That’s all from me. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Well, the rain was a bit annoying to be frank, but before and after that, an absolute pleasure. Thanks for being there. Bye!
Updated
“Some of the cricket we’ve seen over the past five games is nothing short of sensational,” says Brendan McCullum. “I was pretty happy with our score, but we also knew the way the series has gone, any score was going to be tough to defend. When we had them at 45-5 we thought we were on to something but credit to England.
“Cricket in our country is in a good space at the moment. It’s tough when you play as well as we have in this series and still come second. There’s some areas we need to improve, but credit to England for being the better team. We were neck and neck throughout the entire series, and in the end they finished just in front.”
@Simon_Burnton Bairstow must have slammed the door on any hopes KP had of a comeback with that match winning innings.
— David Beckett (@David_J_Beckett) June 20, 2015
He still had hopes?
Kane Williamson is the man of the series. “It was an unbelievable series really, and to come down to a match which was more of a normal one-dayer, was probably the icing on top. England were outstanding, they deserved everything they achieved. Full credit to them. We’ve probably played alright as well. There’s some bits and pieces we’ll want to be improving on moving forward, but it was a great series to be a part of.
“I’m trying to bat with my mate at the other end, form those partnerships. You’re given a role and you try your best to execute it. They’ve been very good batting surfaces, and produced a lot of runs for both teams. It’s made for great viewing, and it’s nice to spend a bit of time on them.
“I’ll have a bit of time off, and then I’ll go back to Yorkshire in September for a few games.”
Toby Sims sums up popular opinion. Not all classics, but not a duff match among them.
@Simon_Burnton What a series, despite the pesky rain delays. Can we keep the Kiwis for the Summer? Nice guys, bringing out the best in Eng.
— Toby Sims (@4thfloor_monkey) June 20, 2015
Bairstow, unsurprisingly, is the man of the match. “It’s been fantastic,” he says. “To come back in, how the guys have played the series is absolutely wonderful and to top it off is really special. I’m delighted to have got the call, and to make a contribution with the gloves and the bat is fantastic. We knew if we take it deep, with a powerplay under our belt … it was take it deep, see what happens. I’m pleased with the way I’m playing at the moment. I’m just pleased to have contributed to this series.”
Bairstow got lucky once, with an inside edge that should have been caught by Ronchi, but otherwise his was a near-perfect innings, particularly impressive given the way England’s other batsmen were losing their heads and indeed their wickets.
It's been a long time since many of us have enjoyed a one day series as much as that. I welled up at the end there.
— Elizabeth Ammon (@legsidelizzy) June 20, 2015
Phenomenal innings from Bairstow, to drag England out of a great big heap of trouble, and after a very tiresome, lengthy drizzle delay, a suitably thrilling end to the series.
England win by three wickets!
25th over: England 192-7 (Bairstow 83, Rashid 12)
Bairstow gets a thick edge, which flies past a diving fielder at point and the batsman punches the air! The game’s won, with an over to spare!
24.5 overs: England 190-7 (Bairstow 81, Rashid 12)
Another wide! England have had three times as many extras in this innings as the Kiwis got in theirs, which was nearly twice as long. England need two more!
24.5 overs: England 189-7 (Bairstow 81, Rashid 12)
Excellent yorker, and Rashid does well to get some bat on it. The ball rolls about two feet, and the batsmen run a single anyway!
24.4 overs: England 188-7 (Bairstow 81, Rashid 11)
Rashid tickles this fine, and it’s another boundary! England need four runs, and have eight balls to get them!
Updated
24.3 overs: England 184-7 (Bairstow 81, Rashid 7)
Bairstow swings big again, but times it poorly and gets a single to midwicket.
24.2 overs: England 183-7 (Bairstow 80, Rashid 7)
Attempted yorker, slightly wide and a fraction short, and Bairstow hits over extra cover for four more!
Updated
24.1 overs: England 179-7 (Bairstow 76, Rashid 7)
So let’s go ball by ball! And Mathieson’s first is smacked over cover for four!
Updated
24th over: England 175-7 (Bairstow 72, Rashid 7)
After quite a long delay while he talks tactics with his captain, Southee bowls his penultimate over. His first delivery hits Bairstow on the thigh and they take a leg bye, and the next bounces high over Rashid, another wide. Perhaps a slightly inauspicious start to the over, but it’s followed by two dots, the first wide and full, the second just full, a lovely yorker. Rashid gets the meat of his bat onto the fourth ball, but picks out the man at deep midwicket. Two balls to go, three runs scored. Bairstow smacks the next, a slower delivery, through midwicket for four, but gets only a single from the last. Eight off it. England need 17 from the last two overs, at 8.5 runs each! The tension!
Updated
23rd over: England 167-7 (Bairstow 67, Rashid 6)
A 14-run over! After a quick Rashid single Bairstow spears Wheeler’s second ball through cover for a couple, but then misjudges the third – giving himself room, and then watching it disappear out of his reach – to such an extent that he doesn’t even play a shot. But the next is deflected to the third man boundary, the fifth hit high over point for three, and then Rashid clubs the last over cover for four more! England need 25, at 8.3333r an over.
22nd over: England 153-7 (Bairstow 58, Rashid 2)
Singles off the first two balls, and then Bairstow flicks off his hip, over two fielders at short fine leg and backward square leg, and away for four. A couple more singles, and then Bairstow flick the last ball up into the air, and straight down the throat of Santner at third man, who drops it! Three times! Did he just drop the series? Four overs to go, England need 9.75 from each of them. The next three will be a batting powerplay.
