So that’s about us. Thanks for your company. Here’s Ali Martin’s report from Nelson:
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Southee says his team have areas to improve and praises De Grandhomme, but is pleased to have won a tight one.
Eoin Morgan says inexperience cost his team, but I’m not having that - he and Vince were the ones who should’ve brought it home, and they’re hardly green. He says the style of play won’t chance, and praises the brothers Curran - the Currants? - for their bowling.
De Grandhomme gets player of the match, which is generous, I think - it wouldn’t have been enough to get his team over the line, but for the bowling of Ferguson and Tickner; they changed and clinched things. He says that he likes batting at four and coming in early, though it’s not nice for the top order.
New Zealand, though, were so canny. They have a phenomenal habit, not only of conjuring cricketers but conjuring canny cricketers, who find a way of getting it did. They are an absolute pleasure.
That was an extremely enjoyable game, which England will be furious with themselves for losing - they were miles ahead. But fine bowling from Tickner and Ferguson, coupled with careless batting from Morgan and Vince in particular, saw them lose five wickets for 10 runs and they didn’t have enough to redeem the situation.
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New Zealand beat England by 14 runs and lead the five-match series 2-!
19.6 Curran slashes over point for two.
19.5 Mahmood pulls to midwicket for one more.
19.4 Full again, Mahmood can only slice into the ground, and that’s that!
19.3 Curran whacks to cover and they run one.
19.2 Another yorker, and this time Curran puts bat on ball but can only force to mid off.
19.1 A yorker, and Curran misses.
19th over: England 162-7 (Curran T 11, Mahmood 2) Target 181 This is England’s chance. Sodhi has the ball, and they’ll need most of the runs off him, but neither batsman can connect cleanly. Four singles come from the first four balls, then a leg side wide after Curran misses with the sweep. But the next delivery is right in the slot, absolutely carted from outside off into the crowd at square leg! A glimmer! Facing the final ball, Curran tries to go again, moving to off, and for a moment it looks like he’s there waiting for it, but it cramps him and he has to settle for one. England need 19 from the final over, to be bowled by Tim Southee.
18th over: England 148-5 (Curran T 1, Mahmood 0) Target 181 Curran gets one into the off side, but what an over that was from Ferguson, three runs and two wickets from it.
WICKET! Curran S c Munro b Ferguson 2 (England 149-7)
When it goes it goes quick! Ferguson goes wide on the crease and spears a slower one across Curran, who slashes, picking out Munro on the point fence! Four wickets in 16 balls!
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WICKET! Gregory b Ferguson 0 (England 148-6)
Effort ball from yerman, spitting and straight. Gregory swipes across the line, misses, and loses his leg peg. This is over!
18th over: England 148-5 (Curran S 2, Gregory 0) Target 181 England have lost three wickets for nine runs in 213 balls ... no they haven’t!
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WICKET! Vince c Southee b Tickner 49 (England 147-5)
That is soooo Vince. Seeking that boundary, Vince tires to go over mid off but doesn’t get enough of it and off he goes. He’s batted well so it feel harsh to criticise, but when you get in like that you need to see it out or what’s the point?
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17th over: England 147-4 (Vince 49, Curran S 1) Target 181 The next hour will be crucial. Tickner returns with the required rate at 10.36 and begins with a dot. Vince then takes one into the covers before a welcome t o the real football factories wide. England need a boundary here, but all they can find is a dot and a single when Taylor fumbles at point; Vince then forces two to wide long off, and I’ve no idea who’s going to win this ... YES I DO!
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16th over: England 142-4 (Vince 43, Curran S 0) Now the run rate can become a problem. Three singles, a wicket, two dots. The game is back in the balance.
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WICKET! Billings run out (Munro) 1 (England 142-4)
Oh yes! Southee moved Munro in 10 yards at the start of this over and when one flicks off the thigh pad, Billings sets off without much idea of where the ball is. In comes yer man, chucks down the stumps, and that’s not even close to not out. We have ourselves a ball game!
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WICKET! Morgan c Munro b Santner 18 (New Zealand 139-3)
Back in the game! Morgan fetches one that’s not quite wide enough for him to fully extend, and he picks out mid on.
