Anyway, that’s about us. Thanks all for your company and comments, thanks England and New Zealand for yet another memorable match, and thanks in advance for the several more memorable matches to come over the next few weeks. What a day! Enjoy your grinning!
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Jos Buttler is man of the match, obviously, the absurd devil.
“The longevity of what we do might take a bit of time,” he continues, clarifying that it’ll take a while to produce magnificence of this ilk consistently.
“I’m as surprised any anybody,” says Eoin Morgan.
“With the style of cricket both teams are playing.” What a remarkable sentence that is!
“We coulda tried a few more things, but other than that, it was just outstanding batting,” he continues. Obviously he knew how England would approach the game, “but we didn’t expect them to score 400.” Oh, and Southee will be back next match.
“They blew us off the park,” admits Brendon McCullum, who also concedes that he was wrong to insert England. He expected swing, found none, and then England did - “we got smoked,” he says.
Of course, England’s batting will attract most attention, and rightly so; not only did they strike the ball as we know they can, but they rode disappointment and showed composure as we knew they couldn’t. And then, when they bowled, Steven Finn showed bravery and confidence to keep his line and length, while Adil Rashid’s craft and nous made a case for inclusion, not just in one-day cricket, but in Tests too. Or, in other words, that performance was perfection; I have an enormous grin smeared right across my coupon, and it’s going nowhere.
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Full of brand, full of funk, full of aggression - I can’t spake*.
*of course, they’re still expletives for the World Cup.
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That was a wonderful, devastating, resourceful, exuberant, inspiring - epochal - performance from England!
ENGLAND BEAT NEW ZEALAND BY 210 RUNS! THEIR BIGGEST EVER WINNING MARGIN!
Seriously.
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WICKET! McClenaghan c Hales b Jordan 2 (New Zealand 198 all out)
McClenaghan heaves the first ball of Jordan’s second spell, Hales waits, steadies, pouches, and he and the crowd extend arms and souls in unison.
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WICKET! N McCullum c Jordan b Finn 5 (New Zealand 198-9)
Full from Finn, fifth-stump line, and guided into the hands of second slip - it’s a dolly, but Jordan nearly drops it, but doesn’t, because he’s Jordan and because today’s today.
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31st over: New Zealand 198-8 (N McCullum 5, McClenaghan 2) Let us pause, to contemplate that which are eyes do see <PAUSE>. And, four balls into the over, the players do likewise, as McCullum requests a new bat, and they take drinks. Finn returns with a wide, but! Or, on this heady day, does that even demand an exclamation? Let’s try but.
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30th over: New Zealand 195-7 (N McCullum 5, McClenaghan 0) Rashid 10-0-55-4. Numbers speak louder than words.
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WICKET! Henry lbw b Rashid 0 (New Zealand 195-8)
What a spell this is! Another googly, it grips, turns, and that’s that - though, perhaps it spun too much.
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30th over: New Zealand 195-7 (N McCullum 5. Henry 0) McCullum skips to off, anticipating a googly, but instead gets a leg-spinner with plenty air that nips well past the bat. Next ball’s a full toss and crumped for four into the covers, then a single, and then!
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29th over: New Zealand 190-7 (N McCullum 0, Henry 0) Four dots to Henry, a required rate up at 10.34, and we’re nearly done - here comes Rashid’s hat-trick ball...
“On current form, Ali is neither a strong enough wicket-talker nor container in Tests,” reckons Christopher Dale. “The NZ series illustrated how easily he can be scored off, and how regularly he bowls shirt. That being the case, better surely to select a wicket taker than a spinner who’s simply mediocre?”
He’s earned the chance for a shy - perhaps - with his performances last summer, though you might also say he’s played himself out since. Either way, I worry for him, because I can’t see the Aussies hanging back.
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WICKET! Taylor lbw b Finn 57 (New Zealand 190-6)
Finn’s first ball of his second spell beats Taylor off a length, hits the pad, and there’s an appeal - but the ball was just slipping down leg, and they get four byes. But, after a leg-side wide, more or less the same thing happens, and that’s gone.
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WICKET! Taylor lbw b Finn 57 (New Zealand 190-6)
REVIEW!
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28th over: New Zealand 185-6 (Taylor 56, N McCullum 0) Even England can’t ... surely they can’t ...
WICKET! Ronchi b Rashid 0 (New Zealand 185-6)
Two in two! Another googly, Ronchi makes up his mind to go more or less from the hand, it bounces and turns, he goes with the spin but misses, and that’s surely the end of things.
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WICKET! Santner c Jordan b Rashid 15 (New Zealand 185-5)
What an excellent game this is for Rashid! Again, the wrongun deceives the batsman, the extra bounce defeating Santner’s attempted cut and the ball flicking to Jordan at slip, who juggles to hold. Well done Morgan for keeping the man in - but New Zealand might fancy getting Ronchi in in any case.
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27th over: New Zealand 179-4 (Taylor 56, Santner 11) What do you know, the system deleted my entry for this over, so, in brief, New Zealand have done an excellent job to hang in there, despite finding it hard to find boundaries. But, with the rate reaching ten, it really is time to go.
26th over: New Zealand 173-4 (Taylor 52, Santner 9) Lovely start to the over from Rashid, a googly foxing Santner, but then he nips two over mid-on and chops another wrongun for four to point.
“England’s bowlers look in better rhythm and consequently quicker,” tweets Gary Naylor. “These big totals have lots of little impacts.”
Yep, agreed - an annoyance of the last Ashes was that Australia never batted under scoreboard pressure; it’s why I find it hard to believe McCullum chose to field today..
25th over: New Zealand 166-4 (Taylor 52, Santner 2) Two wides to open the over from Stokes, but he responds with a jaffa, moving the ball off a length past Santner’s outside-edge. Then, the batsmen sneak a single and Morgan’s throw clunks into Taylor’s wrist, a right sair yin, back into his coupon, and there’s a break while he’s treated and strapped. Three from the over, and Santner, who’s faced 10 balls for his two, needs to consider himself in.
