New Zealand mauled England by eight wickets in the ninth match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. After Tim Southee entered the record books with the best bowling figures of all time by a New Zealand bowler, it was Brendon McCullum’s chance to hog the limelight, hammering the fastest fifty in World Cup history. With this win, New Zealand remain at the top of the points table, while England are yet to open their account. LIVE SCORECARD: New Zealand vs England, Pool A Match 9 at Wellington
If there was any doubt regarding how soon the match would end, McCullum answered it with the type of innings that few batsmen in world cricket might dream of playing. He hit the second ball he faced over point for six, and hit the fifth, sixth, and seventh balls for fours. He showed no sign of stopping at all, meting out special treatment to Steven Finn, whose two overs cost England 49 runs — 44 of which came from McCullum’s bat. LIVE UPDATES: New Zealand vs England, Pool A Match 9 at Wellington
Just when thoughts of a fastest 100 of all time started coming up, Chris Woakes became a wet blanket, bowling a full toss that McCullum somehow missed. The ball hit the stumps on the full as McCullum’s tsunami innings ended at 77 from 25 balls with eight fours and seven sixes. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
With just 12 needed for a win, the pesky rule-book came into play, and the players had to break for lunch. The interruption caused a lapse in concentration for Guptill, as Woakes snuck through his defence with his first ball after lunch to bowl him for 22. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor then went on to finish the match without any more complications, as New Zealand won their third straight match.
Earlier, Southee was the proverbial cat among England’s pigeons, snapping up a career-best seven for 33 with an inspired spell of swing bowling that revealed just how inadequate England’s batting could be against a quality opposition. Joe Root tried his best to keep the ship afloat, but New Zealand’s canons simply blew too many holes. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
Ian Bell was the first to go, playing inside the line to one that swung out just enough to beat the edge and upset the timber. Moeen Ali went on the offensive ofter that, hitting Southee for three boundaries in a row in the very same over. Southee soon had his revenge, first softening Moeen up with a short ball, and then sending down a searing yorker that swung late and took out the off stump. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
Meanwhile, Trent Boult kept going at the other end, giving nothing away to the Yorkshire pair of Gary Ballance and Joe Root. The pressure he maintained culminated in Ballance trying to hit his way out of trouble. Boult bowled a slower one that clung to the surface and did not come off the pitch; Ballance managed to get the toe end to a diving Kane Williamson as England lost their third wicket.
Eoin Morgan — on the back of two runs from five innings — then made his way to the middle. England’s skipper dug deep and put on a 47-run stand with Root for the fourth wicket. Just as England looked like they were setting themselves up, Daniel Vettori got him to hit one down the ground. Adam Milne took a superb catch, diving forward and holding on to a blinder.
That opened the floodgates, as Southee came back for what proved to be a game-changing second spell. James Taylor was the first to go, another late-swinging yorker upsetting the off stump. Jos Buttler went next, poking at one outside the off stump and getting the outside edge to Luke Ronchi. Chris Woakes got another swinging yorker, once again pegging back the off stump. Stuart Broad hang out his bat for a while before getting a leading edge to Vettori. Southee’s seventh wicket came when Steven Finn edged to Ross Taylor at slip. Joe Root tried his best to revive the innings, but was the last man out for 45.
Brief scores:
England 123 in 33.2 overs (Joe Root 46; Tim Southee 7 for 33) lost to New Zealand 125 for 2 in 12 overs (Brendon McCullum 77; Chris Woakes 2 for 8) by 8 wickets.
Man of the Match: Tim Southee
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)
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