The player of the match is Santner. The player of the series is Bairstow, who made the most runs – 175, one more than Glenn Phillips. Bairstow had a not-out, so his average (58), for what that’s worth, was the highest on either side – followed by Buttler, who faced only 29 balls and made 53 for once out. Let’s hope he’s not so self-effacing in the ODI series, also against NZ, which starts on Friday in Cardiff.
Time for me to clock off. Thanks for your company and correspondence, and a special nod to the reader who asked, during the game, if I could email the score. I would have if I could have.
Do join us from 5pm tomorrow for the decider in another T20 series, England Women v Sri Lanka.
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England chose a surprising time to experiment, with mixed results. Rehan Ahmed, who seemed a wild punt, came off, grabbing two wickets and a cool-headed run-out. But Jos Buttler was badly missed, both in the middle order and as captain. He was on the field, keeping wicket because Bairstow was injured, but he stayed out of the conferences. This was a nice gesture to his deputy, Moeen, but not a help to England’s prospects, as they were slow to spot that the only way to win the game was to take wickets.
New Zealand won because they recovered well from an early mauling by Jonny Bairstow – shout-out to Mitchell Santner – and then batted well as a team. Where England had one batter going ballistic, NZ had a relay: first Seifert, then Phillips, and finally Chapman. They all rattled along at one and a half runs per ball, a rate that Bairstow’s supporting cast of Malan and Livingstone hadn’t been able to manage. NZ did what they do best: they kept calm and carried on.
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NZ win! And square the series
16th over: New Zealand 179-4 (Chapman 40, Ravindra 17) A misfield gives NZ the single they need. They win by six wickets with 16 balls to spare, and the series is shared. It’s two-all – two hammerings apiece.
17th over: New Zealand 175-4 (Chapman 40, Ravindra 13) Moeen takes himself off in favour of Sam Curran. There is stiil no slip, and so Chapman picks up four for a nick that should have been gobbled up. Ravindra has quietly done well too, foraging his way to 13 off seven balls. Chapman pulls for four, with immense power, and the scores are level. As is the series.
16th over: New Zealand 160-4 (Chapman 35, Ravindra 3) Rashid returns but it just hasn’t been his night, ever since Moeen brought him on in the Powerplay. His last over goes for 12. He has 0-41 from his four overs, Moeen 0-19 from two, so that’s 0-60 so far for England’s two senior spinners. Ahmed, with only a fraction of their expertise, has 2-27 off his four overs. NZ need 14 off four overs, which should be a walk in the park.
15th over: New Zealand 150-4 (Chapman 25, Ravindra 3) Moeen replaces Carse with himself and perhaps regrets it as he bowls a half-tracker at Chapman. Nine off the over: only 26 needed now off the last five. Moeen is going to have to turn into Steve Waugh, posting a row of slips.
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14th over: New Zealand 141-4 (Chapman 20, Ravindra 0) Moeen had gone back to Rehan, placing quite a responsibility on his shoulders. At first it misfired, as Chapman came to the party with a reverse-sweep for four and Phillips added a cut for four, but then Rehan did the business. NZ need 35 off 36 balls, so they should still be fine.
WICKET! Phillips c Curran b Ahmed 42 (NZ 141-4)
Ahmed strikes again! Glenn Phillips doesn’t middle a pull and it’s safely taken by Sam Curran at deep midwicket. A glimmer of hope for England.
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13th over: New Zealand 131-3 (Phillips 37, Chapman 14) Moeen, in need of an enforcer, would be turning to Gus Atkinson if he was playing. Instead the job goes to Brydon Carse, who should be a decent alternative. He persuades Phillips to top-edge a pull, but it sails into the crowd for six! And then he draws a nick from Chapman, but there’s no slip and it dribbles away for four. Who’s winning? NZ.
12th over: New Zealand 115-3 (Phillips 28, Chapman 7) Rashid drops marginally short and Phillips is on to it, whipping a six over midwicket. Ten off the over: NZ, unlike England, have found a second batter who can cause mayhem.
11th over: New Zealand 105-3 (Phillips 20, Chapman 4) Rehan, given a third over on the trot, finally concedes a four as Glenn Phillips makes room to squeeze a drive past extra-cover. Nine off the over, which is above the asking rate. NZ need 71 off nine overs. England need to get Phillips out.
