ICC Champions Trophy 2017: England’s all-round efforts vs New Zealand confirms them semi-final spot

England cruised to the next round of ICC Champions trophy 2017 by beating New Zealand by 87 runs. In match 6 of the eighth edition, England posted 310 riding on fifties from Alex Hales, Joe Root and Jos Buttler before prevailing on top owing to a disciplined bowling efforts from their bowlers. Kane Williamson was the lone warrior in the chase with a gritty 87 but Kiwis’ lower order issues continued to hamper them. New Zealand face Bangladesh in a must-win clash to stay alive in the tournament whereas hosts will be eyeing to finish on top by notching up another triumph against arch-rivals Australia. Full Cricket Scorecard: ICC Champions Trophy 2017, England vs New Zealand, Match 6 at Cardiff

Kiwis were jolted early in the chase. There was a slight delay before their innings due to rain interruption which resulted in strong winds blowing from both ends. Jake Ball started the proceedings and struck in his first over. In the absence of swing, he relied on the movement from the turf to rattle Luke Ronchi’s stumps. The right-hander went for a golden duck which brought the experienced pair of Martin Guptill and Williamson at the crease.

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The duo took good time in the middle with the ball moving a bit due to wind and the pitch offering a lot to the pacers. Mark Wood kept it simple and Ball stuck to a constant line with consecutive maidens. Williamson and Guptill were kept at bay courtesy disciplined bowling and smart field setting by Eoin Morgan. Morgan employed a gully for the Kiwi skipper after the New Zealander kept targeting the backward square regions for runs.

Guptill started to time the ball whereas Williamson did not get bogged down despite runs not coming off easily. Just when the partnership was blossoming, Morgan introduced Ben Stokes and the all-rounder did not disappoint. Stokes, like he usually does, resorted to a fuller delivery and invited Guptill for a drive. The ball got late movement and it went straight to the extra slip wherein Joe Root took a sitter.

Ross Taylor joined Williamson in the middle to take New Zealand’s innings forward. The pitch was doing a bit and two of Liam Plunkett’s deliveries struck the batsmen’s helmet with extra bounce and pace. Rain certainly had an impact on the 22-yard and English seamers adapted accordingly. Adil Rashid was brought into the attack as Morgan depended on the leg spinner’s drift in presence of wind and overcast conditions. Nonetheless, the batsmen applied themselves and with the sun coming out in the mid innings, Black Caps were in the hunt.

Taylor was picking Rashid’s googlies whereas Williamson went for the odd boundaries to lead from the front. The New Zealand skipper got to fifty off 66 balls and continued his rich vein of form. The duo kept the pressure on the opposition with a 95-run stand before Wood came to his side’s rescue. Wood produced a peach off a delivery, with extra bounce, which kissed Williamson’s gloves and gave a simple catch to Buttler. There was nothing Williamson could do and fell for 87. The onus shifted to Taylor but he perished, failing to clear the inner circle going on a flick. Root plucked another sitter at short midwicket and Ball picked up his second scalp.

The innings started to fall apart with James Neesham and Neil Broom departing after getting a look in. Plunkett and Rashid dented the run-flow as Kiwis’ lower order woes continued. There was too much pressure on Anderson with the run-rate mounting and the left-hander was dismissed for 10. With his fall, New Zealand conceded the game by a whopping 87 runs.

Earlier, England posted 310 in 49.3 overs after being put into bat. Jason Roy struggled to get going but Hales and Root steadied the innings. They added their 14th fifty-plus stand in 23 innings to keep the scoreboard ticking. Against the run of play, Hales was clean bowled by Adam Milne after the right-hander registered his another half-century in the tournament. Milne, after being hammered for a six, bowled a slower one and Hales anticipated a short delivery to get his stumps dismantled on 56.

Root added vital stands with Morgan and Stokes (48) before departing for a well-made 64. He chopped one onto the stumps as Anderson instilled the breakthrough in the 34th over. The fag end of the innings was held by wicketkeeper-batsman Buttler. Stokes missed his half-century whereas the likes of Moeen Ali and Rashid went after getting starts. Nonetheless, Buttler’s unbeaten 61 guided the team total above 300-run mark. This was England’s 17th 300-plus score after ICC World Cup 2015. However, they failed to play their full quota of overs as Tim Southee’s twin strikes wrapped up their innings.

Anderson, Southee’s late blitz and Milne were effective with the ball to restrict England under 325.

Brief scores:

England 310 all-out in 49.3 overs (Alex Hales 56, Joe Root 64, Ben Stokes 48, Jos Buttler 61*; Tim Southee 2 for 44, Corey Anderson 3 for 55, Adam Milne 3 for 79) vs New Zealand 223 in 44.3 overs (Martin Guptill 27, Kane Williamson 87, Ross Taylor 39; Jake Ball 2 for 31, Liam Plunkett 4 for 55, Adil Rashid 2 for 47)

Man of the Match: Jake Ball

Full Cricket Scorecard: ICC Champions Trophy 2017, England vs New Zealand, Match 6 at Cardiff