Here's Vithushan Ehantharajah's match report
That was such a dominant performance from England. They were sensational in the field - as Nasser Hussain says, England may never have fielded better in an ODI - and reached their target of 224 with 12.1 overs to spare. That’s as good as it gets, really. Thanks for your company, good morning!
ENGLAND WIN BY SIX WICKETS WITH 73 BALLS REMAINING
37.5 overs: England 225-4 (Stokes 63, Buttler 36) Buttler slams Santner for six to complete a thumping victory. He ends with 36 from 20 balls, Stokes with 63 from 74, and the series is level at 1-1 with three matches to play.
37th over: England 216-4 (Stokes 61, Buttler 29) Stokes will surely win the Man of the Match award for his all-round superheroism: 61 not out, two wickets and two run-outs.
The elation on that fan's face in the crowd in New Zealand taking a one-hander at the ODI is what its all about! Love it! We need to get this happening in Aus!!! #NZvENG
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) February 28, 2018
36th over: England 211-4 (Stokes 56, Buttler 29) Buttler hooks Southee for six, with a gentleman in the crowd taking a nonchalant one-handed catch. He’ll win $50,000 for that! There was so much excitement about the catch that it almost went unnoticed that Buttler pumped Southee for 464 from consecutive deliveries. England are almost home.
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35th over: England 194-4 (Stokes 55, Buttler 13) “Anyone else a bit giddy about the joyous levity of England’s ODI approach?” says Kristian Petterson. “If they’d dismissed NZ for around 30, you get the feeling they’d have made it a specific target to complete the win in their first over. Schoolboy but in the best possible sense.”
It’s Michael Corleone batting. Nothing personal - it’s strictly business. I still worry about them on a lesser pitch in a one-off World Cup game, but they are such fun to watch that my mood was only partially murderous when my alarm went off at 3am this morning.
I mentioned this earlier but it’s certainly worth a repost
It’s a little brisk outside, especially if you’re wearing shorts to school. Owen Milbank has been doing that every day for the last four months to raise money for the Refugee Community Kitchen. It’s such an inspiring challenge, even more so in a week like this. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here.
34th over: England 191-4 (Stokes 53, Buttler 12) Two runs from a good over by Ferguson. His figures aren’t much to tweet about (8-0-48-1) but his pace has added plenty of excitement to a largely routine run-chase. That’s drinks.
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33rd over: England 189-4 (Stokes 52, Buttler 11) England need 35 from 17 overs. It’s been an excellent day for them and a bad one for New Zealand. They started the game without Kane Williamson and will end it without the injured Ross Taylor. Both must be doubts for the third ODI on Saturday.
32nd over: England 183-4 (Stokes 50, Buttler 7) Stokes reaches a stylish fifty, his 11th in ODIs and his first post-Bristol, from 54 balls. He’s played extremely well. Buttler then top-edges Ferguson straight over the keeper’s head for six. Ferguson’s pace has been impressive, in excess of 90mph for much of his spell.
31st over: England 176-4 (Stokes 49, Buttler 1) “Morning from snowy Stratford, Rob,” says Guy Hornsby. “This England performance is warming my frozen toes on a dicey commute to the office. It does feel a bit odd seeing you-know-who back, but it’s much less of a tightrope seeing Morgan make hay. He’s such a criminally underrated captain. We should be worshipping his creativity, but it feels grudging at times. What a fitting cherry on his career a home World Cup would be.”
I’ll say!
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WICKET! England 174-4 (Morgan ct and b Munro 62)
Morgan clunks a nothing ball, or maybe the knuckle ball, straight back to Munro, who takes a comfortable catch. That ends a fine, dominant innings of 62 from 63 balls.
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30th over: England 169-3 (Morgan 62, Stokes 48) Morgan uppercuts Ferguson for six, through the hands of Chapman on the boundary. It was an almost impossible catch because he was in mid air and falling over the rope. Stokes then plays a high-class pull through midwicket for four. Stokes averages an impressive 64 - with a strike rate of 103 - from his last 25 ODIs. Before that he was average 22. Back on the field,
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29th over: England 157-3 (Morgan 55, Stokes 43) Colin Munro comes on to bowl his occasional dobbers, and concedes a couple from a quiet first over.