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10th over: New Zealand 96-3 (Phillips 12, Chapman 3) Moeen brings himself on, showing self-belief even though he has only three wickets in 11 previous matches as England’s T20 captain. He starts well too … until Phillips goes into a crouch and hits a six that is big even by tonight’s standards. At the halfway stage, NZ are probably still just ahead.
9th over: New Zealand 86-3 (Phillips 4, Chapman 2) So England have two new batters to bowl at, and Rehan has one for eight off his two overs. Superb stuff.
WICKET! Seifert c&b Ahmed 48 (NZ 83-3)
Rehan strikes! Seifert, trying to flip to leg, can only manage a thick leading edge. Ahmed has work to do to move across to his right, but he gets the job done with no fuss. He’s such a grown-up.
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8th over: New Zealand 83-2 (Seifert 48, Phillips 3) It’s leg-spin at both ends as Adil Rashid returns. (And Moeen still has a part-time leggie up his sleeve, in Livingstone.) With the fielders able to spread now, Adil is himself again: five off the over.
7th over: New Zealand 78-2 (Seifert 45, Phillips 1) The best over of the innings so far is bowled by a teenager. Rehan Ahmed varies his pace, keep his line tight apart from one wide, goes for just four singles, and has the sang-froid to complete the run-out.
WICKET! Mitchell run out Wood/Ahmed 14 (NZ 75-2)
England need a flash of inspiration and here it is. Luke Wood, out in the deep as the cover sweeper, swivels through 360 degrees to get the ball on his favoured left side and Rehan Ahmed calmly takes the bails off. Mitchell is so clearly run out that they needn’t bother with the review.
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6th over: New Zealand 73-1 (Seifert 42, Mitchell 13) A change of ends for Sam Curran, who does very well for the first five balls, conceding only four singles, before letting Seifert have a boundary. The Powerplay ends with NZ on top. They need another 103 off 14 overs.
5th over: New Zealand 65-1 (Seifert 36, Mitchell 11) What’s Moeen going to do to slow things down? Bring on his mate Adil Rashid. But with no men in the deep behind him, he has quite a task on his hands. He gets into a lively duel with Seifert: dot, four, dot, six, four, leg-bye. He deceived Seifert in the flight with the third ball, yet still went for 14 off the over.
After five overs NZ are nine runs ahead of England, who appeared to have gone off like a rocket.
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4th over: New Zealand 50-1 (Seifert 22, Mitchell 11) Moeen gives Wood a second over and Daryl Mitchell, wasting no time, pulls him for a mighty six. While the umpires pick a replacement ball, Moeen holds a conference with Wood and Harry Brook, who has been tipped as a future England captain. Buttler seems to be staying out of Moeen’s way. “Brilliant to watch the dynamic,” says Kumar Sangakkara, “the trust they have in this side.”
Seifert spots a slower ball from Wood and belts it over mid-off, and then a two brings up New Zealand’s fifty off only 24 balls. Wood has been incisive but expensive, going for 28 off his two overs.
3rd over: New Zealand 35-1 (Seifert 16, Mitchell 2) England’s Powerplay was just one flick for six after another. Seifert, facing Brydon Carse, takes a leaf out of their book, and then thumps a four down the ground with a lot of bottom hand.
2nd over: New Zealand 24-1 (Seifert 5, Mitchell 2) The fours had continued to flow, but Wood had the perfect retort. Still, Allen made 16 off six balls, which, in this format, counts as a successful cameo.
Here’s Andrew Benton. “England seem to be showing some wibbly-wobbliness,” he says, “that I thought was a thing of the long distant past. No England T20 team doubts itself these days, surely! Or am I missing one or many important points here?” Well, England always have a wobble in their back pocket. It’s just that these days they don’t let that stop them blasting off in all directions.
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WICKET! Allen b Wood 16 (NZ 22-1)
The breakthrough! Just when Allen was threatening to do a Bairstow, Luke Wood rearranges his stumps.
