Goodbye then – and thanks – New Zealand. It’s been wonderful early-summer fun. England’s high-throttle new era rolled on into their last match before the Ashes with a 56-run one-off Twenty20 defeat of Brendon McCullum’s cavaliers on a crisp, run-filled, valedictory evening at Old Trafford. For England this was once again a Joe Root Day as the team’s best player in all three formats was by turns innovative, orthodox and even a little slapstick in compiling 68 off 46 balls. Around him a supporting cast of all-purpose dashers chipped in to compile a healthy looking 191 that proved to be comfortably out of reach.
By the end an aggressive display in the field led by some tight, straight fast bowling by Mark Wood and Ben Stokes was enough to suggest a carry-over of the white-ball optimism of recent weeks. As Eoin Morgan said afterwards: “The guys are playing with smiles on their faces, everyone’s enjoying each other’s company, everyone’s playing fearless cricket.” Over to you then, Alastair.
With the first Ashes Test just three weeks away there had been a tendency to dismiss this match as a quirk of scheduling, a piece of lint on the lapel of an otherwise perfectly spruce Test and one-day summer. But in its own way this was more significant than any of the 50-over stuff that preceded it. England now have just three confirmed Twenty20 internationals before next year’s World Twenty20 in India. The poster for the evening may have carried the strapline ‚“Live music, live action, live cricket” (in that order), but this was still an occasion from which England will have been keen to learn as much as possible.
Morgan won the toss as the shadows lengthened and chose to bat first on another excellent batting pitch. England’s team was the same XI that had chased down a shortened target in Durham, with Sam Billings, David Willey and Mark Wood making their international Twenty20 debuts and confirming the new synergy between the two white-ball teams.
New Zealand picked two spinners, and with familiar Brendon McCullum-ish ballsiness gave the debutant Mitchell Santner the ball for a tight first over. Jason Roy got England going, yahooing Mitchell McClenaghan’s second ball into the crowd at straight midwicket with that familiar skip down the wicket, before being run out rather softly for an adrenal 23 off 13 balls.
Tim Southee was on-driven for six by Root, then ramp-cut – an extraordinary piece of mid-shot adjustment – for a jaw-dropping four to third man as the opening powerplay brought 60 runs. Alex Hales skied Santner to cover to depart for 27 off 22 and Jonny Bairstow saw his off stump pegged back in the same over. But with Root in knockabout mood, placing the ball dreamily and in between reeling out the swats and the scoops, England got to 100 in the 11th over and Root to a lovely, effortless fifty off 36 balls with a whiplash pull off Nathan McCullum. That over went for 23, including an easy flicked six into the shadow of The Point by Billings, who was out shortly afterwards for a crazed but very useful 21 off 10 balls.
Stokes and Adil Rashid biffed and dinked profitably at the end to leave England with an imposing total that looked better straight away as Willey swung one back to take out Martin Guptill’s leg stump with the third ball of the reply.
New Zealand were never likely to die wondering, just as nobody hits the ball quite like Brendon McCullum, who for all his strength and fast hands has a beautiful economy of movement about his attacking strokes. Here Steven Finn, Willey and Wood were all hit for six in the opening overs before Wood sent McCullum on his way, producing a fast full ball from wide of the crease that cannoned into the stumps off a thick bottom-edge.
A a horrible first over from Rashid went for 17 and New Zealand were ahead at the end of the powerplay on 72 for two, with Kane Williamson playing as he has all summer, all frictionless right-handed severity. England needed wickets badly. They got the unexpected bonus of a slightly frazzled New Zealand collapse – described as “amateur hour” by McCullum – as Ross Taylor lofted Rashid to Willey at long off, Colin Munro was bowled slogging at Stokes and Luke Ronchi played a horrible attempted ramp straight up in the air.
Williamson continued to play beautifully, easing to a controlled, elegant fifty off just 31 balls. But some timely tight bowling by Finn and Wood left New Zealand needing 61 off 31 with seven wickets down, the last of them a sensational one-handed pick-up and direct hit by Willey to run out Williamson. Southee holed out next ball to give Wood his third wicket. And that was pretty much that. Cue the flames, the fireworks and – up next – the Ashes.