28th over: England 155-3 (Morgan 54, Stokes 42) Lockie Ferguson returns to the attack. Nothing much happens. This game is done, barring a retro fiasco from England.
27th over: England 153-3 (Morgan 53, Stokes 41) Morgan cuffs Boult over midwicket for four to bring up a thumping half-century from 48 balls, with six fours and two sixes. It’s an important innings for Morgan, his first ODI fifty since the Champions Trophy.
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26th over: England 147-3 (Morgan 48, Stokes 40) This England batting line-up is full of cold-eyed punishers, and there was never much danger they would try to use all 50 overs. You’d expect the game to be done with at least 10 overs to spare.
25th over: England 143-3 (Morgan 46, Stokes 38) Stokes walks down the track to smack Trent Boult for a huge straight six. Pick that out! He then pulls just short of deep square leg, where Chapman chooses to save the boundary rather than try to take a very difficult catch. When Morgan plays a similar shot at the end of the over, Chapman goes for the catch, falls short and concedes four. It was a good attempt.
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24th over: England 130-3 (Morgan 42, Stokes 29) A couple from Santner’s over. England will need to do something memorable to lose from here. They need 94 from 156 balls.
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23rd over: England 128-3 (Morgan 41, Stokes 28) Morgan hammers Southee towards midwicket, where Nicholls drops a really sharp chance to his left. It would have been a sensational catch. New Zealand need wickets because England are miles ahead of the required run-rate - even more so after two brilliantly timed boundaries from Stokes. The first was a back-foot drive, the second a pull through midwicket.
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22nd over: England 119-3 (Morgan 40, Stokes 20) Santner, on for Ferguson, is flicked for four by the increasingly confident Stokes. He’d become a superb No5 before his ban and England’s middle order looks so much better back in that position. England need 105 from 28 overs.
21st over: England 112-3 (Morgan 38, Stokes 15) Stokes goes down in pain after dragging the new bowler Southee onto his hip bone. Morgan wanted a quick single; Stokes sent him back on the grounds of being temporarily unable to walk.
In other news, if you haven’t read it, this week’s Spin is excellent.
20th over: England 111-3 (Morgan 37, Stokes 15) Some errant filth from Ferguson is pulled round the corner for four by Stokes. New Zealand need a couple of wickets urgently, which has been the case for most of the innings. Simon Doull, on commentary, just made an excellent point about Ferguson, and so many other fast bowlers - the faster he tries to bowl, the slower he gets. The search for rhythm, and that magical state when it all feels so effortless, must torment genuinely fast bowlers.
19th over: England 103-3 (Morgan 36, Stokes 9) Stokes has started pretty well for a man who has barely batted in the six months. Mind you I’d have been tempted to go at him with Southee or Bould, just for a couple of overs.
18th over: England 98-3 (Morgan 35, Stokes 6) Morgan works Ferguson through the covers for four more. He looks in dominant mood and has 34 from 27 balls.
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Drinks break
It’s a little brisk outside, especially if you’re wearing shorts to school. Owen Milbank, a 10-year-old from Newmarket, has been doing that every day for the last four months to raise money for the Refugee Community Kitchen. It’s such an inspiring challenge, even more so in a week like this. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here.
17th over: England 92-3 (Morgan 29, Stokes 5) Colin de Grandhomme comes into the attack. The non-striker Stokes calls a dodgy single and is short of his ground when de Grandhomme’s kick misses the stumps. This is a key period: with Stokes rusty, New Zealand have a chance to open the game up by taking a fourth wicket. Stokes gets off the mark with an uppish swipe for four. That wasn’t too far wide of mid-on.
16th over: England 86-3 (Morgan 29, Stokes 0) The new batsman is Ben Stokes. Ferguson looks rapid, with an urgent, muscular action.