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1st over: New Zealand 11-0 (Allen 7, Seifert 4) Sam Curran has the new ball, but it’s the New Zealanders who have the bit between their teeth. Finn Allen lofts the first ball over mid-off, then gets away with a squirt for three that almost produces a catch in the covers. Tim Seifert adds a slog over mid-on for four more.
Bairstow injured, Buttler back!
Jonny Barstow hurt himself while making that scintillating 73, so his place behind the stumps goes to … Jos Buttler! Does that mean Moeen hands the captaincy back? It seems not, though no doubt they will have a few conferences.
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England finish on 175
20th over: England 175-8 (Livingstone c Southee b Henry 26, Carse 0) Matt Henry produces a wily final over, going for only four runs and getting Liam Livingstone caught as a rocket of a cover-drive goes straight to Southee at extra-cover.
England’s innings was a game of two halves. Jonny Bairstow was immense, making 73 off 41 balls with five fours and six sixes. That’s more boundaries than all the other batters managed between them – seven fours, only three sixes, and a distinct feeling, on a flat pitch, that New Zealand have their noses in front. Back in a few mins to see if that is nonsense.
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Wicket! Rehan Ahmed run out Henry 11 (England 172-7)
Ah, shame. Ahmed digs out a yorker but can’t get it past the bowler and has to lay down his life for Livingstone, who has already set off. Still, he showed his class.
19th over: England 171-6 (Livingstone 24, Rehan 11) Livingstone, out of touch lately, digs deep and finds a wonderful shot – a cut for six over extra-cover off Southee. His reward is to be ticked off by Simon Doull for hitting too much to leg, which may be true in general but is not quite the point right now. Rehan adds a pull for three, so he has 11 off five balls, showing his top-class temperament again. And the run rate is back above 9.
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18th over: England 158-6 (Livingstone 15, Rehan 8) Here’s Rehan Ahmed, and he’s not going to muck about. He slogs Ravindra for six, then mis-hits him for two more. He has eight off his first four balls. He is 17 years younger than Dawid Malan.
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WICKET! Curran c Allen b Ravindra 4 (England 150-6)
Curran goes! Facing spin for the first time, he lofts an on-drive to the boundary, only to see Finn Allen executing a textbook version of that catch that involves throwing the ball up, stepping over the Toblerone, and coming back onto the field to receive your own pass.
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17th over: England 148-5 (Livingstone 13, Curran 5) Sam Curran plays much like Moeen: he’ll either give you a quick 20 or a quick nothing. He opens his account with a handsome upper cut for four off Matt Henry. But, thanks to that left-and-right by Santner, England’s run rate has dipped below 9, and NZ can smell that drawn series.
16th over: England 140-5 (Livingstone 10, Curran 0) Santner finishes with three for 30 from an expert spell. And Moeen shows that you can give him the captaincy if you want, but he will still play as if he’s on the beach with the kids.
WICKET!! Moeen c Phillips b Santner 1 (England 140-5)
And another! Santner again, tempting Moeen – who can resist anything except temptation – to chip a slog-sweep straight to deep square.
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WICKET! Malan c Jamieson b Santner 26 (England 138-4)
Santner is a master of this game. He yells at Jamieson, “KJ! KJ”, and moves him round a bit at deep square, whereupon Malan sweeps the ball straight at him and Jamieson just has to fall forwards to take the catch.
Photograph: Tim Goode/PA
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15th over: England 137-3 (Malan 26, Livingstone 8) Southee takes off the toiling Jamieson and brings himself on, which also works a treat – until Liam Livingstone says “Sod this” and step outside off to swing to leg, Bairstow style. He gets about 90 per cent of it, which is enough to lift the ball over a despairing leap at deep square.
14th over: England 128-3 (Malan 25, Livingstone 1) It was a ropey old over from Sodhi, but it worked: three undeserved dots, the wicket, and then two singles. Maybe he’s stumbled on the secret of how to bowl on a flat track at Trent Bridge.
Brian Withington is back for more. “In answer to Mark Hooper,” he says, “I entirely agree that Malan’s trying not to get out, but I dispute the ‘or’ in relation to self-absorption.” This may be peak OBO. “Just look at the number of times that a well-set batter at the other end gets themselves out trying to make up for the runs he’s not scoring whilst he settles in. Of course he can be effective later on, but then so can many others in the side.”
