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T20 World Cup Super 12s: England beat New Zealand by 20 runs – as it happened

T20 World Cup Super 12s England beat New Zealand by 20 runs  as it happened
England remain in the hunt for the semi-finals after a 20-run win over New Zealand at the Gabba

Five more days of World Cup group stage cricket ahead, with the circus going to Adelaide tomorrow: Zimbabwe play Netherlands first, before India take on Bangladesh in a massive game that evening local time.

We’ll have plenty of coverage across the Guardian over that time, so stay tuned. Jos Buttler is player of the match, and England win tonight in Brisbane. Till next time.

England keep T20 World Cup hopes alive with victory over New Zealand
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What does it mean for the Group A table? It means that New Zealand, England and Australia each have five points, and are ranked in the order above thanks to net run rate. So New Zealand will still finish top if they beat Ireland, with a far superior rate. England can finish second if they beat Sri Lanka, but they could also be pushed to third if Australia can beat Afghanistan by enough to make up a net run rate deficit. Of course, should any of these teams lose their final match, they’re gone.

A brilliant night for Buttler, his 73 from 47 balls has him looking good ahead of the final round of matches. Hales did a job too with 52 from 40, including making the early running when Buttler was yet to launch. Livingstone’s 20 from 14 ended up being useful in the circumstances.

What England also did was take down New Zealand’s fast bowlers, who had been going so well. Each of Boult, Southee and Ferguson went for more than 40 from their four overs. 3 for 128 between them from 12 overs. It was the spinners who kept New Zealand in it, 2 for 48 from eight overs.

England’s quicks fared better: Wood 1 for 25 from three overs, Curran 2 for 26 from four, Woakes 2 for 33 from four. England’s spinners were also good though, Rashid creating a lot of the mid-innings squeeze, Livingstone doing a job, and for me, the early use of Moeen tilted the match: New Zealand weren’t expecting him to open the bowling and were thrown off balance. Phillips with 62 from 36 did his best to repair the damage, and Williamson did a job in going with him, but with 40 from 40 he needed to push the accelerator himself a bit harder.

What were you all so worried about, England supporters? I had a few near me who were on the verge of weeping when Phillips hit those sixes. But it was always a huge ask. England could have made their night more comfortable had the middle-innings batting backed up the opening partnership. New Zealand had the opposite problem – the opening batting basically tanked the innings before it had begun.

A good result and a fine performance from England.

20th over: New Zealand 159-6 (Santner 16, Sodhi 6) You’re not going to get 26 with Sodhi on strike. He misses the first one and pulls a single from the second, leaving Santner needing to hit the last four balls for six to go… dare we say it… “into the Super Over!” Santner does not hit the last four balls for six. He does get a wide form Curran, meaning that four sixes will win it. But he still does not hit them for six. He drives a couple, misses a bouncer, can’t hit the yorker, and basically Curran’s death bowling gets a free inspection and receives its certificate.

19th over: New Zealand 154-6 (Santner 13, Sodhi 5) Woakes with the ball to finish his night’s work: 2 for 20 off his first three overs. Santner hasn’t quite given up yet though. A couple of twos, a wide from what should be the last ball, and then Santner gets just enough on a baseball shot against the replacement delivery to clear long on for six. 26 needed off the last over.

18th over: New Zealand 139-6 (Santner 2, Sodhi 3) It was a good shot from Phillips to start against Curran, out to deep cover but it was well tapped back by Brook. That kept them to three runs and got Santner on strike, who took a single. Phillips falls next, and Ish Sodhi comes in to swing three runs of his own via a top edge. With 40 needed from two overs, this would take some losing for England.

That’s the game! Phillips knows he has to take on Curran at some stage, and tries to do over long on. The super-sub, Jordan, is there. To be fair, his catches have been routine for a good fielder, and he’s replacing Livingstone who is also one of England’s best.

17th over: New Zealand 131-5 (Phillips 59) Now the runs dry up again, with Woakes from the Vulture Street End. Singles, a two, a drive back to the bowler. You can feel the pressure dialling up on Mitchell ball by ball, he knows he has to be the one to produce the special shot. By the sixth ball it’s almost a free hit for Mitchell, end of the over, wanting to leave Phillips on strike for the next and help the score balance, so he swings big, gets most of it down to long on, but not enough to clear Chris Jordan, England’s best substitute fielder, who as an extreme surprise is on the field near the end of a T20 International that he’s not playing in for the umpteenth time. 49 in 18 balls needed.

England players celebrate the dismissal of Daryl Mitchell.

16th over: New Zealand 123-4 (Phillips 57, Mitchell 0) Wood finishes a first-rate over, with pace at Daryl Mitchell who can’t score off either delivery he faces. Three runs and the key wicket from the over. New Zealand need 54 in 24.

He didn’t waste any time, at least. Neesham sees Wood drop short and takes on the pull shot. More top than middle though, and Curran runs around a long way from deep midwicket towards deep square leg to take a good running catch. Brandishes the ball to the crowd!

