times, then you’re actually doing alright in this one-day series. We have to try to take wickets. If you take wickets, that’s the best way to stop the scoring.
“It’s like a long version of the Twenty20 now The batters come hard straight away, and there’s no looking to just knock it around. If the batsmen think they can take you down, they’re going to try to do that. My role as the attacking option is to fight fire with fire. If they’re going to come hard, I’m going to come hard as well as try to get them out. I quite enjoy that role.
Is it fair? “As a bowler, probably not,” he said. “But the crowds are here for entertainment, and they want to see fours and sixes and hear the loud music. It’s a challenge for us as bowlers, but we have to be up for that.”
England v New Zealand, Emirates Durham, 10.30am Saturday 20 June, probable teams
England Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Mark Wood, Steven Finn
New Zealand Brendon McCullum (capt), Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Mitchell Santner, Luke Ronchi (wk), Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Mitchell McClenaghan