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WICKET! Brook c Chapman b Sodhi 4 (England 126-3)
Brook blinks first! He saw a bad ball – a half-tracker from Sodhi – and went too hard at it, so his pull went into the stratosphere. When it came down, it nestled in the safe hands of Mark Chapman at deep square. Malan manages not to celebrate.
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13th over: England 126-2 (Malan 24, Brook 4) Southee goes back to pace, which may well suit Malan. Kyle Jamieson comes back and Malan pulls him for four, seeing the ball so early that he hits it straight. Jamieson, still rusty after a spell out injured, bowls a wide, then another. And a third! This over may go on for some weeks. When the ball is finally within reach, Malan slashes for four. And then there’s another full toss, which, just like the earlier one, is put away. That’s a big over for England and Malan now has 24 off 18 balls, which is fine.
12th over: England 108-2 (Malan 11, Brook 2) Bairstow had just hit his fifth six, although it wasn’t middled. If T20 cricket has a fault, it’s that mis-hits can go for six. Anyway, Santner got his revenge from Bairstow’s next big hit, caught at long-on.
And now Malan is joined by Harry Brook. Shoot-out at the Selection Corral.
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WICKET!! Bairstow c Mitchell b Santner 73 (England 105-2)
Noooo! The man who’s provided all the entertainment so far gets caught in the deep. Another big wicket for Santner.
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11th over: England 99-1 (Bairstow 67, Malan 10) Malan on the attack! He gets a full toss from Sodhi and gratefully clonks it to midwicket, where poor Daryl Mitchell not only fails to cut it off but gets the ball in the face off the Toblerone. “Right in the front railings!” says Eoin Morgan, with slightly too much relish. Malan adds two into the off side and then misses a reverse sweep.
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10th over: England 92-1 (Bairstow 66, Malan 4) On comes NZ’s third spinner, Rachin Ravindra. Bairstow says “good evening” with another swing for six. At the halfway mark, England are still on top, but their run rate has slipped from a princely 10 to a paltry 9.
“Self-absorption,” says Mark Hooper, “or trying not to get out? Funny old game.” Point taken, but trying not to get out hasn’t been England’s one-day policy since 2015, and now it’s not wanted in Tests either.
9th over: England 84-1 (Bairstow 58, Malan 4) Sodhi continues and there’s another single to Malan, who, to be fair, has an excellent record in both white-ball formats – he just takes a while to get going, which must be maddening for the blasters waiting in the dug-out. Bairstow shows him the way with a flat-bat four past extra-cover.
8th over: England 76-1 (Bairstow 53, Malan 2) Santner returns to make it spin from both ends. He finds some turn but it’s down the leg side, so that’s five wides. Malan picks up another single to go to two off four balls, one of his racier starts.
We have an email! From an old friend. “Regarding the ‘stodgy starts of Dawid Malan,” says Brian Withington, “what is really disappointing is the self-absorption that sees him consume a succession of early dots without the slightest interest in rotating the strike. Will be interesting to see if it’s any different tonight.”
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Fifty to Bairstow!
7th over: England 67-1 (Bairstow 50, Malan 1) So the end of the Powerplay does the trick as Sodhi goes 1-1-dot-wicket. And now he has Dawid Malan to bowl at, which should mean more thrift … but Malan manages a single off his first ball. Bairstow gets one too to go to a sparkling fifty off only 26 balls, with four fours and four sixes. He’s been so fluent that he may be under the impression it’s a Test match.
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WICKET! Jacks c Seifert b Sodhi 16 (England 65-1)
The breakthrough! Ish Sodhi starts strongly with his leg-breaks and Jacks gets a big nick on a cut. Seifert spills it, but upwards, and he grabs it at the second attempt.
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6th over: England 63-0 (Bairstow 48, Jacks 15) Jacks, facing Henry, decides it’s time for his first big yahoo and is lucky to get away with it as a top edge lands safely between deep third and sweeper. A more classical shot bring Jacks four off his pads. All the boundaries so far – four sixes and six fours – have come on the leg side. The Powerplay ends with England on top and the run rate in double figures already (10.5 an over).