24th over: New Zealand 163-4 (Taylor 52, Santner 1) Morgan is setting attacking fields for Santner, and they can manage just three singles off the over. Meanwhile, the speaker pumps - is this the finest of 90s dance tunes?
WICKET! Elliott run out (Billings) 24 (New Zealand 160-4)
Billings wings in a throw and Elliot doesn’t have the pace to get back, Buttler gathering and breaking the stumps with his gloves to leave him well short.
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23rd over: New Zealand 159-3 (Taylor 50, Elliott 23) Elliott drives Stokes’ first ball to mid-off, where Morgan allows it through his legs - that’s four. And then, after a single, Taylor - who’s starting to motor - takes advantage of a field waiting for him to hit over the top, a lap-sweep slipping silently to the square-leg fence before taking one to brings up his fifty. That looks to be over, but a short one’s called wide, and then they take a single to third man from the extra ball, looking to turn it into two....
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22nd over: New Zealand 148-3 (Taylor 45, Elliott 18) Three from Rashid’s first four balls, forcing Taylor to go at his fifth, whacking over mid-on. Stokes actually catches up with it, but can only flick it back against himself.
21st over: New Zealand 141-3 (Taylor 41, Elliott 15) The aptly-named Stokes into the attack, and Taylor takes a quick single, Jordan spinning into a shy that just misses - though he was home anyway. This prompts Athers to reminisce about the absurd cee & bee he took last week for Sussex, probably even better than the jazzers in the slips the other month. Meantime, Taylor swipes to square-leg, the ball pitching just in front of the diving Hales - they run two - and then he finds four more from the over’s final delivery, smearing down to long-on.
What a catch by Chris Jordan! #LVCC https://t.co/fP51SRRqnN
— ECB (@ECB_cricket) June 2, 2015
20th over: New Zealand 133-3 (Taylor 34, Elliott 15) Rashid drags one down slightly, and Elliott is through the shot too early, his mishit drive bouncing just in front of the bowler. And then, after two sliced through point, Buttler advises that he bowl him through the gate - and the googly almost does it, its overspin taking the bounce over the stumps and into Buttler’s phizog.
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19th over: New Zealand 130-3 (Taylor 33, Elliott 13) Other unlikely sentences you’ve written, typed or said: “I love you”, obviously, “I love Ashley Young” as well. Plunkett’s first ball goes for a single, and then, after a no-ball and another single, Taylor, finagles four with a pull that wasn’t really there to be pulled, then swipes six over cow corner. Not proper cricket shots, nor good police, nor a proper, but effective all the same.
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18th over: New Zealand 116-3 (Taylor 21, Elliott 12) More tightness from Rashid, beating Taylor with his second ball and rapping the pad. There’s an appeal - it’s rejected - and he correctly informs Morgan that the ball pitched outside the line. The required rate is now at 9.15.
“Might a by-product of 350+ ODIs be increased value in run-a-ball bowlers like Rashid?” asks Gary Naylor. “Economy of 6.00 isn’t bad these days.”
Yep, I feel you, and I’m also wondering if, on pitches likely to offer assistance, he shouldn’t already be in the Test side ahead of Moeen.
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17th over: New Zealand 113-3 (Taylor 18, Elliott 12) Just a leg-bye from Plunkett’s first three balls, and then a sharp bouncer’s much too good for Elliott, who jumps into it and wears it on the shoulder - looked a right sair yin, but he fronts it out well. England are bowling and fielding with composure, intelligence and zest, and I cannot even believe my fingers are capable of typing those words, though. Drinks.
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16th over: New Zealand 110-3 (Taylor 17, Elliott 11) Rashid is into this now, neither batter looking comfy against him; seven off the over, but forced, and when they’re forced to slog, he’ll get his reward.
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15th over: New Zealand 103-3 (Taylor 15, Elliott 6) Slip and a gully in for Elliot, not much use when Plunkett sends down a leg-side wide first up. Then, after two dots, a short wide one on the off-side, hammered past the aforementioned gully for four - but after that, a play and miss. Really hard to see a way for New Zealand from here, though the required rate still isn’t up past 9.
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14th over: New Zealand 96-3 (Taylor 15, Elliott 0) Reflexive pronoun abuse from Ian Botham, who tells us “that’s all from myself” - a far worse sin than having less fewer than 383 Test wickets.
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WICKET! Williamson c Root b Rashid 45 (New Zealand 94-3)
There is no one currently playing the game I’d rather see under a steepler than Joe Root. Aware that this is another tight over, Williamson comes down the track and looks to slam back over the bowler’s head. But the spin back in means he doesn’t get enough of it, and Root hares in off the long-off fence to judge his catch perfectly.
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14th over: New Zealand 94-2 (Williamson 45, Taylor 13) “Me and you Rash, be and you, boy” shouts Buttler as Rashid picks himself up following a mid-pitch collision with Taylor.
13th over: New Zealand 92-2 (Williamson 44, Taylor 12) The crowd are making themselves heard as oiled morphs into paggad, the batsmen playing Plunkett nicely enough. But his lines are good, limiting them to just five off the over, and the required rate is now 8.56.
12th over: New Zealand 87-2 (Williamson 42, Taylor 9) Rashid into the attack, and this might well be the match here. New Zealand have nae choice but to attack him, and he does bowl loose deliveries, but so too does he bowl wicket-takers, turning it both ways. The sooner Stokes is reliable as a third seamer, the sooner he can be picked in Tests - well, if he doesn’t eli-mye-nate the negatives in the meantime - but I wonder if he’s worth a shy even now. His first three balls go for singles, and then Williamson stretches down the track, lifting a drive over mid-off - he is absolutely loving these conditions.
