During the 33rd match of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 between England and New Zealand in Brisbane, England beat New Zealand by 20 runs to keep their qualification chances alive. Barring a major fielding lapse, a must-win situation brought the best out of the English cricketers across departments.
Advertisement
Chasing a 180-run target, New Zealand were hurt devastatingly by captain Kane Williamson scoring 40 (40) with the help of three fours. Part of a key 91-run third-wicket partnership alongside batter Glenn Phillips (62), Williamson batting at a strike rate of 100 significantly dented the progress made by his batting partner.
Phillips, who hit four fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 172.22, tried hard to seal the chase but lack of support from the other end resulted in a lot of pressure mounting on just one player.
A victory has strengthened England’s second position on Group 1 points table resulting in New Zealand and Australia also clashing at five points on the back of two wins, one loss and one rain-abandoned match. However, major difference in the NRR (Net Run Rate) differentiates New Zealand, England and Australia on the table.
Michael Vaughan all praises for S Curran for bowling economical spell in must-win Super 12 match
Former England captain Michael Vaughan took to social media platform Twitter to wholeheartedly praise their death-overs bowling led by all-rounder Sam Curran. Having made his way into the Playing XI ahead of the likes of David Willey and Tymal Mills for deserving reasons, Curran has once again justified both his spot and role.
Curran, 24, was the pick of the English bowlers with his figures of 4-0-26-2 on the given day. Introduced into the attack as a second-change bowler in the powerplay, Curran sent New Zealand opening batter Finn Allen (16) back to the pavilion in return for just a couple of runs under fielding restrictions.
Bowling the all-important 18th over, Curran picked the all-important wicket of Phillips to confirm the absence a last-minute anticlimax by an in-form batter. The left-arm bowler’s exceptional form in the slog overs can be observed from the fact that he has given away 128 runs in 100 balls at an economy rate of 7.68 whilst also picking 12 wickets in the process this year.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, England captain Jos Buttler (73) and opening partner Alex Hales (52) scored individual half-centuries to lay a solid foundation for the others to follow earlier in the evening.