15th over: England 139-2 (Vince 44, Morgan 18) England’s strength in depth is just absolutely revolting; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything like it. Obviously they’re missing the genius bowlers that Australia had in the 90s, but they’ve got so much quality, and HAVE A LOOK! Morgan whams Santner over midwicket for six, accepts a wide, then shuffles down and absolutely zetzes six more! That was far too straight from Santner who, under pressure, flings down another wide. two more singles follow but but but...
14th over: England 123-2 (Vince 43, Morgan 5) New Zealand need to break this partnership so Southee goes to Ferguson - but into the wind again, which is a strange choice. Why neuter his pace? Still, it yields a welcome quiet over, four singles from it.
13th over: England 119-2 (Vince 41, Morgan 3) Needing something again, Southee brings Tickner back and Morgan nudges another single before Vince flays a beaut through cover. That’s three fours on the trot for him, so we’re due a caught at slip ... except there aren’t any, so he pulls for six instead! Nasser points out that Tickner doesn’t bowl many which would hit the stumps, so batsmen can sit and attack him with caught the only available mode of dismissal. Another single follows, and that’s 14 off the over.
12th over: England 105-2 (Vince 28, Morgan 2) Santner continues, and after Morgan knocks one to point, Vince chases a wide one and wonders why no arms protrude; rightly so. Another dot follows, before they sprint two to cover and Vince then meets a low full toss just before the bounce, timing beautifully for four to square leg ... and Vince then clobbers for four to square leg! That is very bad news for New Zealand.
11th over: England 94-2 (Vince 18, Morgan 1) The thing for New Zealand is that they now have to bowl at Eoin Morgan, an absolute expert. It’s Vince on strike though, and he takes a single then Morgan does likewise, before two to square leg follow. I’d expect the captain to play himself in while milking the bowlers if he can; he knows that if he’s there at the end, his team win.
WICKET! Malan c Guptill b Sodhi 55 (England 90-2)
My days New Zealand needed that, and Malan will be cursing himself! Sodhi sent down a wide full toss, and he could’ve ignored it given how well England were going, but he went, discovered a ball so poor he couldn’t get all of it, and Guptill pouched at midwicket.
10th over: England 90-1 (Malan 55, Vince 15) After Vince takes a single, Malan knocks two into the off side and that’s his fifty, off 28 balls, and he then ramps four - he is seeing it here. A single follows, and we are seeing the height of competence here. Santner was always likely to hold the key, and he’s getting naewhere.
9th over: England 82-1 (Malan 48, Vince 14) New Zealand could really use a wicket or a quiet one as Neesham comes on and Malan goes for him, but picks out the man on the point fence. Vince then snaps two to the same location which he follows with a single; the problem for New Zealand is that England can happily do this, safe in the knowledge that there’ll be boundaries too; the more I think about it - and prepare for this revelation - the home side need wickets. AND HAVE A LOOK! Malan picks a slower ball, settles in, and absolutely guzzles it, cracking six into the crowd at midwicket! And when a full wide one backs it up, he flows into a cover-drive for for, then adds another two, ploughing through Seifert as he makes his ground! Sixteen off the over, and England are making this look easy.
8th over: England 66-1 (Malan 35, Vince 11) This could be the key spell of the match: Santner has the ball. Do England just milk him if they can, but otherwise protect their wickets and look to make up any deficit elsewhere? They take four singles and a two, which is plenty in the circumstances.
7th over: England 60-1 (Malan 33, Vince 7) Sodhi is into the attack immediately; Guptill says he’s expecting a lot of wronguns. Malan takes a single to begin with, then Vince is beaten playing I’m not sure what, only bringing the bat down once the ball is on his pads. But he picks up the next one alright, flapping it beautifully to the square leg fence; shot. He then shoves a single to give Malan a shy; he reverse-sweeps for four, then stretches the go go gadget arms to chase a wide drag-down for four more. That was not a good start at all from Sodhi, 14 runs from the over ,and England will be happy with where they are.
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6th over: England 46-1 (Malan 24, Vince 2) Southee brings himself back from the other end and Vince takes one to square leg, then Malan absolutely paggas one straight back at the bowler ... who gets a palm to it, nearly diverting the ball into the umpire’s coupon. It races to the fence for four, then after two dots Malan picks one up right out of the hand, smashing it flat to the fence; it bounces just before the rope. One more follows, and that’s yer powerplay done; we’re pretty even.