11th over: New Zealand 79-2 (Williamson 36, Taylor 7) On comes Plunkett, already up at 87mph, and it’s good to see him. He was excellent in last summer’s Tests and unfortunate, first to get injured, then to be ignored in the Waste Indies. But, after ceding one run from his first three balls and finding the inswing that eluded the two openers - they meet mid-pitch to discuss - Williamson caresses a straight drive back past him for four, then opens his body to play through mid-off. A good over quickly becomes a bad one.
10th over: New Zealand 70-2 (Williamson 28, Taylor 6) Last of the powerplay overs, with no one conspicuously warming up - try outfunking that brand of aggressive brand, Brendon. Another quiet over, so another question: Buttler can build as well as thrash an innings, so should he move even further up the order at some point?
9th over: New Zealand 68-2 (Williamson 26, Taylor 6) Quiet start to Finn’s fifth over, forcing Taylor to pull a bouncy, fractionally wide one - he bottom edges, exceptionally close to his stumps. And then, after two more dots, he has to go again, edging a pull again, but this time over Buttler for a one-bounce four.
8th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Williamson 26, Taylor 2) With the pitch behaving so impeccably, Williamson thinks nothing of driving Jordan’s first ball uppishly, and rightly so; it whizzes wide of mid-off’s dive to the fence. And then, after two dots, one on the pads - a bottom edge is enough to send that beyond’s Buttler’s drive for another boundary-four. More or less, New Zealand are up with the rate.
7th over: New Zealand 54-2 (Williamson 17, Taylor 1) “Am I the only one to keep thinking of ‘Jordan, the comeback’, that beautiful Prefab Sprout album as Chris of that ilk minces in to bowl?” asks Mike Daniels. “Thought so.”
Better than thinking of Baywatch, I suppose.
WICKET! Guptill c Buttler b Finn 22 (New Zealand 52-2)
Well bowled Steven Finn! Maintaining equilibrium, he stays straight, though goes a little shorter, and Guptill tries to clout over the leg-side but misses, instead feathering an edge behind.
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7th over: New Zealand 52-1 (Guptill 22, Williamson 16) I’m a little surprised that Finn’s been given another over, but his first ball is decent, just outside off and fullish, but it makes no odds, smacked over cover for four. And immediately, he goes again, over the top, not getting it all but getting enough to escape Plunkett in pursuit.
6th over: New Zealand 46-1 (Guptill 16, Williamson 16) Jordan continues, and after two dots, Guptill knocks down into the off-side and they race through for a single. And what a shot follows from Williamson! It’s not a bad ball from Jordan, full and straight, but without even trying, he drives on the up past the bowler for four to long-on. He is a ridiculous talent, illustrated by the inside-edge that gets him a further boundary - good over from Jordan, but good over for New Zealand, too.
5th over: New Zealand 37-1 (Guptill 15, Williamson 11) Finn tries a shorter one to Guptill - it’s by no means a bad ball - but hopping onto one leg helps him find the extra flexibility to get on top of the shot, pulling four to square-leg. And then, following a single, Williamson deflects four more - that was a little straight from Finn, who’s also a little old for curtains.
4th over: New Zealand 27-1 (Guptill 10, Williamson 6) Leg-bye from Jordan’s first ball, then Williamson flips three away to long-leg; they’ll maybe sit in for this over and two more, taking what they can, but they can’t afford too many more. And Jordan’s keeping a really tight line to Williamson, who’s faced nine dots already, before a bit of width allows him three more to midwicket.
3rd over: New Zealand 19-1 (Guptill 9, Williamson 0) So, do Guptill and Williamson have the respective still and power to attack Finn on a buzz? He really is charging in, powering into his follow-through and racing back to his mark - this gets him a maiden, Williamson narrowly missing an edge from the final delivery. Point to ponder: is his Test career over? It’s beginning to look that way, but he’s just such a talent.
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2nd over: New Zealand 19-1 (Guptill 9, Williamson 0) Jordan in - hmmm, I wonder how the extra bounce of Plunkett might have challenged the batsmen with the new ball - and his second delivery, full on off is fairly based through cover by Guptill. Then, after a thin edge doesn’t carry, a wide one is treated, crunched through point.
“Given the speeded up 21st century media,” tweets Gary Naylor, “when can we start the backlash against this England team? After the powerplay?”
We’re already onto the backlash of the backlash against the backlash.
WICKET! B McCullum b Finn 10 (New Zealand 11-1)
My days, Finn enjoyed that. Holding his nerve, he fired down another delivery aiming for the top of off, McCullum danced down and missed, he hit, and that’s a enormous wicket, celebrated with a primal roar of joy and relief.
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1st over: New Zealand 11-0 (Guptill 1, B McCullum 10) Guptill, already showing a desire to score off every ball, gets off the mark with a quick single into the off-side - the shy at the stumps misses, but he’d have been just in anyway. This brings Finn back up against McCullum - he’ll be furiously telling himself he fancies the challenge - and is charged immediately, an edge flying down to fine-leg, from where Rashid throws down the stumps! They go upstairs, but McCullum’s well in, and celebrates with consecutive fours, the first crunched to square-leg and the second walloped over cover.
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I wonder how New Zealand will handle needing to score heavily from the start - it was noticeable that their fielding was isn’t usual immaculate self once England put the pressure on.
Finn is preparing to open the bowling...
So New Zealand need 8.16 an over to win, and the players are middled.
“Rather on the quiet (helped admittedly by the attention lavished on KP, Cook, and English cricket’s wider travails), Joe Root is becoming a deeply impressive cricketer,” emails Christopher Dale. “Capable of excelling in stonewalling, accumulating, and accelerating, reliable fielder in the loose and at slip, underrated bowler, and seems to have natural authority too.”
Hmm, not so sure about the qt bit, but agreed on the rest; he’s a remarkable player and man. It’s such a pleasure to watch his pleasure, and the pleasure with which he antagonises opponents, a perfect combination.