Ben Stokes celebrates with Sam Curran after Curran caught Jimmy Neesham at deep midwicket.

15th over: New Zealand 123-3 (Phillips 56, Neesham 4) First ball to the middle, last ball of the over, and Neesham pulls it for four! Fetches it from well outside the off stump, the left-hander. Through midwicket. Phillips had also pulled a boundary before the Williamson dismissal. Left-hand and right-hand combination at the crease too. Ten from the over. 57 needed in 30.

Stokes into the game! Bowls a short ball that follows Williamson, who is trying to glide it past short third, but is surprised by the movement. Hits it finer than intended, to Rashid in that position. He was providing stability at a run a ball to support Phillips, but perhaps some power at the other end could be more useful in these last few overs? Jimmy Neesham to the crease.

Kane Williamson is gone for 40!

14th over: New Zealand 113-2 (Williamson 39, Phillips 51) Rashid comes back. Three overs for 16 runs so far. They’ve let him get away with far too much. And Phillips is of a like mind. Six! Getting back to the shorter ball, pulling it away over the fence. And for the first time tonight, he follows up a hit with another. Six more! As Rashid goes fuller to compensate, and Phillips drops to one knee and pulverises it into the stands. Places a brace to deep cover to follow. Singles after that. Fifty up for Phillips. The over costs 17 runs. New Zealand still need 67 off 36. Still a long way off.

13th over: New Zealand 96-2 (Williamson 37, Phillips 36) A few sneaky bonus runs for New Zealand: they run on a wide, then get an overthrow from a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Can’t latch onto Curran though, despite a couple of Phillips attempts. Eight off the over with no boundary. 84 in 42 needed.

The attendance for tonight, per earlier discussions, is 22,547. That’s more than half for the Gabba, a good result. A lot of New Zealanders in Queensland, which probably helps.

12th over: New Zealand 86-2 (Williamson 34, Phillips 30) Mark Wood is back, off that long run from the Stanley Street End. A clip from Phillips, who smartly runs back for two. So Wood sends down a bouncer that Phillips evades. That might be the length, because when Wood pitches up again, Phillips drives him for six! What a shot that is. North of 90 miles an hour inbound, and about as quickly outbound, via a simple swing of the bat that plonks it among the spectators at long on. Only four runs from the other five balls though. 94 runs needed at 48.

Glenn Phillips hits one to the boundary.

11th over: New Zealand 76-2 (Williamson 34, Phillips 21) There’s a symbolic one for you. Livingstone bowls a fat, dripping full toss, and Williamson tucks it through midwicket for two. Just haven’t had the foot down as required tonight, New Zealand. Phillips gets another and drives it down the ground for one. He has more luck from his accidental shots: an outside edge that beats the keeper and short third for four, then a top edged sweep that gets him two. Ten off the over is better, but fortune can claim most of them.

10th over: New Zealand 66-2 (Williamson 29, Phillips 16) Rashid’s wet-blanket routine continues, smothering the scoring by landing on a good length, and eventually the pressure tells. Phillips has a gallop, has a swing, slices it up to cover… and Moeen drops the catch. Another simple one down at the Gabba. There is a low ring of lights here, down under the roof level, and they might be on an angle to get in players’ eyes. We’ve seen some straightforward ones dropped by good fielders. Still, only four off the over, and New Zealand have batted themselves into a hole. Williamson 29 off 29, and they need nearly 12 an over, 114 off 60 balls.

9th over: New Zealand 62-2 (Williamson 27, Phillips 14) Set and forget for Liam Livingstone: just keeps bowling fast and on a length, and Williamson and Phillips keep getting on the front foot to tap a run or two to the off side. Until the last ball, that is, when Williamson gets a stride in and throws his hands through the ball. Lovely placement, beating the deep extra cover sweeper to the square side for four. Nine off the over, still below the required rate. 118 needed in 66.

8th over: New Zealand 53-2 (Williamson 20, Phillips 12) Another good over of spin, Adil Rashid on the money and the Kiwis only work a run a ball. They have to get moving. They need 127 runs from 12 overs, or 72 balls.

7th over: New Zealand 47-2 (Williamson 17, Phillips 9) Stokes is back on the field after getting checked up on. Livingstone bowls his liquorice allsorts spin, looks like leg-breaks to the right-handers tonight. Fast and skiddy and tight on the stumps, and mostly a bit short, drawing plenty of cut shots. Nobody middles one until Phillips from the last ball of the over, behind point for four, but that’s after Buttler has missed a catch off Phillips that hits the keeper on his body.

6th over: New Zealand 40-2 (Williamson 15, Phillips 4) That’s skill from Williamson. Mark Wood bowling, seriously fast, full and straight and Williamson clips it off his toes, square enough to beat the deep fine leg into the fence. Phillips is much less convincing, going the other side of that fine leg fielder via an inside edge. The radar is tracking Mark Wood at 155 kilometres per hour. The readings have been slightly on the generous side through this tournament, we’ve had half a dozen bowlers over 150 supposedly, which stretches credulity. But he is bowling rapidly, whatever the measure.

