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The Blackcaps just couldn’t find a rhythm with the bat or ball in the first T20i of the 4 match series, resulting in a woeful 7-wicket win for England.
Jos Buttler sent New Zealand into bat first with Finn Allen and Devon Conway looking to capitalise off their 50+ scores from the recently concluded Hundred. Luke Wood was given the new ball to face Allen, who dealt a hat-trick of 6s in the over. With 18 coming off the first, it was a hopeful start for New Zealand.
Sam Curran saw a caught-and-bowled chance fly right past him in the second, unable to halt New Zealand’s progress. Runs came slowly, a sharp contrast to the explosive start, with the pressure building on the openers. Conway saw little of the strike in the first couple of deliveries, and in an effort to get going, he nicked the ball to Buttler off Wood for 3 runs in his stay.
It would only take the following over to see the final opener gone, Brydon Carse striking on his T20i debut with a scorching 87.5mph delivery crashing into the top of off. Allen was unable to read the ball and came too quick for him to react, going for 21 from 15.
With a new pair in Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips to the crease, it was time for some big runs off the final over of the powerplay. While he was able to claim his 1000 T20i run milestone, Seifert was another victim to England’s ferocious pace attack. His prior ball was punished for 4, simply wayward with the line, but was soon back into action with the ball angling in to Seifert’s stumps. A short lived cameo of 9 (6) saw the Blackcaps lose 3 for 38 in the first 6.
England opted for the spin of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid straight after, the duo restricting the runs for New Zealand with just 26 from 4 overs, including the wicket of Mark Chapman who mistimed the offspin of Ali.
Daryl Mitchell offered runs with Phillips in the form of singles; boundaries were a rare commodity in the Blackcaps’ innings. A 10-run over off Carse in the 11th saw an opportunity to get NZ back on track despite losing 4 wickets, though Livingstone’s introduction saw Mitchell slap it to long-off for 7 and bring on Mitchell Santner - the last of the recognised batters.
Phillips and Santner began to excel together in order to pull their side to a respectable score with a 21-run partnership before the demise of the latter, picking out Wood at point off Rashid to see NZ 96-6 after the 15th. Wood would soon see one of his own - the 3rd in his innings - with Curran putting in an athletic dive to catch top-scoring Phillips (41 off 38) to shelf the Blackcaps’ hopes of a threatening score.
Though Adam Milne and Ish Sodhi saw boundaries of both kinds in their late-order efforts, it would be fellow pacer Carse to take the glory finishing off his 3-wicket haul by bowling Milne for 10 and dismissing Sodhi off another galavant display of fielding from Curran in the deep. Southee and Ferguson saw the innings out to finish on 139-9, a woeful batting performance on show from their team.
To rub salt into the wounds for the Blackcaps, Devon Conway was unable to take to the field resulting in Cole McConchie to sub in - a big concern for the team going into the World Cup.
A glimmer of hope came with Jonny Bairstow’s wicket, a thick edge off Southee saw him caught by Mitchell. Will Jacks played a steady stint of 22 off 12 before an awkward pull shot in which he hit the ball twice before it ended up in Finn Allen's pockets in the deep.
From then on England strolled to the total with 6 overs to spare with just the one more wicket to fall.
Lockie Ferguson had an off night with returns of 1-34 from 3, the only benefit of his spell being the wicket of half-centurian Dawid Malan.
Harry Brook (43 off 27) saw off the final overs alongside Liam Livingstone, finishing the game in style with a 6 over deep square to end proceedings early in Durham.
New Zealand's bowling was no match for England’s power-hitting, inform lineup with no real standout star with the ball. Santner and Milne both went for 10 each over in their allocated 3, with Sodhi and Ferguson going no better at 11+ rpo.
They'll have to bounce back quickly before the 2nd T20i at Old Trafford, 2nd September 5am NZT.
Starting XI’s:
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson (12th Cole McConchie)
England: Jonny Bairstow, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, Luke Wood
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