WICKET! England 86-3 (Bairstow c sub b Ferguson 37)
Ferguson has his first wicket! Bairstow steers a short ball straight to third man, where the substitute Todd Astle takes a routine catch at the second attempt. It’s a soft way to end a dominant innings. England need to be careful here; they’ve been a little sloppy.
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15th over: England 82-2 (Bairstow 33, Morgan 29) I missed that over completely. So sue me!
14th over: England 78-2 (Bairstow 31, Morgan 28) The fast bowler Lockie Ferguson comes into the attack. I’ve been looking forward to watching him. It’s lively fare right from the start: Morgan pulls a storming six and is dropped next ball by the keeper Latham. It was a tough chance, high above his head, when Morgan top-edged another pull stroke.
13th over: England 70-2 (Bairstow 29, Morgan 21) Santner goes around the wicket to Morgan, who swings him lazily down the ground for six. Shot! England look keen to get this game done in a hurry.
Meanwhile, this is quite interesting - the records of each team since the last World Cup when batting second in ODIs. It’s no great surprise that the standouts are England and Virat Kohli.
12th over: England 62-2 (Bairstow 29, Morgan 14) Boult is into his sixth over, a reflection of New Zealand’s need for more wickets. Morgan hits him for three consecutive boundaries: a top-edged hook, a well placed extra cover drive and a beautiful push down the ground. He’s straight down to business.
11th over: England 49-2 (Bairstow 29, Morgan 1) Morgan cuts Santner for a single to get off the mark.
10th over: England 47-2 (Bairstow 28, Morgan 0) Eoin Morgan is the new batsman.
WICKET! England 47-2 (Root c de Grandhomme b Boult 9)
So much for Root’s 65 not out: he has fallen to a blinding catch from Colin de Grandhomme. Boult switched around the wicket and induced an uppish flick towards midwicket, where de Grandhomme threw his sizeable frame to the right to take a great low catch at full stretch.
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9th over: England 47-1 (Bairstow 28, Root 9) The left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner comes into the attack. His second ball is too short and slapped for four by Root. This situation is perfect for Root to make an unobtrusive 65 not out. England are in control at the moment; they need 177 from the last 41 overs.
8th over: England 42-1 (Bairstow 28, Root 4) Bairstow picks Boult up over backward square leg for a majestic flat six. These are early days but he averages almost 60 when he opens in ODI, an all-time record among those with at least 500 runs in that position. It’ll be fascinating to see how the Roy/Bairstow/Hales competition plays out before and during the World Cup.
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7th over: England 34-1 (Bairstow 21, Root 3) Southee and Boult bowled pretty well - when don’t they - but they are defending the indefensible: 223 all out looks a long way below par. Bairstow continues his excellent start with a thump through the covers for four.
6th over: England 26-1 (Bairstow 15, Root 1) Root gets off the mark with a single off Boult.He doesn’t quite the credit he deserves for an extraordinary ODI record - he has the seventh highest average in ODI history, and there are some pretty impressive names above him.
5th over: England 25-1 (Bairstow 15, Root 0) Southee drifts onto the pads of Bairstow, who does the necessary through midwicket for four. He ends the over by cuffing a back cut for another boundary. It’s been a confident start from England, the wicket of roy notwithstanding. They love an ODI run-chase. They have won 17, tied one and lost two of the last 20 matches in which they have batted second.
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4th over: England 15-1 (Bairstow 4, Root 1) The new batsman is Joe Root, who my colleague Vithushan Ehantharajah calls the designated driver of this ODI batting line-up. Great line, that.
WICKET! England 15-1 (Roy c Santner b Boult 8)
That’s the early wicket New Zealand needed. Roy muscles a pull towards square leg, where Santner dives forward to take an excellent catch.
3rd over: England 14-0 (Roy 8, Bairstow 4) A decent outswinger from Southee is smoked over mid-off for four by Roy. That’s some way to get off the mark. Southee’s next ball is flipped to the midwicket boundary, a lovely piece of timing, and then Roy survives a decent LBW appeal. Too high.