Updated
21st over: England 143-7 (Bairstow 50, Rashid 0)
After starting with a wicket, Wheeler’s second delivery is cut by Bairstow, but it’s well fielded at backward point and there’s no run, and the next is mishit straight to midwicket. Three balls bowled, no runs scored. Bairstow then hammers one through midwicket, but though a single off the last brings up his half-century, England really need more. They now need 49 at 9.8 an over.
WICKET! Willey c Santner b Wheeler 7 (England 138-7)
Willey hits the first ball of the over a little bit forward and quite a lot up, and Santner runs round from mid off to take an easy catch!
Updated
20th over: England 138-6 (Bairstow 45, Willey 7)
Bairstow clobbers Henry’s first ball down the ground, but only just clears mid on! Willey, though, nails a cover drive for four, and a couple of singles drag England another eight runs closer to their target. They require 54 runs, at precisely nine an over.
19th over: England 130-6 (Bairstow 42, Willey 2)
Wheeler’s back, and he’s that far from collecting the wicket the Kiwis want right now – Bairstow gets a thin inside edge but Ronchi’s surprised by it, doesn’t get his hands into position and fluffs the catch. On the plus side, he gets enough on it to stop the ball flying away for four, and England get only four from the over! England require 62 runs, at 8.86 an over.
18th over: England 126-6 (Bairstow 39, Willey 1)
Henry returns in short order, after a change of ends, and after he concedes another wide with an over-enthusiastic bouncer he … concedes another wide with an over-enthusiastic bouncer. Brendan McCullum comes over for a quick word, and the next ball takes the wicket. The required run rate ticks back up to 8.25, England needing 67 runs from the last eight overs.
WICKET! Billings c Taylor b Henry 41 (England 125-6)
The partnership is broken, and it takes another excellent catch to do it, Taylor diving to his left at midwicket as the ball flies past him!
Updated
17th over: England 121-5 (Bairstow 39, Billings 39)
Well this is happening. Mathieson returns, and England reach their eight-run target from the first four balls, with Billings getting four with a lovely flick past square leg. They add a couple of singles, and now need 71 runs, at 7.89 an over.
16th over: England 111-5 (Bairstow 35, Billings 33)
Elliott has a bowl, and it’s an excellent over for the batsmen from start to finish. It starts with a leg-side wide – New Zealand have bowled twice as many already as England did in their full 50 overs. Then Bairstow hits successive boundaries down the ground, before a single allows Billings to scoop the last over deep square leg for six. England need 81 runs at 8.1 an over.
Updated
15th over: England 95-5 (Bairstow 26, Billings 27)
A Henry bouncer flies way over Bairstow, perhaps a foot and a half over his head, giving England a bonus run. A single later Billings clubs down the ground with great vengeance, the bat swung so violently he fell over in the follow-through. England require 97 runs at 8.82 an over.
14th over: England 84-5 (Bairstow 25, Billings 18)
Southee bowls into Bairstow’s golden zone of ultimate hittingness, and the ball is thusly hammered over extra cover for four. The next goes in precisely the same direction, on the ground this time, with precisely the same outcome. England require 108 runs at precisely nine an over.
Updated
13th over: England 74-5 (Bairstow 16, Billings 17)
Matt Henry is unleashed, and England muster a meagre three singles. “Chris Evans talked such sense (with which I entirely concur) that (s)he couldn’t possibly have been that one,” writes Stephen Cooper. “For all the D-L doubters, it’s looking like England are heading for a straight loss anyway.”
“The BBC’s decision to appoint that Chris Evans as the new Top Gear presenter is trruy bizarre; Chris has never ever left a programme in anything other than rigor mortis. You’d have thought that the BBC would have thought that five million quid contracts were not quite what was required at this point in time.” The Beeb’s £5m would be better spent on some cricket highlights, if you ask me.
Updated
12th over: England 71-5 (Bairstow 14, Billings 16)
Santner is given a sixth over, ending at a disappointingly early stroke the who’ll-get-the-sixth-over discussions, and this will certainly be his last. Bairstow pounds the ball way over the head of mid on and away for four. The run rate is up to 8.64 an over now (or rather down to 8.64 an over – it would have been higher before the last two overs went for a combined 19).
11th over: England 63-5 (Bairstow 8, Billings 14)
Four runs! Billings boffs the ball past mid on and away to the rope, precisely four overs (and two wickets) since England’s last. And another! This time Billings tries to pull a short ball, and it deflects fine and vanishes past fine leg.
10th over: England 52-5 (Bairstow 8, Billings 3)
Santner’s fifth over (his last, probably, though one New Zealand bowler will be allowed a sixth) brings three singles and a two, Bairstow hitting a full toss to a fielder in the deep.
Andrew Mathieson is the 2nd @BLACKCAPS to take a wicket with his first ODI delivery after Shane Thomson in 1990 v India (Azharuddin)
— Richard V Isaacs (@RVISkyStatto) June 20, 2015
9th over: England 47-5 (Bairstow 5, Billings 1)
Mathieson’s first over costs two runs and brings one wicket, which is a pretty decent start. Which is more than can be said of England’s innings, and a testing target is now looking very tough indeed.
WICKET! Roy c Guptill b Mathieson 12 (England 45-5)
Curiouser and curiouser. Mathieson’s first ball in ODI cricket is short and wide. Roy deflects it, apparently quite deliberately, into the air as if intending to offer the fielders some catching practice, and Guptill, running back from point, proves up to the task.
Updated
8th over: England 45-4 (Roy 12, Bairstow 4)
So, Jonny Bairstow. The man who didn’t know he was playing 24 hours ago now has England’s immediate future in his hands. One of these two needs to bat big, surely.