5th over: New Zealand 28-2 (Williamson 8) Again the wicket falls from the last ball of an over, and it concedes only two runs. They’re just about out of this already, New Zealand. Wickets can happen, but it’s been an awful start in terms of run rate.

That’s the big one. Allen is the player who can carve off a huge chunk of a chase in quick time, and he’s gone for relatively few. Swings across the line at Curran, regulation to Stokes trotting in from deep midwicket, though Stokes looks like he may have hurt his index finger taking the catch. He comes off the field and Chris Jordan replaces him.

Ben Stokes takes the catch but picks up an injury to his finger in the process.

4th over: New Zealand 26-1 (Allen 15, Williamson 7) Well, I was wondering where that Finn Allen was who took apart Australia to start the tournament. There’s a sighting of him here, with a huge pick-up shot over midwicket that eludes Harry Brook for six. That’s the power, then Williamson has the clever touch, waiting on a short ball and pulling it fine behind square for four. A dozen from Woakes.

3rd over: New Zealand 14-1 (Allen 8, Williamson 2) More spin in the Powerplay, with Adil Rashid brought on early. That works as well: Allen’s reverse hit for three is the only high-yield shot in the over, with six from it all up.

2nd over: New Zealand 8-1 (Allen 4) So that’s another win for England across the first two overs, with Kane Williamson heading to the middle to start the third.

There’s the early one they needed! Chris Woakes bowls a poor ball, half-tracker on leg stump. Conway for reasons best known to himself decides to ramp it rather than baseball it out of the ground. He gets it very fine and Buttler dives across and makes up good ground to take the catch.

Or does he? There’s an umpire check before Conway leaves the ground. On the replay you can’t see if the ball hits the ground as Buttler lands, because his gloves were in the way. But he pretty much just gets up and lobs the ball back to the umpire rather than celebrating. There’s no visual of ball hitting ground, so the catch stands. Something feels a bit out of kilter about all of that.

The players wait for the Third Umpire’s decision…
Out! Devon Conway is gone for 3.

1st over: New Zealand 4-0 (Allen 3, Conway 1) Here’s a surprise from Buttler: Moeen Ali opens the bowling. And it foxes New Zealand. They’re not expecting this. He bowls an outstanding over too, nearly getting Conway stumped with width, then burrowing one off the inside edge into pad, could have been caught or gone back onto the stumps. Only four runs from it! Early advantage England.

Tom van der Gucht writes in. “It’s interesting what you were saying about England looking better on paper than in the flesh at the moment. It got me thinking about how quickly form can change within this format: two weeks ago, England were on a roll after dismantling Pakistan at home and taking down the Aussies in their own backyard only for the wheels to come off since.

“My general theory about cricket is that whatever hasn’t happened or hasn’t happened for a while is due to happen at some point, especially so in T20. This vaguely formed and nebulous spiritual cricketing philosophy became more solid in my mind during the test match summer when England kept beating the odds. According to my theory, NZ are due a loss and England as due a big win. Today, hopefully, will be that day it happens.”

I think I’m with you. Form is massively overstated, especially in this format, and gets confused with what is simply results. Good form and bad form does exist, but every streak of good or bad results gets classified as form.

“Good morning from a rainy Manchester, Geoff,” writes Matt Hobbs. A great city, send it my best. “An element of irony to that run chase, in my opinion. England were criticised for retaining their batting order against Ireland and yet left themselves short of a finisher or two in the dying moments after shunting Ali and Livingstone up.

“Stokes will have to bowl/field his socks off if the gamble in bringing him back into the T20 side isn’t going to look more unnecessary than it already does. Is it time for Adil Rashid to shrug off indifferent form and shine? Let’s hope so!”

Ladka emails in. “G’day Geoff. Has Australia really fallen out of love with cricket? I know AFL is big but these crowds have been quite shocking. Resembled English county grounds. Hopefully Buttler and Hales can take the game away from the Kiwis.”

Well, they kinda did. And looking out the window at the Gabba tonight, sure, I can see a lot of those seats with their distinctive vomitorium colour scheme, but it’s a huge ground and a very solid crowd in tonight. I’ll see if we get the official numbers later.

Drawing massive home audiences to neutral group was never especially likely, unless the likes of Sri Lanka or India are playing with big diaspora fanbases. So, no concerns from me about this crowd. Some of the other games have had far smaller ones, but again, a Bangladesh-Zimbabwe match isn’t going to be the biggest drawcard in town.

So a good score for England, but they didn’t take advantage of the start that Buttler and Hales gave them. They lost 4 for 23 in those last few overs, and it took the pace out of the innings even as Buttler was doing his utmost to keep it up. His run out at the non-striker’s end was more than a little symbolic.

Still! 180 is 180, it’s a tall task and it will take a big performance from New Zealand to keep being the only unbeaten team in the group.

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