5th over: England 36-1 (Malan 15, Vince 1) Tickner’s Peaky Blinder’s hair is super not age-appropriate but he’s bowling well, opening with three dots. England will be starting to wonder, as Malan picks out mid on trying to force the issue, before taking one to mid off. Vince then gets off the mark to leg, so Malan, needing to push the pace, backs away and slices over short third man; two men rush after it but he escapes and they run two.
4th over: England 32-1 (Malan 12, Vince 0) Ferguson continues and Malan drives his first ball through extra, Southee missing with his dive to allow four. England bat so deep that one serious partnership will probably settle this, and the start they’ve made gives them some margin for error. The bookies don’t agree, but I’d make them favourites from here ... though this is a very good over, good pace with a bouncer and a slower ball thrown in; five from it.
3rd over: England 27-1 (Malan 7, Vince 0) “I’m really excited to see Banton bat,” says Abhijato Sensarma, “especially because of two reasons - he hasn’t faced such a good bowling attack before, and to chase a high total in coloured clothing is not even the most talented’s cup of tea. But he does seem to be one of those youngsters who seem to be made for the highest level; translation of talent for his country has got to be the biggest agenda of the day for him. Let’s see how it goes, I’m optimistic!”
He didn’t bat for long, but I don’t think we can have too many doubts about his ability at this level. I cannot wait to see him bat again.
WICKET! Banton b Tickner 18 (England 27-1)
Shehecheyanu! The first of many “That’s the way I play”s. Banton moves across to ramp, goes just too far, misses, and Tickner clips the top of leg.
3rd over: England 27-0 (Banton 18, Malan 7) It makes sense for England to go early, before Santner comes on and while the ball is still hard. Tickner has it, and the batsmen take a single apiece, then...
2nd over: England 25-0 (Banton 17, Malan 6) Come back with mi colour TV and mi cd collection of Bob Marley! Banton absolutely worldclasstalents Ferguson, on the up and over midwicket, for six! He is here! And next come four more, eased through third man! Remember the name! Tom Banton is a thing! Fourteen off the over!
1st over: England 11-0 (Banton 6, Malan 5) Apologies, my computer crashes, but Banotn wallops Southee’s fourth ball through extra for four and Malan finds the fence at third man. Niiiiice!
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Off we go!
New Zealand set England 181 to win
Both sieds will fancy themselves here, which tells you that the match is nicely poised. New Zealand will have wanted more and England will have feared they’d get more, but will expect to chase a target New Zeland will expect to defend. See you in 10!
WICKET! Santner run out (Billings) 15 (New Zealand 180-7)
Southee misses his swipe and this time Billings hits with his shy.
20th over: New Zealand 180-6 (Santner 15, Southee 1) Anything sensible here, and England will be feeling good; New Zealand will have fancied 190+, but only Guptill and De Grandhomme scored freely for any length of time. Two singles and a two come from Tom Curran’s first three balls, but then a yorker turns into a full toss and Santner clatters it down the ground for four. Another full toss follows, but this time yerman finds the man on the midwicket fence, meaning Southee will face the last ball ... he misses.
WICKET! Neesham b Curran S 20 (New Zealand 171-6)
There’s something about this cat! A yorker tails in, Neesham swings, and is well beaten!
19th over: New Zealand 171-5 ( Santner 7, Neesham 20) Mahmood went for 49 off his four - he’s done well to get his full allocation but will be the better for it. A run and leg bye come from Curran S’s first two balls, but then he misses with his yorker and Santner cracks him off leg stump to deep square. Naturally, Curran retorts, a single and a wide coming next.
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18th over: New Zealand 163-5 (Neesham 20, Santner 1) The final two balls yield just a single, and England will quite like this with a pair of Curran overs to come.
WICKET! Taylor lbw b Mahmood 27 (New Zealand 162-5)
I’ve no idea why Taylor doesn’t review this. He marches down, misses his swipe, and the ball catches his back leg. But it was certainly close to going down, he’s the key man, and there’s only two overs left. Except he stomps off, disgusted with the shot he’s played, and Hawkeye shows that he would indeed have been reprieved.
17th over: New Zealand 162-4 (Taylor 27, Neesham 20) England have done pretty well to restrict the boundaries in the second half of the innings, and Mahmood is given another go, starting with a cutter that whistles by off stump. But his second ball is floatier, Neesham stretching down to turn it into a full toss and toeing six; on the fence, Brown leaps gloriously, but can neither catch nor knock back for Curran.