Having said and not said all this, England’s attack is not fearsome. I’m slightly surprised that they picked Jordan, instead of Willey’s variety or Wood’s pace, and McCullum and pals will fancy a shy at Finn, too. 408!
A quick harp back: you can only admire the mess England made of the World Cup. Even by their august standards, exceptional, incredible work. And yet, here we are. Here we are!
Think of a number, any number. Er, how about 408? What d’you make of that, then, Mr Ball?
Nope, doesn’t help. Still not got the remotest idea what I’ve seen.
When the legendarily canny French statesman, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, died in 1838, Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, his Austrian opposite number, was nonplussed. “I wonder what he meant by that,” he said.
The same mystique surrounds Brendon McCullum. A brilliant, aggressive captain, he allowed England first go of a belting track, despite knowing they’d come at his team with a batting line-up more powerful than ever before. And even now, for all those familiar with both him and English cricket, the feeling persists that he knows something we don’t.
Well, Brendon:
Your guess is as good as mine.
???
!!!
...
So New Zealand just need to knock off 409 runs to win this. I’m going to go somewhere dark, quiet and soundproof for a while, leaving Daniel Harris to take you through the reply. All emails to daniel.harris.casual@guardian.co.uk, if you’d be so kind. Bye!
No premature celebrations now, England:
If NZ bat at the rate they did in Wellington, they'll win with 58 balls to spare. Might be trickier chasing 409 than 124, admittedly.
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) June 9, 2015
Jos Buttler speaks to Sky:
It’s a great start for us. Credit to Joe Root who really took it to them early, and you know Brendan loads the front to try and bowl you out, so if you bat it out you’re going to have bowlers you can target near the end.
It’s obviously a cracking pitch. It’s a great score, but we’ll have to bowl well as well. I feel like I’ve been batting well this summer. It was great to get a good score in the Twenty20 at Headingley, as good a preparation as you could get for today. All the talk before the game of a new era, to come out and deliver that first go is obviously very pleasing.
It's all over! England 408-9
50th over: England 408-9 (Plunkett 13, Finn 0)
The two wickets bring Plunkett in, and he smashes his first ball down the ground for six, watches a wide disappear out of reach, and then smacks over deep square leg for another six! Elliott ends the innings with a fine yorker from which Plunkett adds a single, and it’s over! An incredible few hours, truly.
NOT A WICKET!
The hat-trick ball is hit down the ground for six by Plunkett!
WICKET! Rashid c Guptill b Elliott 69 (England 394-9)
Rashid’s out next ball, trying to hit over midwicket for six and not getting the “over” bit right, and Elliott’s on a hat-trick!
WICKET! Jordan c Boult b Elliott 2 (England 394-8)
The second ball of the final over is top-edged high into the sky by Jordan and Boult takes the catch! On the plus side, the batsmen crossed and Rashid is back on strike.
49th over: England 393-7 (Rashid 68, Jordan 2)
And this is now officially England’s all-time most wondrous ever day of 50-over batsmanship! Four singles from the over, and a boundary smashed through cover by Rashid. “Could you explain again why Rashid did not play any cricket in the West Indies?” wonders Zia Faruqui. Um …
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48th over: England 385-7 (Rashid 62, Jordan 0)
After a Rashid single McClenaghan bowls wide and full and, without moving his feet, Buttler smashes the ball down the ground for a massive six. He’s out next ball, but the fun doesn’t end there. Rashid expertly divides two fielders in the deep at midwicket to get a one-bounce four. Seven runs from the last two overs will make this England’s greatest ever ODI innings, and the first of them will be bowled by Santner, who’s been going at eight an over so far.
We have just witnessed 2 of the Greatest ODI tons by @joeroot05 & @josbuttler ... #ENGvNZ Pleasure to be here to see them....
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 9, 2015
WICKET! Buttler c Henry b McClenaghan 129 (England 379-7)
It’s over! Buttler tries to pull a short ball and hits it into the air off the toe of his bat, and the catch this time is taken! Buttler’s innings is over. 77 balls. 13 fours. 5 sixes. Smashing.
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47th over: England 372-6 (Buttler 123, Rashid 55)
Elliott’s back, and Buttler thrashes his first delivery over extra cover for six, and then after a brace of singles Buttler perfectly picks out the gap between cover and extra cover, earning four more, and he’s still got time to flick to the long leg boundary! This is giddy, gleeful stuff from England. Edgbaston is witnessing something special here (and if New Zealand chase this down they’ll have witnessed a genuine sporting marvel).
I am genuinely struggling to remember a better partnership for England in terms of crushing an opposition @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 9, 2015
46th over: England 354-6 (Buttler 106, Rashid 54)
Rashid hits through midwicket for four to reach half a century from 37 balls, and then he tries to pull Henry’s final delivery and top-edges over the keeper for four more! A massive and wildly positive global statistical hemorrhage ensues:
STAT ALERT: England's innings only the 3rd time in ODI history a team has scored 2 centuries and 2 fifties: http://t.co/CblwzjJt5S #ENGvNZ
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) June 9, 2015
10 - The 10 sixes @ECB_cricket have hit today are the most they have recorded in an ODI innings in England. Dawn.
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) June 9, 2015
Buttler is the 7th batsman in ODI history to score two tons in less than 70 balls. Others: Jayasuriya, ABD, Kohli, Afridi, Sehwag, Shakib
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 9, 2015
45th over: England 345-6 (Buttler 105, Rashid 46)
Again Buttler tries to ramp the first ball of a McClenaghan over, and this one’s right in the slot, and brings the batsman four runs! The next ball is smashed through the covers, and Buttler has a 66-ball century! Earlier today Root his England’s third-fastest ODI hundred; now it’s been knocked down to No4! What’s more, this is the best seventh-wicket stand in the entire history of one-day internationals. Moments later Rashid hits high over mid off, where Brendan McCullum himself is there to take the catch – but he can only get his fingertips to the ball, and it lands safe! England have had some luck here, truly they have, and this is already their fourth-highest ODI total.