Updated
7th over: England 42-4 (Roy 11, Bairstow 2)
Stokes appears to mean business, and he thrashes Wheeler’s first ball wide of mid on for four, and although the next didn’t go where he wanted it as he advanced with intent, flicks it fine for four more. Which makes what happens next a bit puzzling. That’s got nothing to do with Duckworth or Lewis.
WICKET! Stokes c B McCullum b Wheeler 17 (England 40-4)
That’s really silly batting. Stokes gets successive fours off the first two deliveries of the over. Good work, no pressure, enjoy the next four balls … and then he hits the third straight into the hands of Brendan McCullum at mid off.
Updated
6th over: England 32-3 (Roy 11, Stokes 9)
Stokes hits over midwicket, in the air but between fielders, for a one-bounce four, as Santner’s third over goes for nine. “Every time the DLS method comes into play there are constant grumblings about not understanding it and it not being fair,” sniffs Chris Evans (not that one). “I don’t have the numbers, but the logic makes perfect sense. England have 26 overs to bat, rather than 50. They’re far less likely to get bowled out, therefore can be more aggressive and the required run rate should be higher than for a 50 over match. Also, bear in mind that NZ’s bowlers can only bowl five overs each, not 10. Wickets are a huge factor in the DLS calculation, lots of wickets in hand means a lower target, lose wickets, you’re more likely to be bowled out then a higher target. 190 ish off 26 should be doable, about as likely as 290 ish off 50. It seems fair to me.”
5th over: England 23-3 (Roy 10, Stokes 2)
Ben Wheeler bowls, and foxes Stokes with some movement off the seam, meaning the over begins with four dots. Just a single off the over. Good to see the words Wheeler and moving reunited, though:
4th over: England 22-3 (Roy 10, Stokes 1)
There’s a delay, after Root’s dismissal, while a physio patches up Ronchi’s chin, which got thwacked by the ball mid-fumble. Morgan, then, has to hang about for a while before he gets a ball to face, perhaps contributing to his regrettable shot selection when it finally arrives. A bad start for England, then, and time for Jason Roy – ODI innings so far: 0, 39, 9, 38 – to stop the alternate-innings-are-totally-rubbish run.
WICKET! Morgan c Guptill b Santner 0 (England 20-3)
Morgan tries to cart his first ball over cow corner, and doesn’t get enough on it!
Updated
WICKET! Root st Ronchi b Santner 4 (England 20-2)
Root advances to Santner, misjudges the flight of the ball and it spins past him. He turns, already resigned to his fate, and although Ronchi fumbles, he still dislodges the bails before Root’s bat is grounded.
Updated
3rd over: England 20-1 (Roy 9, Root 4)
A scratchy start to the innings from England, with only that Root cover-drive showing any kind of timing, though the final ball of Southee’s second over is nicely worked by Roy off his ankles and past backward square leg for four. The over is enlivened by a couple of wides and listening to Michael Holding try to say “anomalies” – which takes four or five attempts – during a discussion of Duckworth-Lewis. “England should cruise to victory – this is not much more than an easy T20 chase,” sniffs Giles Brooke. “The Kiwis have been a bit hard done by. Still, that’s what happens when you let a former heavyweight boxing champion and someone from Coronation St decide the best way to finish rain-affected cricket matches.”
2nd over: England 12-1 (Roy 3, Root 4)
New Zealand bring some early spin, and Hales tries to punish them and regrets it. Root ends the over though with the first boundary of the innings, driven along the ground through the covers.
WICKET! Hales c Williamson b Santner 1 (England 8-1)
Super catch! Hales smacks the ball in the air, and Williamson snatches it, leaping, at full stretch, one-handed, at square leg!
Updated
1st over: England 7-0 (Roy 2, Hales 1)
Roy edges Southee’s first delivery wide of the second and final slip, and England’s run chase gets under way (he edges the last ball of the over, with identical results). Another single later a ball heading down leg side flicks off Roy’s thigh pad as he tries to turn it round the corner, and rumbles away for four leg byes. “Emiel de Bont is in good company,” writes David Wall, pointing out this video:
The sun’s still shining, and the players are on their way out!
@simon_burnton This is the 2nd longest day of the year...you can play cricket at midnight up North. Why only 26 overs?
— Mark Foot (@foot_mark) June 20, 2015
I see what you mean, but a 50-over innings would end pretty late, and people will have booked train tickets, booked dinner at top Durham eateries etc and so forth. And it’s certainly not as silly as reducing the second ODI by a meagre four overs. Anyway, ACTION!
“The Duckworth-Lewis Method has me puzzled,” laments Emiel de Bont. “The Kiwis manage 283 for loss of 9 wickets, using their full complement of 50 overs. Now England are asked to crack 192 off half that complement plus 6 balls. And is that with the new ball or is an umpire going to scoff and scratch it a bit? I don’t see how this could be fair.” It’s maths, though, innit. Maths is never fair.
@Simon_Burnton I go on holiday in July, any chance of some cricket before then?
— Ian a (@aalpol97) June 20, 2015
Very much so. Precisely 15 minutes from now, with apparently no chance of further rainfall. England’s required run rate has increased from 5.68 over 50 overs, to 7.38 over 26.
Update: England’s target is 192.
Still waiting to hear what England’s target will be, but around 190ish would probably cover it.
@Simon_Burnton one cover to go - 5:30 restart 26 overs. Blue sky now so all good for Hales to crunch a quick 50 pic.twitter.com/nw72Owu29J
— Mark Healey (@the_kauto_boy) June 20, 2015
So play will restart in 23 minutes, and England’s innings will be compressed into 26 overs.
Oooh!
