England vs New Zealand LIVE T20 World Cup cricket result and reaction as England keep hopes alive
England kept their World Cup hopes alive in Brisbane with a 20-run victory over New Zealand
England met New Zealand knowing they needed a win to keep their T20 World Cup hopes in their own hands, and they delivered with a 20-run victory at the Gabba.
Jos Buttler’s side went with the same XI that suffered a shock defeat against Ireland but while they are a team who typically prefer to chase, playing on a used Gabba pitch prompted a change in strategy.
Buttler himself scored 73 as England set New Zealand a target of 180 to win, and although Glenn Phillips fired 62 to give the Kiwis hope, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran were particularly decisive with ball in hand to stem the run chase and keep England in with a shout of progressing from the group stage.
Follow all the reaction after England beat New Zealand in their must-win T20 World Cup clash:
England 49-0 (6 overs); New Zealand yet to bat
Buttler chips the first ball of the over to cover where Kane Williamson gratefully accepts the catch running back towards the boundary. But it’s checked, and the replay shows the ball bounced as the Kiwi captain slid across the grass before he finally held on to it. Buttler walks away and is then invited back to the crease, and Williamson sheepishly apologises for claiming that as a legitimate catch. Perhaps he didn’t quite realise what happened as he was sliding. Either way, a poor miss and a big let-off for England’s captain.
England 44-0 (5 overs); New Zealand yet to bat
Alex Hales batters the first ball of Southee’s second over for four over long-on. There’s a battle on here, as Southee offers a slower ball which Hales misses entirely, but with the very next ball the batter steps away from his stumps and gives himself room to crack over covers for four more – and again with the next ball! Phenomenal from Hales and now Southee has to think hard about the final two deliveries: the first is hit straight to point for a dot, and the final delivery is knocked for a single.
England 25-0 (4 overs); New Zealand yet to bat
Mitchell Santner comes into the attack and, after a Buttler single, brings up three dots with a tight line. Hales has a swing at the fifth ball and inside edges on to his pads before running a single. Buttler pinches two off the last with a little prod to a gap in the leg-side.
England 21-0 (3 overs); New Zealand yet to bat
Trent Boult with a fierce over of swing bowling. Buttler pinches a single from the third ball before Hales nervily avoids a couple of threatening deliveries which hoop in different directions. It looks like being a momentum killer of an over until Hales bunts the final ball high down the ground for four.
England 16-0 (2 overs); New Zealand yet to bat
Tim Southee bowls a loose one first up which Hales pushes away for a couple, before whipping one to the leg-side boundary for four a couple of balls later. A good start for England.
England 9-0 (1 over); New Zealand yet to bat
Trent Boult immediately gets the ball swinging to England captain Jos Buttler, but Buttler gets his bat on the second delivery for three. Alex Hales survives the rest of the over, and survives is the word, with a slash towards the off-side which comes off his inside edge and narrowly misses his stumps, running for four. Hales then pushes one through cover for two, and England are up and running, just about.
England vs New Zealand
Trent Boult has ball in hand, here we go...
England vs New Zealand
An unchanged England have elected to bat first in this crunch T20 World Cup clash against New Zealand at Brisbane.
England have gone with the same XI that suffered a shock defeat against Ireland but while they are a team who typically prefer to chase, playing on a used Gabba pitch has prompted a change in strategy.
New Zealand can guarantee semi-final qualification with a win and they named the same XI that beat Sri Lanka last time out.
England know a loss at a ground where they have historically struggled - they have won just two Ashes Tests here since the end of the Second World War - would all but end their hopes of a top-two finish in their Super 12s group.
England vs New Zealand
Play moments away at a packed Gabba! Here come the anthems.
England: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
England vs New Zealand
et run-rate will be the deciding factor if more than two teams finish on the same number of points, which could be the case in Group 1. In the final group fixtures New Zealand face Ireland, Australia take on Afghanistan and England play Sri Lanka. Should England win today there will be three teams level on five points meaning the two qualifiers will be decided by the final matches and, most probably, net run-rate. Yet that is a problem for the future as England will be focused on winning today’s encounter first and foremost.
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