England debutant Brydon Carse’s economical bowling helps the team get a low total to defend. England beat New Zealand 7 wickets in the 1st T20.
New Zealand made 139/9 in 20 overs which England chased down easily in 14 overs and scored 143/3 and won the match by 7 wickets.
Jos Butler after winning the toss told the visitors to bat first.
In the very first over, NZ batter Finn Allen hit 3 sixes to Mark Wood. but this couldn’t go much further and in the 5th over Carse got his wicket. Allen just scored 21 runs in 15 balls. Kiwi’s were struggling from the starting as they were unable to build any partnership and the wickets fell at regular intervals.
Glenn Phillips (41 runs) tried to manage the scoreboard but he didn’t get proper support from the other end. He hit 4 fours in his innings. Ish Sodhi (16 runs) provided some crucial runs at the end but it was enough to set a good target. Therefore in 20 overs they only managed to post 139 runs and lost 9 wickets.
Brydon Carse in his very first match of his career in the T20 bowled superbly and grabbed 3 important wickets with an economical spell where he spent only 23 runs in his 4 overs. Luke Wood also claimed 3 wickets. Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone get 1 wicket each.
Home team didn’t get a good start as they lost Jonny Bairstow in the first over. He just scored only 4 runs and Southee damages him. But this didn’t remain happy NZ bowlers as England batters showed their bazball approach again and start scoring runs with a high pace.
David Malan (54 runs) gave solid runs to his team and became the highest scorer for the match. In his innings he took 42 balls and hit 5 fours and 2 sixes. Harry Brook (43 runs) shows some destruction from his side which includes 2 fours and 3 sixes. While Livingstone (10 runs) lays the foundation of victory by hitting a six to Adam Milne. They chased down easily in 14 overs and scored 143 runs with the loss of 3 wickets.
Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Ish Sodhi get 1 wicket each.
The English crowd must be waiting to see Ben Stokes in blue jersey but they had to wait for the ODIs.
Brydon Carse, England, Player of the Match
“A great start to my T20 career, awesome to play in front of a home crowd and put in a good performance. I just tried to hit the top of the stumps and tonight it paid off. Sometimes it can be a bit two paced. Some balls skidded through and some balls stuck in, but it was a nice wicket. I had a lot of friends who came and supported me tonight. I have managed to keep my seat in the dressing room.”
Tim Southee, New Zealand Captain
“Not our best effort, but we got a couple of days to turn things around. Looking to assist the conditions, but we couldn’t do it today. Phillips has been phenomenal for us. He finds ways to score runs for us. He has been doing that for a long time.”
Jos Butler, England Captain
“It was really a good performance, delighted. I think Allen hit three sixes, but we came back strong after that, it was a brilliant effort from our bowlers. I thought Carse bowled with great skill. He stood up and took his chance. Malan is a class player, and he has been since a long period of time. He has shown great form in the 50 over format for us. Livingstone bowled brilliantly, can contribute with the bat, ball and in the field, gold dust in this format. Moeen and Rashid bowled really well too.”