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44th over: England 332-6 (Buttler 95, Rashid 43)
Henry bowls, Buttler hits high to deep midwicket but doesn’t get enough on it! Ross Taylor comes in to take the catch but misjudges it, and it falls between his hands, under his body and then rolls gently to the boundary for a massively-cheered four! There’s further assistance for England courtesy of a couple of wides from Henry, and even if they score no runs from the last six overs, this will be their ninth-biggest ODI total. And yet the following remains true:
This pitch is an absolute belter so no reason why the @BLACKCAPS can't chase down 350+. Going to be a great chase. #engvnz ^PT
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 9, 2015
43rd over: England 323-6 (Buttler 90, Rashid 41)
Nathan McCullum continues, and Buttler hits successive deliveries through cover for four. He was a bit scratchy at the start, understandably given the state of the innings at the time, but the last 20 minutes or so have been phenomenal. “Other teams that are used to doing this sort of thing get over 100 in the final 10 overs,” writes Ian Copestake. “As I am not used to this sort of thing I am hoping for 50.” Well prepare for happiness: England are 15 away from that, after three of the 10.
42nd over: England 313-6 (Buttler 81, Rashid 40)
Rashid’s shot is chased down at deep midwicket and returned to the bowler’s end as the batsmen complete a third run. The bails come off, and the umpires ask for a TV review to decide the run-out decision. Turns out the bails had been broken by Henry’s hand, and not by the ball. It’s not like the fielders were celebrating there, but it was a bit embarrassing even to appeal. Buttler, perhaps annoyed by the whole thing, viciously smites the next delivery over cow corner for six. This is now England’s best-ever seventh-wicket ODI partnership, at 111 and counting.
41st over: England 302-6 (Buttler 73, Rashid 37)
Santner may have gone, but now Nathan McCullum’s back. Buttler makes him wish he wasn’t, reverse-sweeping for four and then driving high over extra cover for six. The last five overs have brought 62 runs.
40th over: England 288-6 (Buttler 61, Rashid 36)
Santner is understandably hooked, and Henry slows things down a little, leaking five singles.
39th over: England 283-6 (Buttler 59, Rashid 33)
Buttler attempts a premeditated scoop but McClenaghan’s delivery doesn’t help, and the ball flies off the bat and straight into the batsman. An awkward and perhaps painful bit of batting, but Buttler’s next couple of shots are pure class, a lovely cut that beats third man – bringing up his 50, off 42 balls – and a pull for another four.
The mark of Buttler's genius is that he doesn't look in great form, but he has 51 off 42. His ceiling as a batsman is high @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 9, 2015
38th over: England 271-6 (Buttler 47, Rashid 33)
Bosh! Santner’s first ball is sent down the ground by Buttler for six! Rashid, at the other end, had a great view of the shot and, a couple of balls later, he has a go himself, with very similar results. The last ball is clattered through midwicket for four, flying straight between the two fielders desperately running round in an attempt to cut it off on the rope. Another weak over from Santner, and truly punished this time – 19 runs off it.
England treating Santner as NZ's batsmen would a debutant left-arm spinner
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) June 9, 2015
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37th over: England 252-6 (Buttler 38, Rashid 23)
Shot! McClenaghan bowls and Buttler hits past extra cover for four, beautifully timed. And then another stroke of luck – McClenaghan’s last over saw Buttler get a thick edge that flew straight to where second slip would be, but there wasn’t one; this time New Zealand put their one slip fielder there and Buttler gets a thin edge that flies straight to where first slip would be. Another four!
36th over: England 240-6 (Buttler 28, Rashid 22)
A weaker over from Santner, featuring as it does a full toss, from which Buttler gets just a single, and a wide, short, invitation for Rashid to score some runs, from which Rashid scores three. When he bowls short again to the same batsman, Rashid boshes over midwicket for four. Back to those heady early-innings, eight-runs-an-over days.
35th over: England 232-6 (Buttler 27, Rashid 15)
McClenaghan bowls, Buttler drives, and he edges to second slip, where there’s no fielder, and England get four. The next ball is wide and Buttler drives again and edges again, this one coming off the bottom of his bat, into the ground and Ronchi collects. After all of which, the batting powerplay begins.
34th over: England 225-6 (Buttler 21, Rashid 14)
After four dot balls to Rashid it looks like Santner’s about to land the day’s first maiden. But then he flicks the fifth, with added wristy impetus, just over the long-on boundary for six!
33rd over: England 218-6 (Buttler 21, Rashid 7)
There’s a long delay before the over gets under way, apparently because Bruce Oxenford needs the toilet. Eventually he returns, and Boult bowls his final over of the day. England keep the scoreboard ticking, Buttler getting two for a drive through the covers, and another couple for leaning back and deflecting to deep backward point, while every other ball brings a single.
I love this England approach. We want no fear so let's not get caught up in recriminations on the (regular) occasions it goes wrong #engvnz
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) June 9, 2015
32nd over: England 210-6 (Buttler 15, Rashid 5)
Santner bowls, and Rashid tries to slash the last past point, edges behind, and gets four anyway. And here’s some anti-hawkeye dissent!
Can't agree with HawkEye on Billings's dismissal. Close-up replay clearly shows ball turning to leg; tracking is straight ahead on to middle
— kevin mitchell (@kevinmitchell50) June 9, 2015
31st over: England 204-6 (Buttler 14, Rashid 0)
Boult’s over, like his last, and the one before that, yields two runs. “Someone should tell Jos Buttler to engage Beast Mode,” writes Oliver Smiddy, “like he did against Yorkshire last week in the Big Blast or whatever our T20 competition is called. That was an incendiary knock. Consolidation be damned.”