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2nd over: England 6-0 (Roy 0, Bairstow 4) Trent Boult’s first ball is a lovely inswinger that beats Bairstow’s tentative forward defensive. After four dot balls, Bairstow waves a wide half-volley through the covers for four. There’s a bit of swing for New Zealand but nothing for England to worry about so far.
In other news, this is interesting.
ICYMI, Afghanistan battled back from the brink of a crushing defeat to pull off a remarkable victory over West Indies in their warm-up encounter ahead of next week's ICC World Cup Qualifiers https://t.co/G0mewDTkiF
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 28, 2018
1st over: England 2-0 (Roy 0, Bairstow 0) Tim Southee opens the bowling and beats Jason Roy with a fine delivery bowled from wider on the crease. New Zealand need to swing the new ball if they are to get back in this game. There’s a little bit in Southee’s opening over, with the only runs coming from a couple of leg-side wides.
Thanks Tanya, hello everyone. That was quite a fielding performance from England, perhaps their best in ODIs. The players are out so let’s proceed to the run-chase.
England need 224 to win
It should be a fairly simple win for England from here on a pitch which the locals think is a 270-280 wicket.But what magic can the New Zealand bowlers conjure up and can the Blackcaps match England’s magnificent performance in the field? To guide you rather more smoothly through the rest of the night and early morning it is Rob Smyth.
49.4 overs New Zealand 223 all out. What an awesome performance by England in the field despite a cross-breeze whipping across the ground - wonderful catches, four run outs, tight ground fielding and accurate bowling from the spinners and the pacemen which maintained constant pressure on the Blackcaps. New Zealand, without their figure-head captain, struggled, with moments of madness, though Guptil, de Grandhomme and Santner at the end have given them a total they can at least think about defending.
Wicket! Boult run-out (Stokes/Woakes) 2
The third umpire finds against Boult, millimetres out of his ground coming back for the second run. Stokes scoops the ball up from mid-wicket and to Woakes with one hand.
49th over: New Zealand 218-9 ( Santner 58, Boult 2) Four runs from Stokes’ final over of the match and a second wicket for the bowler with knack of conjuring wickets from nothing balls.
Wicket! Ferguson c Rashid b Stokes 19
A slice by Ferguson grabbed by an acrobatic Rashid at mid-off
48th over: New Zealand 214-8 ( Santner 57, Ferguson 19) A huge over for New Zealand!19 off Curran: A six by Ferguson, huge over midwicket, a slog over square-leg by Santner, also for 6, and another four by Santner to take him to his highest scores in ODIs.
47th over: New Zealand 195-8 ( Santner 45, Ferguson 12) Ferguson is unable to get Stokes away and ends up facing four of the balls in the over which can’t be the plan. Four from the over
46th over: New Zealand 191-8 ( Santner 43, Ferguson 10) Baristow is back on the field. A mixture of yorkers and back of a lenght deliveries from Curran restrict New Zealand to two runs.
45th over: New Zealand 189-8 ( Santner 42, Ferguson 9) Roy misses a demi-chance to run-out Santer when he fumbles his first touch. A boundary from Santner off the last ball of the over. Deacon Blue being pumped across the ground
44th over: New Zealand 181-8 ( Santner 35, Ferguson 7) Just two from that Curran’s ove
Martin Wright writes: “Assuming Santner doesn’t blast the cover off the ball and take New Zealand to 270, but instead they stagger to 200-odd, then you can’t help thinking it would be nice if there were bonus points for winning big. In other words, if England got 1.5 wins, as it were, for reaching the target in 30 “ I’m not sure Martin, cricket is quite complicated already
43rd over: New Zealand 179-8 ( Santner 34, Ferguson 7)Santner slashes Stokes on the backfoot down to boundary , six from the over
42nd over: New Zealand 173-8 ( Santner 29, Ferguson 6)
This is going to be down to Santner, but he’s unable to get Curran throught to the boundary. Meanwhile Jonny Bairstow limps off the field
41st over: New Zealand 165-8 ( Santner 25, Ferguson 5) The New Zealand run rate edges above 4 as Santer sweeps Rashid to the square leg boundary
40th over: New Zealand 159-8 ( Santner 20, Ferguson 4) Santner hoops Curran’s first ball for four and New Zealand have ten overs left to try and construct a total worth defending
39th over: New Zealand 152-8 ( Santner 15, Ferguson 3) Just two runs from Rashid’s over, loopy and on a good length, New Zealand don’t even try to get him away.