Is that blue sky I can see??? #ENGvNZ @bbctms @DurhamCricket pic.twitter.com/MqRdRV2QY4
— Alison Fawell (@AliFawell) June 20, 2015
I’m afraid I need photographic proof of this.
Blue skies overhead now! #ENGvNZ
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) June 20, 2015
So of all the it’s-stopped-raining moments, this has to be the last. If play doesn’t start in the next 51 minutes, it will not start at all. Another half-hour of drizzle would spell the end. On the plus side, this would result in the drawn series that many observers feel would be its just and proper conclusion. On the downside, it would result in many howls of anguished frustration across the nation, including one here at a humble desk in Kings Cross.
Meanwhile in Durham, word is it has stopped raining again.
This isn’t the only cricket liveblog currently running here at Guardian Towers – there’s also the Elizabeth Ammon’s County updates. Last two entries:
- “We’re about to have some cricket. This is not a drill.”
- “Scrap that. As you were – il pleut again.”
This country. Honestly.
Can it just either rain properly, or stop altogether. This on-off business is no good for anyone. It’s the hope that gets you.
@Simon_Burnton rain back on - good trip from Edinburgh this.....
— Mark Healey (@the_kauto_boy) June 20, 2015
The rain radar really doesn’t show much to be afraid off. But then that was also true an hour ago. Anyway, the covers are coming off again.
Positive news - the covers are starting to come off! #ENGvNZ
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) June 20, 2015
Vital statistics, courtesy of @mohanstatsman on Twitter. England’s targets in reduced overs:
159 in 20 overs
186 in 25 overs
211 in 30 overs
232 in 35 overs
251 in 40 overs
Updated
More bad news:
Rain quite steady now. More sheets have been brought on.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) June 20, 2015
Press box scorer calculates we must be playing by 5.38 to avoid a washout.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) June 20, 2015
Still raining! Gah! The frustration! We’ll certainly be losing overs now, sadly.
The umbrellas are up @waitrose #EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/bk5eCdswC0
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) June 20, 2015
The umpires walk out! And then it starts raining again, and they turn around. Bah!
Update: play is due to get under way at 3.49pm. A strange choice of times, being just one minute away from the nicely round-sounding 3.50pm, but that’s the way it is. More good news: they’re still going to squeeze in 50 overs (though obviously New England will knock this off in 25).
Play now due to re-start at 3.49pm with no overs lost (providing there is no further rain). #ENGvNZ
— Durham Cricket Club (@DurhamCricket) June 20, 2015
And now the covers are going off again! This is fantastically exciting stuff. They were hoping to restart a few minutes from now, and surely they won’t hang around.
The covers are coming back on! Meanwhile, on TMS Andrew Flintoff has described Merv Hughes as “the best bloke I’ve ever met”.
Oh dear, the drizzle is back and the covers are coming back on... #engvnz ^CE
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 20, 2015
The covers are coming off!
The rain in Durham is being described as “persistent drizzle”. It’ll take more than that to derail this train (though it’s plenty enough to pause it).
The most remarkable thing about the latest England-cricketers-have-fun story: is there any explicable response to a DJ playing Cotton Eye Joe other than leaving the establishment immediately?
And that’s before we get to the Macarena revelations. (“The others were reasonably pissed though. Doing the Macarena with them was another highlight.”) That really is shaming the nation.
It’s raining! Though the rain radar doesn’t make particularly depressing viewing, so we should still get a game.
Updated
Hello world!
Well that was a disaster: for the first time in this series a team has scored fewer than 300 runs from a full allocation of overs. It’s like a throwback to the bad old days, when teams did things other than score at an astonishing pace for a long time, and what’s more they did it in front of mildly disappointed crowds under grey skies. (For the record, in 50-over innings in this country there have now been 157 sub-300 totals, and 29 proper ones, of 300 or above.) That 22-run final over (there were only three other double-figure overs: a 10, a 12 and a 13) was a glimpse of what everyone wants, and what England deliver, these days.
As Mark Wood put it when looking forward to this game, “We’ll chase down anything.” This is only partly true, in that they have twice been required to chase down targets in this series, and have only once succeeded. You definitely get the feeling that there’s at least one word missing from that sentence, perhaps a “sometimes”, or a “try to”. We’ll see the truth of the matter in the fulness of time, but that final over means that the Kiwis might just have set a defendable target.
In other cricket news:
- “Joe Root was absolutely smashed. He was the best of the lot. He kept hugging and kissing everyone. I can remember dancing to Cotton Eye Joe with him.”
- Talking of partying cricketers, the Australia boys have been spending the afternoon in a pub:
Beer garden pumping!!!... #Manchester pic.twitter.com/hdpjde6B8d
— James Faulkner (@JamesFaulkner44) June 20, 2015
- Ryan Sidebottom has met a man dressed as a duck. It may have been a woman.
Great to see our friend @RyanSidebottom at Bramham Gala who opened the day pic.twitter.com/xQV6iUtTtq
— Wetherby Lions club (@wetherbylion) June 20, 2015
Updated
England require 284 to win this 5th ODI and the series.
That’s all from me. Simon Burnton will be with you shortly for the reply. In the meantime, enjoy this video of Chris Tarrant repeating greetings...
50th over: New Zealand 283-9 (Wheeler 39, Mathieson 0)
Just like the last over, the first ball is hammered for six! This time it’s Henry off Finn, to the biggest boundary, too! Moosed. Out two balls later trying to repeat the trick. Ho hum. A slower bouncer to Wheeler is waited on and then glanced over Buttler’s head for four! And another six – Finn goes into Wheeler and it’s played over mid-wicket. And then another six straight! Incredible last over – 22 from it!
