England were 55 for five, a fourth consecutive defeat against New Zealand on the cards, World Cup preparation looking a little bit all over the shop. And then came Liam Livingstone. The T20 star searching for 50-over success found joy as an inbetweener, hitting an unbeaten 95 in a 34-overs-a-side contest as England won the second one-day international by 79 runs.
Livingstone’s innings headlined a total of 226 for seven after steady mizzle in Southampton delayed the start and forced a shortened contest, not ideal as both sides looked to cram in another ODI lesson before the major show next month. Two days on from his hundred in Cardiff, Daryl Mitchell and his heavenly straight drive briefly threatened for New Zealand but England’s attack squeezed from the other end and levelled the series 1-1.
The early exchanges belonged to New Zealand, with Tom Latham choosing to bowl first and Trent Boult making the ball sing. This was Boult’s 100th ODI but his first since last September, international appearances having dwindled since he gave up his central contract to take up the freelance beat and spend more time with the kids. New Zealand have preferred others ahead of him, including when England visited for a Test series this year, but a World Cup calls for your best. Yes, there is always another class quick opposite: take your pick from Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Kyle Jamieson. But Boult’s left-arm mastery elevates him above the rest.
The 34-year-old struck with the first ball of his second over, helped by a leaping one-handed grab by Mitchell Santner at cover after a leading edge off Jonny Bairstow’s bat. Two balls later there was greater hoop into the right-hander to trap the out-of-form Joe Root – a rarely used sequence of words – lbw for a duck. Henry nipped the ball in and then away from Ben Stokes but it was off Boult’s bowling that the left-hander chipped to mid-off for one. Inside his first three overs, the fast bowler had startling figures of three for one, England just eight runs.
Dawid Malan was celebrating the birth of his son and Jason Roy’s back was given a rest after he suffered a spasm earlier in the week, thus granting Harry Brook another World Cup audition at the top of the order – but he could muster only a 12-ball two. Jos Buttler saw things differently to the rest on a sticky surface, hitting three boundaries off one Boult over. He could not lead the rebuild, though, dragging a short Santner delivery on to his stumps to leave England five down.
Cue the arrival of Livingstone. This was a test for a powerful batter still waiting to play a one-day innings for England with a bit of depth and nuance. A 40-ball 52 in the previous match had been a fine contribution but here there was greater jeopardy and a need for more than just a quick fling. On 19 off 28, he attempted to greet the returning Boult with an ambitious leg-side swipe but only made contact with the air. A thump over extra cover for four to close the over was more like it.
“I don’t think consolidation is a word we use in the dressing room,” said Livingstone. “We’ve just got to see what we think is best for that situation. If in doubt, take the aggressive option.”
There were deft touches to admire off Southee’s bowling, a cover drive followed shortly by a carve behind point. But that trademark brawn was still present as Livingstone swung across the line to dominate the England innings, his half-century off 47 balls progressing into a 78-ball 95. Moeen Ali’s 33 and Sam Curran’s 42 were crucial cameos, helping turn a rescue job into a genuinely competitive total.
David Willey went straight through Finn Allen with the second ball of the New Zealand innings, and Gus Atkinson nabbed his maiden ODI wicket with the dismissal of Devon Conway at the end of the ninth over. The left-hander tried a flairy punch but could only edge behind for 14. Willey was then quicker off his feet than Will Young, racing in from mid-off to pick up and throw down at the non-striker’s end to leave New Zealand 55 for three inside 12 overs.
Mitchell kept the game running with a half-century but Reece Topley burst through New Zealand’s middle order with three wickets in the space of two of his overs, and there wasn’t to be any tail-end resistance. Willey finished with three of his own, Moeen counted Mitchell as his 100th ODI wicket and none of New Zealand’s bottom six reached double figures.