38th over: New Zealand 137-8 ( Santner 14, Ferguson 2) England’s excellence in the field has really spooked New Zealand: three run-outs!
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Wicket! Southee run out (Stokes/Buttler) 6
Oh dear. That was a needless run out by New Zealand who choose to take on Ben Stokes’s arm at midwicket. Stokes fumbles, briefly, but whips it back to Buttler and Southee is short.
37th over: New Zealand 137-6 ( Santner 13, Southee 6) New Zealand’s captain edges his first ball through where third slip might have stood for four.
Wicket! de Grandhomme run-out (Bairstow/Buttler) 38
ah, that was daft. de Grandhomme came back for a risky second run and chanced the arm of Bairstow at deep square. On a day like this when England’s fielding has been so good, it was not a chance worth taking.
36th over: New Zealand 137-6 (de Grandhomme 35, Santner 12) de Grandhomme looks little troubled here by Moeen, but is unable or not yet willing to risk an acceleration. He and Santner nurdle three to long off and long on.
35th over: New Zealand 134-6 (de Grandhomme 34, Santner 10)
Woakes is back but it is a good over for New Zealand at last: nine runs from it and a sense of urgency . A front-foot pull from Santner brings three and a wristy whip from de Grandhomme goes for four off the last ball of the over.
A note from MArtin:”Well done for braving the polar chill to keep us updated. Do feel free to throw in a bit more detail J. Some of us are relying on you for procrastination as we dither around last minute deadlines!”
Ah, you’ve got me Martin, I’m a little rusty at this...will try
And now it really is time for drinks
34th over: New Zealand 125-6 (de Grandhomme 30, Santner 6) Santner, the danger man from the last match, is being held in check here by Moeen. A nudge here, a drive to long-off there but only three off the over.
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33rd over: New Zealand 122-6 (de Grandhomme 30, Santner 3) Another lovely over from Rashid, who has bowled with real accuracy even though the pitch is not helping the ball spin
32nd over: New Zealand 121-6 (de Grandhomme 30, Santner 2)
31st over: New Zealand 115-6 (de Grandhomme 25, Santner 1) Rashid is back and de Grandhomme eases his first ball for four
30th over: New Zealand 108-6 (Grandhomme 19, Santner 0) The blocks are falling off now for New Zealand. England, on the other hand, have been magnificent in the field, bowled with thrift accuracy and aggression.
Wicket! Latham c Curran b Moeen 22
Latham, surprised by the drift, top-edges Moeen down to third man
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29th over: New Zealand 105-5 (Latham 21, de Grandhomme 16) Stokes is pumping aggression, but de Grandhomme whallops him for a huge six, hooking with the wind, high and long. He’s somehow hit it 75m in the air with the bottom of the bat. This should be an intriguing contest if de Grandhomme sticks around.
28th over: New Zealand 94-5 (Latham 20, de Grandhomme 7) Three off Moeen’s over. The sky is looking blue now over the Bay.
27th over: New Zealand 90-5 (Latham 18, de Grandhomme 5) Stokes is pouding in, a full ball has de Grandhomme grasping inside the line, but off the last delivery of the over he pulls Stokes for four
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26th over: New Zealand 85-5 (Latham 17, de Grandhomme 1)
25th over: New Zealand 82-5 (Latham 15, de Grandhomme 0) New Zealand are in real trouble here, half way through their innings, their best batsmen gone, and not even in three figures. A good day for de Grandhomme to live up to his awesome name.
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Wicket! Nicholls c Roy b Stokes 1
Nicholls cuts high and Roy dives up and to his right at backward-point, and its another super catch by England!
24th over: New Zealand 79-4 (Latham 13, Nicholls 0) A great little cameo by Guptill but he’d have wanted more.