WICKET! Henry c Stokes b Finn 12 (New Zealand 267-9)
Henry clears his front foot and tries to hit Finn out of the county, but skies to Ben Stokes at mid-on.
49th over: New Zealand 261-8 (Wheeler 23, Henry 6)
Stokes’ first ball of his last over his smashed for six by Wheeler! Good running and poor fielding from Finn gives Wheeler another two. Slower ball from Stokes is swiped at and bounces just over the stumps. Henry then steals one
Ross Taylor was the first man ct Bairstow b Willey in ODIs since Rod Marsh on 8 December 1979 http://t.co/D27g69rOqZ
— Ashley Connick (@AshleyConnick) June 20, 2015
48th over: New Zealand 251-8 (Wheeler 14, Henry 5)
Henry is the new batsman and, when he gets the strike from Wheeler, he’s able to hit Willey, who’s full, down the ground for four! No footwork, all hands and lovely timing. Short and swatted to Rashid at midwicket, who saves some runs, but it’s the 250 for New Zealand!
47th over: New Zealand 244-8 (Wheeler 12)
Stokes on for the death. He’s got two overs left and he’s short to Southee, down the leg side, and it’s worked behind fine-leg, who’s up, for four! Poor from Stokes. Fuller but Southee times this well to mid-wicket, where two fielders work to save two. Two more to square leg – 9 runs so far, one to come... bowled!
WICKET! Southee b Stokes 18 (New Zealand 244-8)
Stokes goes full, Southee tries to go big, leg stump goes back.
Updated
46th over: New Zealand 235-7 (Wheeler 11, Southee 10)
Wheeler gets a single, Southee faces and hits Willey high towards Stokes at deep mid-on. The Durham man runs in and dives but it’s just short of him. Single. Another shot – this time from Wheeler – goes high and lands short of an England fielder: Hales doing the mopping up running in from the off side boundary. Single off the last ball, too.
Fair to say that Mark Wood has bowled a lot better than 10-0-60-0 suggests
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) June 20, 2015
45th over: New Zealand 230-7 (Southee 9, Wheeler 7)
Mark Wood in and Wheeler gets Southee on strike who swings and misses before playing a nice on-drive for a single. Wheeler gets enough bat to work a ball behind square leg for another single. Wood finishes without a wicket to his name but to be honest he’s bowled some absolute corkers.
44th over: New Zealand 227-7 (Wheeler 6, Southee 8)
A wicket first ball as Ronchi goes but Southee comes in and hits a ball on middle-stump back over Willey’s head for four! Southee then goes high and not very far but just over Eoin Morgan’s head for two. A very laboured two means Southee has to dive in last minute but just makes it!
WICKET! Ronchi c Morgan b Willey 2 (New Zealand 219-7)
Lack of pace off the pitch does for Ronchi, who tries to hit Willey through the line but can’t clear Morgan at mid-off!
Updated
43rd over: New Zealand 219-6 (Ronchi 2, Wheeler 6)
Ben Stokes keeping Wheeler very honest, especially considering he wants to get Ronchi on strike. Nothing given away, until he drifts wide and is cut behind point for four!
42nd over: New Zealand 215-6 (Ronchi 2, Wheeler 2)
Good comeback from Willey who gets a wicket first up and, with two men at the crease, settles in to the rest of his over quite nicely.
C bairstow b Willey is vintage
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) June 20, 2015
WICKET! Taylor c Bairstow b Willey 47 (New Zealand 212-6)
Taylor walks after a first ball that decks across him and edges to Bairstow, who takes a smart catch, diving to his right.
Updated
41st over: New Zealand 211-5 (Taylor 46, Ronchi 0)
A chance? Yep, and it definitely should have been taken. Morgan does well to dive to his left as Elliott hits him off the back foot into the covers. Morgs gets two hands to it but it’s down. Good dive, but looked totally under control. Rashid’s annoyed. But he has his man eventually, stumped off a googly. Ronchi, the new man in, gets one first up and just reads it in time. David Willey back into the attack...
WICKET! Elliot st Bairstow b Rashid 35 (210-5)
Googly from Rashid catches Elliott unawares, who’s charging him anyway. Stumped.
Updated
40th over: New Zealand 206-4 (Taylor 45, Elliott 32)
Elliott’s down the track and driving Finn, on the up, down the ground for four! A well worked two and then a fluffed two to fine-leg are followed by a single to the same region.
39th over: New Zealand 197-4 (Taylor 45, Elliott 24)
The first couple of Wood’s over go for four: a poor misfield from Stokes allows a routine pick-up to go through him before Taylor edges wide of the keeper for another. Straight at middle stump and Taylor steps across his stumps, as he does, and flicks behind square for one.
38th over: New Zealand 185-5 (Taylor 34, Elliott 23)
Cracking cut-shot from Elliot and then a quick single puts the pressure on Finn. Short to Taylor, who pulls from over his head for a single to the man on the leg boundary.
37th over: New Zealand 179-2 (Taylor 33, Elliott 18)
Two cracking drives through the off-side – the first going for four, the second cut off by Billings for two.
36th over: New Zealand 172-4 (Taylor 33, Elliott 11)
Batting Power Play taken and Finn to continue. Elliott rocks back and hits Finn high into the leg-side; it’s not timed and so plugs for two. Finn’s fuller and it cuts in, right through Elliott, just missing the off stump. Timed clip for one to Sam Billings, who’s patrolling the leg side boundary.
35th over: New Zealand 168-4 (Taylor 32, Elliott 8)
Elliott happy to take a few risks with Rashid, getting down right in front of his stumps and dabbing the ball behind square on the leg-side for a couple. A man comes in now at leg-slip and Elliott uses his feet to get a single to the man at deep mid off. Appeal to end the over, but it’s bat then pad. As you were.
