CT 2017, England vs New Zealand, 6th Game, Review: England romp into semis, Kiwis spot in jeopardy

It was another group game where the threat of rain playing spoilsport loomed largely. Group A has already had two washouts and neither of the teams would have liked another. Fortunately for England, they had a complete game of 50 overs in which they emerged victorious beating the Kiwis by a handsome margin of 87 runs.

The earlier washouts put this game under the spotlight. Both teams were desperate for a win to qualify ahead. The format of the tournament is such; sides can’t afford to slip up as they don’t get an opportunity to catch up later. With the rain threat, Williamson prudently decided to chase after winning the toss. The struggling Jason Roy (13) registered another low score after getting bowled around his legs to Adam Milne. Alex Hales was joined by the in-form Joe Root. Both battled the moving ball and focused on running hard between the wickets. The duo featured in an 81-run stand after which Milne castled Hales for a fine 56. Skipper Morgan, who got an unbeaten fifty in the last game, wanted to dominate the bowling but the plan backfired when he edged a wide one off Corey Anderson to the keeper. Ben Stokes played delightful shots and hogged most of the strike to take the steam out of an otherwise fluent innings of Joe Root. The Test captain then succumbed to the building frustration when he chopped one back onto his stumps. Anderson was the bowler yet again. After playing crisps shots, Stokes tried to upper cut a Boult bouncer but could only manage to steer it into the hands of the third man fielder.

New Zealand, after not having the best of days with the ball, did well to keep chipping away with the wickets to contain England to 310. Milne and Anderson took three wickets apiece and later Southee picked 2 wickets in the same over to leave Buttler stranded at a well timed 61 not out. New Zealand had to chase down 311 if rain did not intervene later. Which it didn’t.

Jake Ball was given the new ball in the absence of regular Chris Woakes and the 26-year old removed the dangerous Luke Ronchi for a first-ball duck in the first over of the chase. After playing the waiting game, Guptill opened up in the 7th over to hit Ball for two sweetly timed boundaries. Seeing Guptill open up, Williamson followed suit and the duo sewed a brisk 62 run partnership. Just when it looked like Guptill would take the game away from the hosts, Stokes induced him into a false stroke which was caught in the slips. Former captain and current captain: Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson had the responsibility of taking the ship forward. Williamson was very fluent and scored at a good clip which allowed Taylor to take his time. Both added 95 runs in 101 balls to bring their side back into the contest.

What construed later is exactly the reason why England are tipped to lift the title this edition. From 158 for 2, New Zealand lost their way post over number 30 to be all out for 223 in the 45th over. They lost their last 8 wickets for 65 runs showing their over-dependency on Taylor and Williamson. Plunkett swept through the lower middle order to return with figures of 4/55. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid, who played his first game of the tournament, chipped in with 2 wickets to finish with decent figures of 2/47. New ball bowlers Jake Ball and Mark Wood bowled telling spells and took three wickets between themselves, including the wickets of Taylor and Williamson, and gave away just 63 runs collectively off 17 overs.

England have confirmed their spot in the semi-final with one group game in hand. They will love to win against their Ashes rivals Australia, which will also end the campaign for the World Champions. As far as New Zealand are concerned, they need to win against Bangladesh, which they should, and then hope England to beat Australia.

New Zealand must not make the mistake of taking Bangladesh lightly. The Tigers are already out of the competition but wouldn’t mind being the party spoilers. Group A has been marred by the rains and teams must factor it in in the remainder of the league games.

Brief Scores:

England – 310 all out in 49.3 overs (Joe Root 64, Jos Buttler 61*, Corey Anderson 3/55, Adam Milne 3/77).

New Zealand – 223 all out in 44.3 overs (Kane Williamson 87, Ross Taylor 39, Liam Plunkett 4/55, Jake Ball 2/31).