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Wicket! Guptill c Roy b Rashid 50
Another fabulous catch, this time by Roy, low to the ground on the midwicket boundary as Guptill sweeps but not high enough
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23rd over: New Zealand 77-3 (Guptill 49, Latham 12) Stokes replaces Rashid and immediately there is a change of mood, a little more urgency, a sense that something is going to happen. Latham top-edges him but, as Nasser points out, is saved by the size of the ground, and the ball falls short. Sky reveal that Stokes has dismissed Guptill four times for a total of 29 runs.
22nd over: New Zealand 73-3 (Guptill 48, Latham 10) Steady over from Moeen, just two from it. Stokes is warming up.
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21st over: New Zealand 71-3 (Guptill 47, Latham 9) Latham knocks a Rashid full toss for four . Six from the over.
20th over: New Zealand 65-3 (Guptill 46, Latham 4) Ah, spin from both ends now as Moeen replaces Curran. New Zealand’s run-rate is only 3.25 but they are happy to nudge Moeen around for four runs in the over . Just seven fours in the NZ innings so far.
19th over: New Zealand 61-3 (Guptill 44, Latham 2)
18th over: New Zealand 59-3 (Guptill 43, Latham 1) Just one from Curran’s over which included a bouncer that Latham ducked easily.
And a quick hello to Helen Chapman who may already be asleep but who was tucked under the duvet in -6 “with a hot water bottle and the ipad.”
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17th over: New Zealand 57-3 (Guptill 43, Latham 0) Rashid bowling into the breeze and troubling New Zealand here. Guptill cuts to third man for four, providing some light relief for the crowd who didn’t turn up today expecting this. Still, plenty of time.
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16th over: New Zealand 53-3 (Guptill 39, Latham 0) Guptill takes advantage of a loose ball by Curran, easing it to fine leg for four
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15th over: New Zealand 48-3 (Guptill 34, Latham 0) A tight over by Rashid, a wicket and England start to turn the screw. The teams take a drinks break.
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Wicket! Taylor run out Willey 10
Awesome work by Willey who follows up his earlier catch with a sensational bit of fielding at cover point - swooping, turning and throwing in one fluid movement to run-out Taylor
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14th over: New Zealand 47-2 (Guptill 33, Taylor 10) Taylor and Guptill nudging and nurdling at Curran but they’re struggling to get the ball through England’s innner ring. Nasser says England have spent the last two days doing serious fielding practice. It shows.
13th over: New Zealand 42-2 (Guptill 30, Taylor 8) Just one from Rashid’s over, get the feeling New Zealand are getting a bit twitchy here, they want some runs
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12th over: New Zealand 41-2 (Guptill 29, Taylor 8) A double change, Curran replaces Woakes but England continue to keep it tight.
Craig Brown wants to know if Brand King works in Marketing - disappointingly Craig, it seems not. He was procrastinating not about a new campaign but his novel! Good luck Brand!
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11th over: New Zealand 36-2 (Guptill 27, Taylor 5) Rashid replaces Willey and bowls a steady first over. Taylor scores his first run for three overs.
10th over: New Zealand 34-2 (Guptill 26, Taylor 4) Mostly a good length from Woakes but Guptill drives the fourth ball for four. He somehow manages to extract maximum power from minimum-looking effort. He also has an OBO fan.
“I love me a Martin Guptill,” writes Sachin Paul.
“Aside from the fact that he always seems to play well against England or the fact that he has only two toes in one of his feet, Guptill looks absolutely majestic. It’s something about tall batsmen that gives them an authority.”
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9th over: New Zealand 30-2 (Guptill 22, Taylor 4) Very accurate by Willey, until the penultimate ball of the over; he pitches up and Guptill hits beautifully over mid-on’s head for four.
8th over: New Zealand 25-2 (Guptill 17, Taylor 4)
7th over: New Zealand 22-2 (Guptill 16, Taylor 2) A maiden for Willey. Excellent work here by England, New Zealand are going to have to revise their game plan.