34th over: New Zealand 163-4 (Taylor 31, Elliott 5)
Finn back into the attack and he’s back on his length, getting a couple past the edge. Crunching drive from Elliott goes straight to the man at short-cover. Good cluster from Finn.
A couple of plugs:
Australia’s Steve Smith stands on top of the world as the Ashes approach – by Barney Ronay
Women’s Ashes 2015: Dominant England look to Australia for inspiration – by Simon Burnton
33rd over: New Zealand 161-4 (Taylor 30, Elliott 5)
A wicket first-ball and then a four as Elliott sweeps around the corner for four! Then a sharp punch down past Rashid who manages to get a hand on the ball. A chance? Hmmm perhaps, but there was no way he was catching it with the one hand going down towards the ball. Six from the over.
WICKET! Santner b Rashid 2 (New Zealand 155-4)
Santner gets restless, charges and misses as Rashid turns one through him and onto the stumps.
Updated
32nd over: New Zealand 155-3 (Taylor 29, Santner 2)
Good over from Stokes - two from the over – as he’s backed by Eoin Morgan with a skeleton cordon and some sound ring-fielders.
31st over: New Zealand 153-3 (Taylor 28, Santner 1)
Mitchell Santner has been sent in ahead of Grant Elliott. He gets on strike to Rashid and can’t quite force him through extra-cover. A single scrambled before another gets Santner back on strike. Rashid serves up a straighter leg-spinner outside off stump which beats the outside edge of the leftie’s bat.
I'll never get sick of listening to Bumble. Should get into the audiobook business. I'd pay good money to hear him read 50 Shades of Grey.
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) June 20, 2015
30th over: New Zealand 150-3 (Taylor 26)
A good over from Stokes made better by a fine ball from Stokes that finishes off Guptill, who was trying to guide a ball down to third man. Too close, edge taken and gone.
WICKET! Guptill c Bairstow b Stokes 67 (150-3)
Stokes gets on in to Guptill that lifts off a length and takes the top edge of his bat, through to Bairstow!
Updated
29th over: New Zealand 147-2 (Guptill 66, Taylor 24)
Big turned leg-break pitches outside leg-stump and beats Taylor (and Bairstow). Wider and floatier for Guptill and he gets on one-knee and pounds it through the covers for four! Straighter and a more honest stroke from Guppy. E-mail from John Culley:
“I am not sure I have read the phrase ‘England have been great in these middle overs’ since 1992 which was about the last time I cared about the outcome of an ODI. Still backing NZ to top 300 though!”
28th over: New Zealand 138-2 (Guptill 59, Taylor 22)
Wood going through his whole repertoire – wide of the crease, short run, smiling at Guptill – before he goes short and Guptill upper-cuts him superbly for six! Brilliant comeback ball from Wood, which tails in and then beats Guptill on the outside edge.
Updated
27th over: New Zealand 129-2 (Guptill 52, Taylor 20)
Taylor, not wishing to be bogged down, follows a forward defence with a swipe that stings the palms of short extra-cover, who can only palm the ball away.
26th over: New Zealand 125-2 (Guptill 51, Taylor 18)
Four from the over, as both take their time to take things deep – the right move considering the pitch and who New Zealand have down the order.
25th over: New Zealand 121-2 (Guptill 50, Taylor 14)
Guptill gets his fifty – 62 balls, five fours – in a very good Rashid over which goes for just the three singles. England have been great in these middle overs.
Very Yorkshire, this: Rashid bowling, Bairstow keeping wicket, Root at slip...
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) June 20, 2015
24th over: New Zealand 118-2 (Guptill 49, Taylor 13)
Wood on for Stokes and it’s a good over before Wood goes short and Taylor hands back and punches through the off side for three.
If you fancy some county action today, then tough because it’s raining. When it stops, go here for all your County Championship needs...
Updated
23rd over: New Zealand 114-2 (Guptill 48, Taylor 9)
Good from Rashid to use the pitch’s slowness to his advantage and not give the batsmen any pace to work with. Guptill toes him high to deep mid-on but it bounces short. Good grip for the last couple of balls, too. Jonny B behind the stumps is a big fan.
22nd over: New Zealand 112-2 (Guptill 47, Taylor 8)
The rain eases as Taylor does well to scamper two off the first ball, before he and Guptill exchange the strike. Last ball of the over, Stokes bowls short but rolls his fingers across it, sticking in the pitch. Taylor waits and plays it to the leg side for one.
21st over: New Zealand 107-2 (Guptill 46, Taylor 4)
Bit of drizzle but nothing to have them running for cover. Bit heavier as the over finishes – Rashid getting good dip but nothing that the batsmen can’t handle...
20th over: New Zealand 102-2 (Guptill 44, Taylor 1)
A half-volley from Stokes is put a way comprehensively by Guptill for four takes New Zealand to 100. Then then flicks Stokes around the corner for a single the Durham lad gets Williamson to chop on! Ross Taylor comes out and is off the mark straightaway.
WICKET! Williamson b Stokes 50 (101-2)
Williamson looks in control but, as Stokes goes short, he tries to get onto a pull shot and plays on, knocking back his own middle stump!
Updated
19th over: New Zealand 96-1 (Guptill 39, Williamson 50)
Good working off the pitch and down the track sees Williamson notch his 19th ODI fifty, off 63 balls (five fours, too). Not the worst over from Rashid, but six runs taken pretty easily.
