A chaotically entertaining game characterised by batting that was either sensational or – more frequently – shambolic was settled by Daryl Mitchell’s ability to find serenity amid the calamity.
Mitchell’s sober 78 not out, most notably assisted by Michael Bracewell (51), took a side floundering at 24 for three in pursuit of a superficially straightforward target and set them on the path to victory, wrapped up by four wickets and with 13.2 overs to spare.
But if England were eclipsed it was their captain, Harry Brook, who shone brightest in compiling a century of phenomenal skill and judgment. His knock of 135 could not save his side from defeat, but it did rescue them from humiliation.
It was remarkable there was even a brief moment when New Zealand were forced to ponder the possibility of losing, given the start they made to the game. But this was not a day to be a top-order batter, with only one member of either side’s top three scoring more than five runs – and England’s opening trio failing to reach that number between them.
The tourists began their innings with three batters who had arrived in the country just a few days previously, while the team were in Auckland for the washed-out final fixture of the T20 series. Perhaps they have found jet lag hard to shake off, because they batted like men blighted by bleary eyes and persistent brain fog.
It did not help their acclimatisation that the bowling at the start of England’s innings was exceptional, from both Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes. Jamie Smith fell to the first ball of the series, Henry sneaking one past a half-heartedly proffered bat. Then Ben Duckett and Joe Root went in the next over, both for two runs. Duckett was squared up by Foulkes before edging behind, Root beaten by one that moved back in sharply and crashed into middle and off.
The 23-year-old Foulkes later dismissed Sam Curran for six to end just his second one-day international with four wickets. “My favourite? Definitely Joe Root,” he said. “I watched him so much growing up. It felt pretty surreal playing against the likes of him.”
Just 12 balls into the day, five runs were on the board and England’s No 5 was at the crease. Three overs later, Jacob Bethell (two) lost his off-stump to another superb delivery from Foulkes. Four wickets down and Brook was already his team’s top scorer, with four. The 26-year-old later described his mindset as he walked out: “Get myself in and then try and smack it.” And, well, he did that. “Obviously it wasn’t an ideal start,” he added, “but it was a do-or-die moment.”
From there it took a miracle for England to reach even a vague approximation of a respectable score, and that miracle’s name was Harry Brook. In any circumstances his would have been an extraordinary innings, but given the one he found himself in it was simply magnificent. Ten for four swiftly became 33 for five and 56 for six, but from the moment he arrived Brook was playing his own serene game, entirely unrelated to the one his teammates were struggling in so miserably.
By the time Adil Rashid’s wicket became the ninth to fall Brook was on 85 off 73 and England had 166, still well short of a competitive total despite Jamie Overton’s score of 46. Brook faced another 28 deliveries and added precisely 50 more runs before he slog-swept Mitchell Santner to deep midwicket, England’s innings ending on 223 with 14.4 overs unbowled.
Luke Wood contributed five to a last-wicket stand of 57 during which Brook hit seven sixes, among them three in a row off Jacob Duffy, the last of them bringing up his second century in the format. His 135 runs constituted 60.53% of his team’s total, an English record in completed ODI innings.
“It’s definitely not a cause for concern,” Brook said about the batting of England’s top order. “They’re all unbelievable players. There’s a reason why they’re playing for England – they’re the best four batters in the country. It’s just one of them days. A couple of them got nice balls. Could we try and go a little bit harder and knock them off their lengths? I personally think so, but that’s something we can learn from this game.”
The Black Caps’ task appeared straightforward enough until the penultimate ball of Brydon Carse’s first over flicked off Will Young’s pads and into the stumps. Kane Williamson’s long awaited return to the national team ended with him edging his first delivery to Jos Buttler. Soon thereafter, Rachin Ravindra (17) became Wood’s first ODI wicket, and his first in List A cricket since 2019.
Enter Mitchell, and sanity. The run chase was assisted by Root dropping Bracewell when he was on two, Wood fluffing an easy chance to dismiss Mitchell himself when he was on 33, and a bit of anodyne bowling at times. “We’ve got to try and find a way of taking wickets through the middle overs and not just rely on Rash [Adil Rashid] to have a bit of wizardry,” Brook said.
With no wizardry forthcoming Mitchell hunkered down, declined to panic, and gradually sucked all doubt and drama out of a briefly perilous situation.