16th over: New Zealand 155-4 (Taylor 27, Neesham 13) Back comes Brown, who opens with a slower ball that Taylor can’t mow as intended; the line and length, outside off and full, were good there. They run one, two ore singles follow before Brown tries a yorker and delivers a full toss, so Neesham eases through cover for four; that was exceedingly competent.
15th over: New Zealand 147-4 (Taylor 26, Neesham 7) Mahmood returns; it’s been a rough day for him, can he salvage something from it? Well, he does ok, ceding just four singles off the bat ... but three wides with it, and then Neesham absolutely shmices the final delivery for four to midwicket. Elven off the over, and Mahmood looks less than gruntled.
15th over: New Zealand 136-4 (Taylor 23, Neesham 1) A nurdle to leg gets Neesham going, and he doesn’t have time to hang about. Well bowled Tom Curran! Might that be the key over of the match?
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WICKET! de Grandhomme c Banton b Curran TA 55 (New Zealand 135-4)
That’s the one England wanted! This has been a great over from Curran, alternating slower ones and quicker ones. This is the former, De Grandhomme doesn’t play for it, and though he tries his best to destroy the evidence, his power doesn’t transfer and Banton takes the carch a long on.
15th over: New Zealand 135-3 (De Grandhomme 55, Taylor 23) Tom Curran comes back into the attack, and hustles through three balls for a single, then sends down a wide slower one that Taylor can’t force away. The next delivery goes towards fine leg, and Colin doesn’t much want the single but has to galumph down, Billings missing with his shy; hit and that was dead.
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14th over: New Zealand 133-3 (De Grandhomme 55, Taylor 22) One to Colin off the first two balls, the Gregory accidentally sends down a waist-high one that Taylor flicks for four; free hit; no ball; six! Taylor gets under it and launches over square leg. He’s ready to go! But Gregory nearly gets him next ball, an inside edge missing the stumps, just. England need a wicket.
13th over: New Zealand 118-3 (De Grandhomme 53, Taylor 11) Brown returns, and De Grandhomme clouts him for a one-bounce four, then mass-murders a knuckleball back down the ground for six! That’s his fifty, off 27 balls, and if he stays in the middle till the end, England will be chasing something proper ... a point reinforced when Banton botches a slide at midwicket, turning fone into four for Taylor.
12th over: New Zealand 101-3 (De Grandhomme 41, Taylor 6) Gregory replaces Parky, who sends down a quiet one. In commentary, Nasser says that Denly’s injury is worse than England are letting on, which either means that Sibley and Crawley play, or they call up someone old or new. I hope they let Bairstow rest and stew - he needs a reset, not a reprieve.
11th over: New Zealand 96-3 (De Grandhomme 38, Taylor 4) Taylor is settling in and he takes Scuzza’s first ball for one, then De Grandhomme twizzles a straight one for four. The next ball is even straighter - so straight it’s a wide - after which a slower, wider one is forced down the ground for two. Two more follow, to long on - Banton is doing a good job down there - then a pull to square leg yields one.
“Seems awfully quiet,” says Peter Gibbs. “You ok Daniel?”
I nailed my sweets and chocolate before the match even started, but otherwise we’re good. It’s the early hours and I’m watching cricket, hard to complain about that one.
10th over: New Zealand 84-3 (De Grandhomme 28, Taylor 3) Will the plan be for Colin to bat through, or to keep whacking while Taylor looks to hang about? There’s our answer, Taylor taking one before Colin administer the most perfect knuck for six, waiting for a flighted one before caressing over extra cover with maximum style and minimum effort. Lush. But Parkinson keeps the head, cycling through his variations and ceding two singles and two wides from the remainder of the over. England will be happy with this at halfway.
9th over: New Zealand 73-3 (De Grandhomme 20, Taylor 2) Sam Curran returns; will New Zealand get after him, or will they look to rebuild They’ll have to go some to rack a monster from here and play this over watchfully, two singles and a leg bye from it.
8th over: New Zealand 70-3 (De Grandhomme 19, Taylor 1) Taylor turns a single around the corner. Every time New Zealand look like getting away, England get a wicket.
WICKET! Seifert b Parkinson 7 (New Zealand 69-3)
A WICKET IN HIS FIRST OVER IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET! HOW’S YOUR LIFE GOING? It’s late and I’m tired, but how moving is that? Parkinson tries one out the front of the hand, Seifert gets down on one knee to perform the reverse hoik, and somehow has himself nutmegged. It looks positively revolting, but Parkinson won’t care.