18th over: New Zealand 90-1 (Guptill 37, Williamson 46)
Stokes spoils a good start to his first over with a short-ball that goes to the leg-side and Williamson turns it around the corner for four! Spin next, as Adil Rashid comes into the attack...
17th over: New Zealand 85-1 (Guptill 37, Williamson 41)
Four singles from the first five balls, the last of which nearly results in a run-out as Root collects and throws from mid-off. Looks like Guppy was home easily on the replay. A fifth single to the final ball means Williamson retains the strike. DRINKS
The "Harrogate Spring Water Hydration Break". Get in the damn sea.
— Jonathan Liew (@jonathanliew) June 20, 2015
Updated
16th over: New Zealand 80-1 (Guptill 35, Williamson 38)
An “ooooooh” as Stokes pushes one into Guptill, back of a length, drawing an inside edge behind square on the leg-side, for one. Muted appeal as Williamson hangs back and is struck on the knee roll – not out as the ball was clearly angling down the leg side. Williamson staunch in defending the next one.
Updated
15th over: New Zealand 77-1 (Guptill 34, Williamson 36)
Willey playing about the with seam and keeping Williamson in check. He gets off strike eventually with a single down to deep mid off.
Hello to Phil Whithall: “I’m starting to struggle with the concept of not panicking as England go for 6 an over in the early stages of the match.
“Not so long ago I’d be praying for rain in this position, now I feel as if I’ve swallowed the little book of calm and can watch in serene detachment. It all feels rather grubby and, well, un English. Not sure I actually enjoy the feeling, to be totally honest.”
14th over: New Zealand 75-1 (Guptill 33, Williamson 35)
Ben Stokes in and Guptill works him away, high over the leg-side for a four. Billings tries to be a hero again but he can’t pull it back in this time. Straighter from Stokes and it’s met by the full face of Guppy’s bat, back down the wicket.
“Liking the bold fours. Looking forward to some sixes too. And of course WICKETS!!!” Thanks, Simon McMahon. “Constant innovation is what keeps the OBO fresh. Are you really Trevor Bayliss?”
Aaaah, look mate...
Updated
13th over: New Zealand 70-1 (Guptill 28, Williamson 25)
Williamson is stepping right across to the off-side to play Willey as the ball seems to have stopped swinging. A fairly risk-free tactic, especially as anything straight and at the stumps is there to clip. Willey nearly traps Kane in front but there’s bat involved. Typical dab to third-man sees Guptill take strike. Ben Stokes is coming into the attack for Mark Wood...
12th over: New Zealand 68-1 (Guptill 27, Williamson 34)
Just singles from the over, three of them, before Guptill nearly plays on to his stumps with a back foot defensive shot.
11th over: New Zealand 65-1 (Guptill 26, Williamson 32)
David Willey is back into the attack and puts one across Guptill, who goes forward and throws his hands right into it, over cover for four! Brilliant fielding from Sam Billings, who makes up ground from cover to point on the off-side boundary, and times a dive to perfection and saves two!
10th over: New Zealand 59-1 (Guptill 20, Williamson 32)
The 50 partnership is brought up with a clip off Williamson’s hip. It’s come at a run-a-ball and has involved a decent catch-up in the last couple of overs. Wood jumps wide and angles one into Williamson, but wide of his off-stump, and the little master (Part II) has a go. He gets an under-edge, Bairstow gets a hand to it, and it’s just two.
Updated
9th over: New Zealand 56-1 (Guptill 19, Williamson 30)
Finn bangs one in short and this time Guptill is in prime position top smashed the ball to the leg-side for a once-bounce four! He then scrambles a single off his inside edge. Williamson on his toes again and it’s a great back-foot punch for four through cover which brings up the NZ fifty. Then an edge, over the head of third-slip (if there was one) for another! Play and miss to finish the over off.
Updated
8th over: New Zealand 43-1 (Guptill 14, Williamson 22)
The ball’s in the air! But it’s through the cover fielders – the ball popping on Williamson as he attempts a drive off Wood – and it scuttles away to the boundary for four! Much, much better next up as he drives perfectly back past the bowler for another boundary!
7th over: New Zealand 35-1 (Guptill 14, Williamson 14)
Williamson plays and misses the first ball but is a lot more convincing later in the over as he gets on his toes, then off the ground, to punch a back-foot shot through cover-point for three – that takes him to 1,000 ODI runs in the calendar year!
6th over: New Zealand 31-1 (Guptill 14, Williamson 11)
Mark Wood into the attack now, in familiar surroundings. Movement off the seam sees Williamson thick-edge a full ball through the vacant gully region. Guptill is then rushed Wood with a short-ball, throws his head out of the way and just gets enough to beat the men on the leg-side, aerially, for two. More controlled as Wood goes fuller and Guptill finishes the over with a straight-drive for four!
5th over: New Zealand 24-1 (Guptill 8, Williamson 10)
Good lines from Finn again, as only two come from this over. Not too much off the pitch – gives the impression that once these two, or any two, bed in, runs are to be had.
4th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Guptill 7, Williamson 9)
Ball of the morning so far: Willey shapes one in to Williamson, who goes to play the line of the ball. It pitches and then seams away, just past the outside edge of an immaculate looking defence. Five dots then bring a nice tuck through mid-wicket by Williamson, which goes for two.
3rd over: New Zealand 20-1 (Guptill 7, Williamson 7)
Sharp two from Guptill and Williamson gives the latter two runs behind square on the leg-side. A short-ball from Finn is then punched over mid-wicket for three runs; looks a long boundary that way and that ball sat up in the pitch. Five from the over.
