Eoin Morgan hailed England’s 210-run victory over New Zealand as the result of his side’s new aggressive mindset, describing the performance as a benchmark for the future and the first step on the one-day recovery path after a woeful World Cup.
England produced a remarkable display to set a record first innings total of 408 following fine centuries from Jos Buttler and Joe Root, as well as a quickfire 69 from Adil Rashid. Four wickets apiece from Steven Finn and Rashid then restricted Brendon McCullum’s side to 198 in reply, producing a result in stark contrast to the World Cup meeting between the sides in February which New Zealand dominated.
Much had been made about England’s “new brand” of cricket beforehand, and it was apparent early on that Morgan, the captain, had encouraged an aggressive approach, his players exuding a fearlessness that has been lacking in recent times.
Four ODIs remain in this series before England’s Ashes summer, and Morgan praised the performance as “a great benchmark to set”. He said: “It was outstanding, it was as close to a perfect performance in a one-day game as you’ll find, considering it’s happened in the first game of the series with the new squad we’ve selected.
“The real test is going to be consistency for us. Today Jos Buttler and Joe Root were outstanding, Adil Rashid – those three guys put in match-winning performances, well supported by Steven Finn as well.
“I think it’s a mindset in the group and something everyone has to buy into. Over time there will be ups and downs – today is certainly a huge high and a great benchmark to set. I was so happy with how we went about it. The guys kept putting pressure on New Zealand.”
Attention now turns to the Oval on Friday, and Morgan was quick to issue a warning that England’s new aggression would, on occasion, not necessarily pay off so handsomely in the future.
He added: “There might be a few downs along the way but in the long-term it will serve us really well. For us it’s about bridging a gap that has been there a while in one-day cricket. You look at the guys who scored the runs today and the method that they scored them – it was pretty attacking and aggressive cricket and that comes naturally to the guys we’ve selected to play.
“That’s crucial, because naturally, over a long period of time, we normally go into our shells. That’s just how we play cricket. It’s the way you play cricket in England because the ball moves around. Slowly but surely we have to move to the other end of the spectrum and stop playing safe cricket.”
Buttler and Root punished the New Zealand attack brutally, having been put into bowl by McCullum. Trent Boult was the only opposition bowler who emerged with some credit, taking four wickets for 55, and he admitted to being shocked at England’s new style. He saw “a pretty drastic change”, he said. “It was totally different to what we witnessed in Wellington. Quite different.”
McCullum said: “It was a special performance from Root and Buttler. To post 400 in any game is outstanding. They blew us off the park. You have to admit when you get it wrong at the toss. The second innings makes you realise we got it wrong. But that takes nothing away from England, who put on a complete performance.
“I thought we did well to get back in the game. To get 200 for 6 after 30-odd overs, I thought we might be chasing 250. But they chanced their arm nicely, played with no fear and took back the initiative. We could have tried a few more things but overall we need to be better. We knew they would play like that, we just didn’t think they’d get 400. I think this is the way both teams will play this series. The margins could be great with the style both teams are playing.”