8th over: New Zealand 69-2 (Seifert 7, De Grandhomme 19) Parkinson comes on for his first twirl and after Seifert takes his second ball for one, he taps De Grandhomme on the knee. There’s a strangulated appeal, but that was clearly going down, and a single follows.
7th over: New Zealand 67-2 (Seifert 6, De Grandhomme 18) I wonder which of these will make it into the first XI. Plunkett’s spot might be available, but otherwise it’s hard to see many vacancies. Scuzza just has the knack though, one of those strange blokes who makes things happen. Meanwhile, Mahmood offers De Grandhomme some bounce on the pads, so he strokes over deep square for four, then one outside off sits up so that’s driven through point for four more. It’s not going well for Mahmood here, which makes this a good test for him. He’s not bowling at full pace here and he tries a short one that Colin simply helps around the corner for six. Fifteen and some food for thought off the over.
6th over: New Zealand 52-2 (Seifert 5, De Grandhomme 4) Brown continues and Seifert has a look then arranges his feet to muscle four over mid off. Gosh, these England tank-tops are a proper disgrace, they look like the old school, pre-duvet quilts you got at your Nana’s to offset the itchy blankets that would’ve kept you up all night were her snoring not keeping you up all night. A leg bye follows.
5th over: New Zealand 47-2 (Seifert 1, De Grandhomme 4) Curran beats De Grandhomme first up, so he clouts a zipping four to midwicket to feel better. My word that’s gone fast, maybe because he asked it too nicely and the ball knew better than to argue. A no ball and a dot follow.
“It’s ‘slow down’ not ‘slow up’, tweets Gary Naylor, “but the commentators all seem to want to be Brett Lee”.
A noble ambition.
WICKET! Munro c mahmood b Curran T 6 (New Zealand 42-2)
Well! Curran flicks down a cutter that foxes Munro; he tries a swipe over leg, gets through it too soon, and slices to short third man where Mahmood takes a smart one coming in and diving forward. Another exemplary catch.
4th over: New Zealand 40-1 (Munro 5, Seifert 0) England needed that.
WICKET! Guptill c Curran T b Brown 33 (New Zealand 40-1)
What a catch this is! Brown, expecting Guptill to go again, tries a slower one - a knuckle ball - outside off and Guptill is through his shot too quickly, slicing high, and Curran is underneath it, running towards the fence and pouching a brilliant snaffle as he drops to his knees.
4th over: New Zealand 40-0 (Munro 5, Guptill 33) Morgan gives Brown a go, and Guptill misses his first one, but munro is game for a single when it clips his thigh ... Billings hares in and just misses with his toe-bunger at the stumps. “Weaker foot,” he tells the commentary team, as the replay tells me I did him a disservice; it was a sidefooter. A single and a dot follow, but then Brown bangs one in and Guptill doesn’t need asking twice, crumping a pull to square leg for a one-bounce four.
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3rd over: New Zealand 34-0 (Munro 4, Guptill 29) Mahmood into the attack, and he doesn’t stray straight, giving width instead ... and Guptill flays and edge over third man for four ... then flicks over midwicket fo fo mo! There may just be runs out there. There are runs out there! England, having filled the off side, see Mahmood offer one on the hips, and shonuff it goes around the corner for four. Mahmood must be feeling slightly unwell but he manages to keep the rest of the over to singles making for 15 from it. Ouch.
2nd over: New Zealand 19-0 (Munro 3, Guptill 15) Tom Curran will open from the other end, which is no doubt inspiring and mortifying in equal measure for sets of brothers the world over. Munro forces his first ball for one, but then Guptill swipes and misses his third, so tucks the fourth off his hips to the fence. And oh dear, Curran is too straight again - not by much - but enough for an inside edge to add four more. Then, to rub it in, the PA plays Franz Ferdinand’s cover of Hava Nagila.
1st over: New Zealand 8-0 (Munro 2, Guptill 6) Curran bowls into the wind, of course he does, and Munro charges him immediately, muscling a single to leg. Guptill adds another, Munro does likewise, and then Guptill takes a step down and carts a decent length ball over midwicket for four, just like that. A leg bye then ends the over, and that’s a good start for the home side.