30th over: England 202-6 (Buttler 11, Rashid 0)
Santner’s first five deliveries yield singles, and the last brings the wicket. England’s new dawn is in danger of prefacing a very short day. England need a partnership.
WICKET! Billings lbw b Santner 3 (England 202-6)
Yes he is! Debutant snares debutant, and England have lost four wickets for 31 runs!
Updated
REVIEW! Is Billings on his way already?
The umpire doesn’t think so, but New Zealand do, so they’ve reviewed it!
29th over: England 197-5 (Buttler 9, Billings 1)
Sam Billings strides out on his debut, and gets off the mark with a single to mid off. “Can we all calm down a bit?” pleads Steve Johnson. “Enjoyable (though slightly precarious) as this all is today, one 20-odd over spell, even if it becomes a full innings of fun, does not a new era make. Obviously England fans will hope we’re seeing the beginning of a new approach to ODIs but I think we need to see how the series plays out before we start proclaiming a radical change. I’m not trying to be a miserabilist – I am enjoying this batting performance for its own sake – but let’s not start writing history before it happens, eh?” I don’t think anyone would be holding back if England had been scoring at 3.8 an over, and that being the case they probably shouldn’t hold back if they score at twice that rate.
WICKET! Stokes b Boult 10 (England 195-5)
Another one goes! Boult bowls short, Stokes goes for the pull and he inside-edges into his leg, and thence into the stumps.
Updated
28th over: England 194-4 (Stokes 10, Buttler 7)
Santner bowls again, and twice someone is moved to scream “Catch!” as the ball flies in the air. First Buttler hits past long off, where there was nobody around to take a catch, for three, and then Stokes hits to midwicket, but the ball lands just short of the fielder.
27th over: England 190-4 (Stokes 9, Buttler 4)
Good over from Boult, with a couple of yorkerish deliveries that Stokes can’t score off, and England have to be content with a couple of singles.
Updated
26th over: England 188-4 (Stokes 8, Buttler 3)
A first viewing of Mitchell Santner, the Kiwi debutant, and it might have started brilliantly for him, as Stokes tries a verse sweep and top-edges into the air. But third man has been brought short – which I suppose the batsmen knew – and the ball flies over his head and away for four.
25th over: England 181-4 (Stokes 3, Buttler 1)
Exactly halfway through the innings, and with Root and Morgan both back in the dressing-room, we’ve moved into a new phase of the game. So, a fine time to hail the first phase. “In response to spoilsport Sam Blackledge (21st over) – yes, six an over is fairly average for ODIs,” writes Tom Ireland. “But England are actually flying along at over 7, haven’t shown any sign of quietening down during the middle overs, and have some even more explosive batsmen waiting to raise the rate even further in the final 10. I think we have good reason to be excited.”
Root 100 off 71. If England's Number 3 bats like this after losing both openers in the first 8 overs, it is a revolution @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 9, 2015
WICKET! Root c Ronchi b Boult 104 (England 180-4)
Boult returns and bowls shortish, Root attacks and tries to drive, the balls is nicked through to the keeper and an excellent, new-dawn-declaring innings is over.
Updated
24th over: England 177-3 (Root 104, Stokes 0)
Matt Henry returns, and Root hits his first ball down the ground for a couple, to bring up a superlative 71-ball century. It’s the third-quickest England ODI century, with Root behind only Pietersen and Buttler in the rankings. And there’s still time for a four through midwicket, just beating a despairing dive on the rope.
Root joins Cook, Knight, Hick & Collingwood with 5 ODI tons. He's played 37, 45, 65 and 142 fewer ODIs than they did in their careers.
— Daniel Brigham (@dan_brigham) June 9, 2015
Updated
23rd over: England 171-3 (Root 98, Stokes 0)
I see Jonathan Trott is on TMS between innings. Kind of appropriate. There were days that his batting at No3 in ODIs seemed vaguely prehistoric, but none more than today, with Joe Root rocketing towards his hundred.
During the interval we'll be joined by ex-England man @Trotty. Let us know if there's anything you want us to ask... pic.twitter.com/q5ftCPl9Hk
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) June 9, 2015
WICKET! Morgan lbw b McClenaghan 50 (England 171-3)
It’s totally out. Utterly out. In no way is it not out. Still, worth a gamble in an effort to keep that partnership together for a bit longer.
Updated
REVIEW! Is Morgan out here?
A loud lbw appeal from McClenaghan. The umpire thinks long and hard about it, before raising his finger. The batsmen think long and hard about it too, and then review!
22nd over: England 166-2 (Root 93, Morgan 50)
Phwoar! A few singles – one of them taking Morgan to his half-century – and then Root launches one down the ground for six!
Difficult to overstate the change in England's approach. Forty years of conservative one-day thinking has been tossed aside.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) June 9, 2015
21st over: England 156-2 (Root 85, Morgan 48)
Crack! McClenaghan’s first ball is pulled through midwicket for four by Root, making this the third successive over which has started with a boundary. Unlike the other two, another one follows – and it’s a six! Morgan chases a wide delivery and top-edges it with vicious power, the ball flying over the head of third man. “Everyone is acting as if six an over is a magical enchanted land,” writes Sam Blackledge. “This is normal for every other team, and has been for several years now. All this does is show just how far behind England have fallen.”
20th over: England 144-2 (Root 80, Morgan 41)
Elliott’s first ball is deflected down leg, just past the wicketkeeper and away for four by Root, but only one further run follows.
England 144-2 off 20 overs. Not bad after being 0-1 off 0.1
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) June 9, 2015
19th over: England 139-2 (Root 75, Morgan 41)
McClenaghan’s first delivery is cut wide of point by Root for four. “I can’t be the only person whose REP (Reflex English Pessimism) is whispering in his ear, ‘If batting is this easy, what on earth are THEY going to do to US?’” writes Tom Adam. Well, Steven Finn’s figures here might be a pointer.
