England romped to an emphatic seven-wicket win over New Zealand to square the five-match series 2-2 on Wednesday at Trent Bridge.
New Zealand's batting swagger flickered on and off during their innings as they posted 349 in 50 overs. Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santer both produced useful knocks with Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot also chipping in.
England's bowlers suffered with the best figures (minimum of five overs) being 49-1 from Mark Wood.
From a batting perspective, there has been little separating the two teams this series. New Zealand’s swagger has always been enchanting and England’s new, free and aggressive approach has helped them put on some impressive performances.
Joe Root is in the form of his life while Eoin Morgan is playing with the kind of freedom he last showed in the early stages of his career. But even with a number of players in a purple patch, the Black Caps have always found an answer.
One thing that has consistently separated the two teams was missing on Wednesday, though. Trent Boult’s absence was noticeable. Boult, who was ruled out of the series due to injury after the second ODI, has been a tremendous player for New Zealand over the last few months. His performance during the World Cup, in conditions that favour swing bowling, gave New Zealand a massive advantage.
His partnership with Tim Southee has been something to behold, and the opening pair's chemistry has given the Black Caps a real X-factor in recent months.
However, in the last two ODIs, New Zealand have had to make do with rookie Ben Wheeler. Wheeler had a decent first match but struggled for consistency in his second and lost his way when the chips were down. The more experienced Mitchell McClenaghan has also been disappointing, and the usually innovative and maverick captain Brendon MCcullum has had his work cut out for him.
It seems staggering that one player can make such a massive difference, particularly when considering that the pitch would not really have assisted Boult much. However, the left-hand/right-hand opening combination of Southee and Boult has proved to be a real menace in recent months and has given McCullum the luxury choice.
Boult is also a seriously talented player. Not being able to defend 350 runs is something quite staggering and underscores just how much New Zealand rely on their pace ace.
With just one match left to go, New Zealand don’t have much time for introspection. For McCullum, the response is simple: Be better. He said at the post-match presentation:
Incredible run chase, I thought we had a whole lot of runs on the board but we have been blown off the park. We need to be a bit better. We lacked a bit of accuracy with the ball and against good players there is no room for error. Trent is a big loss but we're still confident with the attack we've got, we just weren't good enough. I was confident with 349 on the board, I didn't think the wicket would play as good as it did, they got off to a great start and we weren't able to drag them back.
England, of course, deserve some credit, but this series has very much become a batsman’s game. The hosts, too, have been without their key bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, and the result has been a flurry of runs.
With all to play for on Saturday in the fifth ODI at Chester-le-Street in County Durham, the result for the bowlers of both teams could get pretty ugly.
No comments:
Post a Comment