5th over: England 56-0 (Bairstow 47, Jacks 9) Another over, another bowling change. Santner gives way to Southee, bringing himself back to stem the flow. It doesn’t quite go to plan: Bairstow belts the first ball back past the bowler for six. He’s got four of them already! Jacks, forced to play fifth fiddle, manages to glance for two, helped by a misfield, and that’s England’s fifty up from only 27 balls. Bairstow, also glancing, throws in a four for a change.
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4th over: England 42-0 (Bairstow 36, Jacks 6) Another bowling change as Henry gives way to Kyle Jamieson. No change of batting as Bairstow flicks him for six too. A swing and a hit. Jamieson responds with a lifter that Bairstow can only waft at. But he has a retort too, a bottom-handed bunt through mid-on for four. And a pull for six! Hint of a tope edge, but he got just enough of it. Barstow rounds off a triumphant over with a cute dab for a single. He’s already going at two runs a ball. Giving him the gloves seems to have worked a treat.
3rd over: England 25-0 (Bairstow 19, Jacks 6) Southee gives himself his marching orders and turns to spin, fearlessly. Mitchell Santner deceives Bairstow immediately, luring him into a top-edged sweep, but getting no reward for it as the ball pops over short fine leg and runs away for four. Will Jacks, after enduring a couple of dots, heads in the same direction, more deliberately, getting right across to off to ramp-paddle for four more.
2nd over: England 16-0 (Bairstow 14, Jacks 2) At the other end it’s Matt Henry, bearing extra pace. That’s fine by Jonny B, who clips him for four over midwicket, then for six over square leg, with two measured strokes. We may be seeing a few sixes tonight.
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1st over: England 4-0 (Bairstow 3, Jacks 1) Southee pitches it up, looking for some swing, not finding much, and both openers get bat on ball without disturbing the Toblerone. Trent Bridge is a high-scoring ground, so England will need to start a lot better than they did at Edgbaston.
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The players are out there in the mellow sunshine, and Tim Southee has thrown the new white ball to himself.
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NZ team: Conway replaced by Ravindra
Devon Conway, who has had a nightmare, has been left out, so Tim Seifert steps up to open. His eye will be in after keeping wicket. NZ too add a spinner, Rachin Ravindra, who slots into the middle order and gives Tim Southee a second slow left-armer to go with the formidable Mitch Santner.
1 Allen, 2 Seifert (wkt), 3 Mitchell, 4 Phillips, 5 Chapman, 6 Ravindra, 7 Santner, 8 Jamieson, 9 Sodhi, 10 Southee (capt), 11 Henry.
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England XI: Rehan Ahmed comes in
Buttler’s place goes not to a battery s you might expect, but to the precocious leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed (though he can bat). England have eight bowlers, five of them spinners – not just Adil Rashid and Moeen, but Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks and Rehan too. It’s a team that needs to avoid another top-order collapse.
1 Bairstow (wkt), 2 Jacks, 3 Malan, 4 Brook, 5 Livingstone, 6 Moeen (capt), 7 S Curran, 8 Rehan, 9 Carse, 10 Rashid, 11 L Wood.
Toss: England bat first, no Buttler
England’s captain wins the toss and opts to bat … and it’s not Jos Buttler. Moeen Ali takes over, as he did for the whole series in Pakistan last autumn. The word is that Buttler is resting himself. Bold move!
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the final act of this mini-series. As in the 2023 Ashes, it’s not a full-throttle decider, because only one team can win the trophy – England, for a change. But New Zealand have the chance to emerge with a 2-2 draw, and, as they began with two heavy defeats, that would be quite a feather in the Black Caps. After their thumping win on Sunday, the momentum is with them.
Other options are available. When these two teams meet, you can never rule out a tie, and the series does owe us a cliffhanger. The one result that can surely be ruled out is no result, as the British summer, which went missing at the end of June, has suddenly reappeared.
As ever, there are plenty of micro-dramas unfolding. Can Harry Brook force his way into the World Cup squad? Can Dawid Malan bring more than a stodgy start? Can Finn Allen hit the ball into the Trent? Can the Kiwis bowl even faster than Gus Atkinson?
Play starts at 6pm BST, so I’ll be back 25 minutes before that with news of the toss and teams.