Updated
18th over: England 132-2 (Root 70, Morgan 39)
After the drinks comes the huddle, as New Zealand discus how to break this partnership. And after the huddle comes Grant Elliott, and a hefty six over deep long on from Morgan. “They’re going to get bowled out for 170 aren’t they?” quivers Gareth Fitzgerald. “And then bring back Bell, Trott, Anderson and Broad.”
17th over: England 123-2 (Root 67, Morgan 33)
So McCullum’s five overs have gone for 42 runs, at 8.40 runs apiece. McClenaghan’s second over is considerably more sedate, bringing as it does four singles and a wide, after which the players take drinks.
Nathan McCullum being knocked about like an out of favour rag doll. We're doing it to them before they do it to us - at last! @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 9, 2015
16th over: England 118-2 (Root 65, Morgan 31)
Morgan hits Nathan McCullum through that packed (though a fair bit less packed than it was) off side and gets four for his troubles, by smacking the ball over a leaping cover. Then, after a single, Root thwacks high over cow corner for a fabulous six, and then tries it again, top-edges and is that close to being caught in the deep, only for Taylor, diving to his right, one-handed, to spill the ball, and then it rolls into the rope for good measure!
15th over: England 102-2 (Root 54, Morgan 26)
Root brings up his half-century, and takes England into triple figures, by edging McClenaghan between the wicketkeeper and a very wide first slip, in the air, for four. “Re: Luke Williams point of order (10th over), surely the example of golf should be followed (birdie, eagle, albatross),” suggests Richard Neal. “For the increasing attributes of no score, first ball of innings, first of career, etc, perhaps duck, goose, ostrich. Maybe for last ball of career, as with Bradman, a dodo.” So a bit like one of those multi-bird roasts that butcher’s offer at Christmas time, essentially?
Can't think of any England team ever who, having lost wkt first ball, would think about, let alone achieve, 100 in 15th over.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) June 9, 2015
Updated
14th over: England 95-2 (Root 49, Morgan 25)
Fascinating over, as the batsmen seek to attack Nathan McCullum and the bowler tries to stop them, and largely succeeds. Four singles. “Holy mackerel. Seriously … Holy mackerel,” writes Ben Dean (though he didn’t actually write mackerel, which I’ve used to maintain this paper’s proud family-friendly record. “Is this why other countries like short form cricket?”
13th over: England 91-2 (Root 47, Morgan 23)
No extravagant hitting here, but plenty of churn. A two, a one, a two, a three (another run saved by a diving McCullum), a one. Good running.
12th over: England 82-2 (Root 43, Morgan 18)
Nathan McCullum returns, and Morgan trots down the wicket to send his first delivery straight down the ground for a six that had the people in the second tier of the stand craning their necks! In that context, 10 off the over might be a little disappointing, but only a little.
Updated
11th over: England 72-2 (Root 42, Morgan 9)
Four runs, coming as three singles and a wide, as a bouncer flies way over Root’s head. Meanwhile, 68-2 represents England’s highest home powerplay score since 2011, apparently.
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive. But to be part of an exciting new brand of 50-over guys was very heaven!
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) June 9, 2015
Updated
10th over: England 68-2 (Root 41, Morgan 7)
Lovely cover-driving here from Root, earning six runs from Boult’s first two deliveries, before a single provokes another massive reshuffle from McCullum, so that Morgan once again faces a massively off-side-weighted field. He finds some space and runs three, allowing Root to drive past point. Lovely. “Point of order: As Mr Roy played in the abandoned one-dayer v Ireland, did his innings today count as debut?” wonders Luke Williams. “If so, do we need another term to describe an unlucky batsman who is out first ball a) of his team’s innings and b) of his own career? A diamond-encrusted platinum duck, or ‘fabergé’ for short, perhaps?”
9th over: England 54-2 (Root 30, Morgan 4)
Henry’s back, and he bowls to Morgan, with seven fielders on the off side, plus the bowler and the wicketkeeper, and then a lot of space. After four dots Morgan scores two twice, once down the ground, and once pushing an off-line delivery to fine leg.
Four fielders on the cut shot for Morgan, plus a slip, of course.
— John Etheridge (@JohnSunCricket) June 9, 2015
8th over: England 50-2 (Root 30, Morgan 0)
The batsmen cross while the ball swirls about in the skies, and Root leaves the next, plays and misses the one after that, and finds the fielder at backward point – Guptill collecting the ball nicely. He leaves the last as well, the over thus yielding just one run and a wicket to boot.
WICKET! Hales c Henry b Boult 20 (England 50-2)
Hales tries to hook and mistimes it, the ball hitting the top edge and looping high into the air, and down into the hands of Matt Henry.
Updated
7th over: England 49-1 (Root 29, Hales 20)
After another four from Root, boshed high over the bowler’s head, Hales clubs past mid on, where a diving fielder can get no more than a few fingertips to it. With nine runs scored from the first five balls the McCullum brothers have a lengthy chat about tactics (presumably) and a dot ensues.
6th over: England 40-1 (Root 23, Hales 17)
Trent Boult returns after an end-swap, and Hales misses out on a short, wide, weak delivery – slapped straight to cover – but then lucks out next ball with an edge that flies wide of the slips and rumbles out of the reach of a diving third man.
5th over: England 35-1 (Root 22, Hales 13)
A decent start from England, particularly if you can ignore the very start, so the Kiwis try out some spin, courtesy of Nathan McCullum. And he succeeds in slamming the brakes on the innings, with just three singles scored, and breaking the run of eights. Which I for one think is a little sad.
Updated
4th over: England 32-1 (Root 20, Hales 12)
Another lovely shot from Root, who cuts past point for four. England reach 32, having scored precisely eight runs from each over so far. Is this the most uniform ODI innings-opening ever?