2nd over: New Zealand 14-1 (Guptill 7, Williamson 2)
Swing for David Willey, as Guptill and Williamson pick up a few runs with the odd squirt and push. Most of the swing is in to the right-hander for Willey but there’s the odd one that’s holding its line.
A quick Jonny Bairstow anecdote from Martin Laidler:
“I was in Wellington in 2013 and got to the ground to watch England go through their fielding warm-up drills.
“Jonny Bairstow was having balls rolled out to him before he attempted to hit one stump in the ground which was placed in front of a small net to catch the ball. The balls were rolled out away from the boundary and so the fielders were chucking towards the boundary fence and crowd who were filing in.
“Just as the thought had entered into my head that an errant throw could bounce over the net and into the crowd JB does just that, with the ball flying past me from 40 yards away and smashing a middle aged woman flush on the knee, not just any woman but a woman who was sat in a wheelchair.
“The sound alone made everyone in the vicinity wince and to be fair to JB and the England medical team they rushed over and made sure the woman in question was ok. Which after a few minutes and a hastily fetched ice pack thankfully she was.
“As I was walking back around to the hill to take my spot for the day (incidentally the steepest hill in world cricket) I was wracked with guilt as not only did I have a sneak premonition that such an incident was about to happen I also think I could have made a stretching effort to stop the ball and it was only the take-away cappuccino in my left hand that made me hesitate and watch gormlessly as the red projectile whistled past.
“Hopefully JB keeps his keeper gloves on today.”
Thankfully, he does.
1st over: New Zealand 7-1 (Guptill 1)
Not too much swing for Finn, but he’s not really bowled anything full. Nothing too short, either, as he puts Guptill on the back foot, who nicks a single into the off side. McCullum has a couple of sighters and then charges Finn and plants him over mid-on for six! But he’s gone next ball! Big wicket caps a good over from Finn.
WICKET! McCullum b Finn 6 (New Zealand 7-1)
The ball after being smashed over his head for six, Finn gets one to push McCullum back and seam in a touch and B-Mac plays on!
Updated
The players are out – David Willey and Mark Wood are in short-sleeves. Heroes.
Steven Finn to open up...
IMPORTANT CORRECTION FROM THE TWITTERSPHERE REGARDING OUT RECURRING SERIES WITH NEW ZEALAND...
@Vitu_E Surely that's The Ishiz (as a pom in Oz who can't get either accent right)
— Tim Senior (@timsenior) June 20, 2015
A good morning to Simon McMahon:
“Morning Vish. If this match is half as good as what’s gone before then we’re in for a cracker. As for being called an OBO bandit, I like it. Although I prefer Hobo. Or Poboy.”
Hmmmmmmmm..... poboy....
Tim from Darwin e-mails in with some interesting numbers:
“I was wondering just how close these sides have been thus far and the numbers stack up as follows after four games:
- England have made 1425 runs in 185.2 overs for the loss of 31 wickets
- NZ 1251 runs in 180.1 overs for the loss of 29 wickets.
“So, England are just ahead, which is surprising when you think they are streets ahead in terms of dropped catches.”
That is surprising, not least because most of the talk has been about how badly we’ve bowled. Of course, it’s easy to write-off New Zealand’s poor bowling as England’s DYNAMIC NEW ERA AGGRESSIVE BRAND OF BAT SWINGING!
Updated
Rain in the air at Durham (never!) and we’ve got a delayed start Chester-le-Street.
Doesn’t look particularly heavy but the main cover is on, as are the sheets for the run-ups. More as and when I’m told by my TV...
“Is anyone else slightly disconcerted at finding themselves as an ‘OBO-bandit’?” writes Steve Hudson.
Updated
“I have an idea.” We’re all eyes, Ant...
“Every Test and ODI on this tour has seen brilliant cricket played by what seem like nice people in an aggressive yet respectful manner. It’s been wonderful to watch.
“Rather than the ongoing rigmarole with the sub-likeable Aussies, let’s play the Kiwis twice every 4 years instead. Bearing in mind our antipodean cousins’ ongoing trouble with vowel sounds, we should call the series The Eshis.”
Big, big fan of “The Eshis”.
Updated
TOSS NEWS: Brendon calls heads... and it’s tails!
Eoin Morgan has decided to bowl first, sighting the overhead conditions. Brendon McCullum would have done the same: “It’s like Dunedin – it’s pretty cold!”
Team news is that Jonny Bairstow, who will keep, comes in for Jos Buttler. Mitchell McClenaghan misses out for Andrew Mathieson, who makes his debut for New Zealand.
ENGLAND: JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, EJG Morgan*, BA Stokes, JM Bairstow†, SW Billings, AU Rashid, DJ Willey,MA Wood, ST Finn
NEW ZEALAND: MJ Guptill, BB McCullum*, KS Williamson, LRPL Taylor, GD Elliott, MJ Santner, L Ronchi†, BM Wheeler,MJ Henry, TG Southee, AW Mathieson
Preamble
THE DECIDER! Morning, OBO-bandits – Vish here …
This is what we’ve all been waiting for. At least, it was when we fully appreciated just how much fun these Kiwis are and how exciting England’s emoji-generation can be when they get things right.
Ironically, this series of 400 plays 400 plays, 300 plays more-hundreds, could well be decided by the ball today. Chester-le-Street will offer more assistance for the bowlers than the previous four venues. That being said, going by the NatWest T20 Blast pitches so far this season, runs aren’t too hard to come by.
The early news is that Jos Buttler misses out after splitting the webbing in his hand yesterday. The Guardian’s Ali Martin has more...
No Jos Buttler for today's series finale. Split webbing between thumb and forefinger of left hand in practice. Expect Bairstow in
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) June 20, 2015