Incidentally, the England bowlers do have very good hair. Willey, Jason Donavan circa “Too many broken hearts” and Woakes sporting would would be a Number 8 at our local barber’s.
6th over: New Zealand 21-2 (Guptill 16, Taylor 2) A boundary for Guptill, too fast on this silver-quick outfield, breaks the deadlock, and another the very next ball when Woakes drifts a little too far.
‘Is there cricket on?” writes Brand King. “Jolly good. I’m an Australian in Ireland following England play New Zealand on the other side of the world. Is there an official procrastination scale? If so this would be somewhere between adding kindling one piece at a time to the fire and watching Youtube videos of Steve Waugh’s square drives from the 1989 Ashes.”
There is a scale Brand. But what are you putting off?
5th over: New Zealand 12-2 (Guptill 6, Taylor 1) New Zealand having to regroup here, Willey bowling tightly and nifty fielding by Morgan in the covers to stop a potential boundary.
4th over: New Zealand 11-2 (Guptill 6, Taylor 0) Wonderful over from Woakes, who now has 2 for 2
Wicket! Chapman c Willey b Woakes 1
Fantastic catch by Willey who must have covered 25 yards running back from midwicket to take a skyer.
3rd over: New Zealand 9-1 (Guptill 6, Chapman 1) The ball is swinging a bit for Willey and New Zealand take a minute to breathe.
Ah! There is someone out there. Olly writes from the chilly darkness . “Good morning Tanya,To answer your question, there are some of us reading the OBO through the night, though I’m doubling up with watching it on TV too. I’ve had a couple of hours’ kip and just poured a large gin and tonic, ready to get settled in.”
2nd over: New Zealand 6-1 (Guptill 5, Chapman 0) A wicket maiden for Woakes, and a slightly nervy start for Chapman who is beaten twice.
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WICKET! Munro c Butler b Woakes 1
Munro waves at a wide one and its a simple catch for Butler behind the stumps.
1st over: New Zealand 6-0 (Guptill 5, Munro 1) A boundary in the first over when Guptill dabs Willey delicately behind for four.
The teams are out, under greyish skies at Tauranga. Rob Key says it is a good ground to be a batsman.
Just wondering if there are any insomniacs out there following OBO? My hunch is that people listen to the radio during the night?
Hmmm. That’s the second time in 10 minutes that Ian Ward has mentioned England’s “lack of grunt.” I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.
Who is Mark Chapman? A 23 year old left-handed up-and-at-em allrounder. See here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11998386
Is it just me who wishes that Sky would give Nick Knight, James Franklin and Rob Key chairs to sit on? It’s quarter to one in the morning - give them a break!
England remain unchanged. New Zealand bring in Mark Chapman for Williamson and Lockie Ferguson for Ish Sodhi. Southee says they too would have bowled first.
England win the toss and will bowl first. “It looks a good wicket, says Eoin Morgan, “potentially a little bit soft but we enjoy chasing.”
Kane Williamson is out of the game with a hamstring strain - and has just presented Mark Chapman with his New Zealand cap. Tim Southee takes over the captaincy - he has led New Zealand twice before in T20s. The Blackcaps will miss Williamson’s clever captaincy even if his form has been a little iffy of late.
Preamble
A sleepy hello to those still up at the witching hour and to anyone else tuning in from where the sun has inched above the horizon. England and New Zealand are about to resume for the second ODI of the series and this time we’re at the Bay Oval at Tauranga, a harbour city looking over the Bay of Plenty: all white beaches, rolling surf, boutique shops selling this and that, a towering dormant volcano, and great coffee …sounds terrible. It was was also the venue for the final of the recent U19 World Cup, where Rahul Dravid’s young Indians beat Australia by eight wickets.
England go into the match 1-0 down, after New Zealand whipped the game from under their noses with four deliveries to spare at Hamilton.
New Zealand have called up Mark Chapman as possible cover for captain Kane Williamson who is suffering from a hamstring sprain; we await to hear news on Mark Wood’s dodgy ankle.
It is the first floodlit ODI at Tauranga, and England’s first ever match at the ground.
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