England look like they're happy to risk 150 in order to try for 350. This must be the right way with all that batting @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 9, 2015
Updated
3rd over: England 24-1 (Root 13, Hales 11)
This over, like the last, featured two boundaries and eight runs, though Root was responsible for these. “Hmmmm … very crisp,” purrs Mike Atherton on Sky, as if he’s just been presented with a glass of chilled sauvignon blanc, after the second disappears just wide of mid off. “Unfortunate for Roy, maybe he’s a feast-or-famine kind of batsman,” writes James Evans. “Recent scores: 0, 27, 67, 1, 4, 140, 16, 60*, 8, 143, 9, and now another blob.” So in eight of his last 12 innings he averaged 17, and in the other four he averaged 137.
2nd over: England 16-1 (Root 5, Hales 11)
England – and Hales – do get their first boundary of the day off Matt Henry’s third delivery, punched past cover, and then a couple of balls later Hales punches another past mid on for four more.
This is only the 6th time a player has been out to the first ball of an ODI #bbccricket
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) June 9, 2015
1st over: England 8-1 (Root 5, Hales 3)
So in comes Joe Root to face the second delivery of the day, and he only just survives the over after he flicks the ball off his thighs and just past Santner at leg slip. The over ends with a miracle boundary-save from McCullum, diving a sliding to flick the ball away from the rope at long off and forcing Hales, facing his first ball of the day, to run three.
Jason and the Out-for-noughts etc
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) June 9, 2015
What a start for @trent_boult and the BLACKCAPS! Gets the edge of Roy and @Martyguptill takes a safe catch. England 0-1 #engvnz ^CE
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) June 9, 2015
Debut diamond duck - that can't have happened before, in cricket or alliteration.
— Daniel Harris (@DanielHarris) June 9, 2015
WICKET! Roy c Guptill b Boult 0 (England 0-1)
That’s a first-ball duck for Jason Roy, pushed to Guptill at backward point!
Updated
Out come the players. Action imminent.
Classic English cricket weather today. Very emphatically grey.
The New Zealand line-up, then: M Guptill, B McCullum, K Williamson, R Taylor, G Elliott, M Santner, L Ronchi, N McCullum, M Henry, M McClenaghan, T Boult.
Here’s photographic evidence of Sam Billings’ new cap.
“Don’t know why Phil Russell is so down on the photo,” writes Gareth Fitzgerald. “Okay, it’s not a textbook bowling action, but didn’t we want something a bit different?”
One debut for each team: Mitchell Santner for New Zealand, and Sam Billings for England.
Eoin Morgan talks. Quite quickly, but this should hopefully be reasonably accurate.
The ODI stuff we’re starting with a bit of a blank page. The last year for us has been really poor, but the future hopefully looks promising. There’s always pressure on the senior players, and obviously when you’re captain you take the majority of it. I’m happy to take that on board and hopefully contribute to us winning the game.
I think the group of players we have picked play the kind of cricket we want to play moving forward. It will take some time to bridge that gap, but now we’ve identified how we want to go about it, hopefully we can make a start on that.
The England team in full:
England: Hales, Roy, Root, Morgan (c), Stokes, Buttler (wk), Billings, Rashid, Jordan, Plunkett, Finn #EngvNZ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 9, 2015
New Zealand win the toss and will bowl first
“It looks a good deck,” says Brendan McCullum. “With the overcast conditions hopefully our boys can swing it early on, and the wicket should hold its shape.”
Updated
Today’s wicket looks like this (flat and brownish, basically):
Bat or bowl first? #EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/fzSHRMYvRc
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 9, 2015
This appears to be a tweet about farting.
Rooty lets one go #EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/IrXjhHgwya
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 9, 2015
It’s slightly strange, as an Englishman, to be approaching a match between an extremely familiar side full of cricketers I like and enjoy watching, and a rival squad of unknown potential about whom I’m somewhat suspicious, and for the latter team to be England.
Useful weather-related update. In brief, we’re all good:
Here's the weather forecast for #EngvNZ at Edgbaston today. Gates are now open with tickets priced from £30 pic.twitter.com/fbw3MXXBXy
— Warwickshire CCC (@CricketingBears) June 9, 2015
“Afternoon Simon, afternoon everyone,” writes Phil Russell. “Is it just me, or is there quite a lot wrong with that photo of Adil Rashid*? Specifically:
- The ball is quite clearly a baseball not a cricket ball.
- His hands appear to be in utterly the wrong position for making a catch.
- He’s not looking at the ball.
- He appears to have a sponsor clash between his footwear and other apparel.
- and most importantly, he has his cap on back-to-front.
“Looks like there are quite a few margins still to be gained here. Don’t think this bodes well for the game if I’m honest.”
* This photo will be replaced by something more exciting when the game starts, so here’s a little version for the benefit of latecomers.
Updated
Hello world!
So here’s a picture of some plasticky, static, dull people being swept away by a new broom.
Today is, perhaps, the first day of something better than the thing that was there before. Eoin Morgan said yesterday that Andrew Strauss had informed him that “there’s certainly going to be a difference between the Tests and the one-dayers. There’s going to be a bigger priority on one-day cricket … and that’s the change that has made me think there is going to be progress here”.
You’d have thought that playing 21 consecutive limited-overs matches (one of them a Twenty20, the others all 50-over games) over six months before the World Cup might itself have constituted “a priority on one-day cricket”, and look where that got us. Still, this is a different kind of priority, and a different kind of one-day cricket.
It was New Zealand who really showed England the error of their previous ways, first by absolutely whupping them in their World Cup pool match, and then by generally showing them how much fun one-day cricket can be when it’s done kind of right. And so it’s kind of appropriate that they provide the opposition today. And also kind of scary, because they’re really good at this, and England are way back in the distance, eyeing their brilliance covetously through a pair of high-strength binoculars.