Scuzza, as I’m sure no one calls him, has the ball...
Batsmen in!
As I was saying...
Fun fact: Pato Banton (no relation England debutant and Twitter favourite, Tom) reached No1 with Baby Come Back in two countries in 1994: England and New Zealand 🤯
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) November 5, 2019
Lockie Ferguson, one of the stars of the World Cup, will play this match and then swap out for Trent Boult. I wonder, though: I’m absolutely buzzing that this series is happening, but should players be forced to miss cricket because there’s too much of it?
“England were excellent at the beginning overs of the 1st T20I, and excellent at the end overs of the 2nd T20I,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “To complete the trio of phase bowling excellence, is a middle-overs choke going to be the way forward this time?”
Far too obvious, I’d say.
The strength in depth is absolutely rrrrridiculous.
England's line-up has to be among the least experienced they can have fielded in any format (no need to refer back to their first Test in 1877): Malan, Banton, Vince, Morgan, Billings, Gregory, S Curran, T Curran, Mahmood, Parkinson, Brown.
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) November 5, 2019
Teams
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Tim Seifert (wk), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Colin de Grandhomme, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee (capt), 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Blair Tickner.
England: 1 Dawid Malan, 2 Tom Banton, 3 James Vince, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Lewis Gregory, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Tom Curran 9 Saqib Mahmood, 10 Matt Parkinson, 11 Pat Brown.
It’s pretty windy out there, and Banton tells Sky he fancies hitting with it, and the ground looks pretty small. He’s only 20, and is a serious talent for those who’ve not seen him. He whacks it so cleanly, and all around the ground - he’s more Buttler and Pietersen, I’d say, and not just because he’s from Somerset.
“Brown Banton Parkinson Mahmood,” emails Ian Forth, “was a ‘90s Soho advertising agency intent on breaking the mould with their Think Radical mantra. They recently re-imagineered themselves as Raspberry Spaceship and moved into a Clerkenwell Thinkspace, formerly a custard factory.”
I can’t think of anything but this when I see Banton.
My guess is that New Zealand think pace will go out of the pitch, so that by the time England bat, the ball will stick in the surface.
Ch ch changes: for New Zealand, Blair Tickner comes in for Daryl Mitchell, while England make three alterations. In come Banton, Parkinson and Tom Curran, and out go Bairstow, Rashid and Jordan.
Eoin Morgan says he wasn’t sure what to do, so he’s happy to chase. He says England need to “get themselves back in the series”, which is harsh given it’s all-square. His team have spoken about the need to be aggressive, and he says Banton will be that.
Here comes the toss! New Zealand win it and will bat!
Tim Southee says it looks a dry surface.
I’m just watching replays of the catches England dropped in the last match. Dearie me, I’m filling up with nostalgia here. That’s my England.
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It’s hard but not hard to see Malan fighting his way back into the Test side. On the one hand, he’s had his chance; on the other, it won’t take too many failures for them to give him another go, if his form demands it, and no one will be surprised if those more failures happen.
This point was also interesting: ‘Ed Smith, the national selector, said on dropping Malan that “it may be his game is better suited to overseas conditions”. But the player, who struck a maiden Test century in Perth during the 2017-18 Ashes series yet averaged 27.8 overall, is not giving up.
Malan said: “What Ed said wasn’t ideal but he’s clarified it to me – my Test record in England isn’t as good as it should be, which is my own fault and no one else’s. But that doesn’t mean I can’t play Test cricket again. It’s up to me to score runs for Yorkshire and keep my name in the hat.”’
Dawid Malan, who we’ll probably see today, is also on the move – from Middlesex to Yorkshire. By the sounds of things, he and Stewie Law didn’t see things quite the same way.
England team news: Banton plays, likewise Matt Parkinson, the latest leggie off the fabled England production line.
Preamble
I absolutely love this series. Cricket, where previously there was none, at a ludicrous UK hour, featuring all manner of young tyro. By the sounds of things, today will see Tom Banton make his debut, Saqib Mahmood make his second appearance and Pat Brown his third. I cannot wait to see these lads work.
New Zealand, meanwhile, will be New Zealand, and for that we can all be thankful – even in the absence of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult. They don’t have anything like the depth or firepower that England have, but their essential, elemental New Zealandness will most likely compensate for that. The five-match series is currently tied at 1-1.
Play: 1am GMT, 2pm local time.
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