Key events
19th over: England 223-4 (Curran 7, Banton 19) Tom Banton slices Henry past short third for four, making this the highest T2oI score at Hagley Oval. He belts 14 from the next three deliveries as well, including a sweet six over midwicket. It’s all fun and games till some poor sucker looks at his bowling figures; Henry finishes with 4-0-45-0.
We’ve seen 23 fours and 10 sixes in this innings. And no bloody forward defensives.
18th over: England 205-4 (Curran 7, Banton 1) Sam Curran thumps the last ball over Jamieson’s spell down the ground for six. It only just cleared the leaping Daryl Mitchell on the boundary but, well, it did.
WICKET! England 198-4 (Salt c Bracewell b Jamieson 85)
They’re dropping like flies. Salt thumps Jamieson backs over his head and is taken by Bracewell just inside the rope. The catch itself was straightforward but he did superbly not to stand on – or topple over – the boundary sponge.
WICKET! England 197-3 (Brook c Robinson b Jamieson 78)
Tim Robinson blows that theory out of the water, taking a superb catch to get rid of Harry Brook. He pulled a slower ball from Jamieson to deep midwicket, where Robinson dived forward to take an excellently judged catch.
Brook is on his way after a riotously entertaining innings: 78 from 35 balls with six fours and five sixes.
17th over: England 196-2 (Salt 84, Brook 78) New Zealand have managed to slow England down in the last few minutes. After 10 balls without a boundary – an age in this game – Brook reaches to lift Duffy over extra cover.
“Is it just me or does Brook get dropped more than any other batter?” says Phil Harrison. “Can it be just a coincidence? Or is it because he simply hits it so hard?”
It feels that way, doesn’t it? I’d imagine it’s a combination of how hard he hits the ball and fielders tensing up because they are so desperate to get rid of him. A similar thing happened when England dropped Adam Gilchrist four times at Lord’s in 2001.
16th over: England 186-2 (Salt 80, Brook 73) Never mind the biggest total on this ground, England could break the record for the highest score both against and in New Zealand. Australia made 245 for 5 at Auckland in 2017-18.
They manage nine from Santner’s final over, with Salt pulling his 11th four, so that means they need 60 from 24 balls. Not that Salt and Brook will know, or care; they’re just trying to belt every ball for six.
15th over: England 177-2 (Salt 74, Brook 70) Brook picks a slower ball from Jamieson and uses his devastating handspeed to lash it over long-on. That’s gone out of the ground as well.
Later in the over Brook plays a most disappointing stroke, pulling a six that doesn’t go out of the ground. But seriously folks, this is about as entertaining as Monday mornings* get; Brook is 70 not out from 28 balls after dumping four more over mid-off to end the over.
* UK time.
Brook smashes 22-ball half-century
14th over: England 156-2 (Salt 74, Brook 50) Santner brings himself on in an attempt to restore some order. And he’s only gone and done it! Six from the over, none in boundaries. But Brook does work a single to bring up a coruscating fifty: 22 balls, 4×4, 3×6.
13th over: England 150-2 (Salt 70, Brook 48) Brook is dropped by Neesham off Henry, a relatively straightforward running chance at long on.
There’s never a good time to drop Harry Brook, but tonight looks particularly bad. Brook is timing the ball like a dream and has hared to 48 from 20 balls; he ends the over by launching a slower ball from Henry over midwicket and out of the ground. Goodness me.
12th over: England 138-2 (Salt 67, Brook 39) Mitch Santner throws the ball to Jimmy Neesham, who never did take up baking or something.
England show him no respect, not even a scintilla, striking four fours in a 20-run over. Three were hit by Brook, including a spectacular ping over cover from an attempted yorker. It may have been a free hit – Neesham bowled a front-foot no-ball – but the skill level was stratospheric.
Brook has raced 39 from 16 balls and is looking dangerously dangerous.
11th over: England 118-2 (Salt 62, Brook 25) Jamieson overpitches and is blazed over mid-off by Salt. He couldn’t make a fifth T20I century, could he? The rest of England’s entire male population have only scored four between them.
“In his post earlier, Simon spoke of it being a weeknight,” writes Robert Lewis. “That word always conjures up for me the vision of a tiny armoured man on a horse. Apropos of nothing at all…”
And there I was thinking of how weary Nick would have been at the end of the flippin’ murder Test in Zimbabwe.
10th over: England 110-2 (Salt 56, Brook 23) Time for the drinks break. It’s been a helluva start for England, who have a chance of making the highest score in a T20I on this ground. The current record is 208 for 5, made by New Zealand against Bangladesh in 2022.
Brook is not out! Nothing on UltraEdge as the ball passes bat and then glove, so Brook bats on.
England review! Brook tries to pull a leg-side delivery from Bracewell and is given out caught behind. He reviews straight away and there’s a long wait for UltraEdge. It’s either a wide or a wicket…
Another fifty for Phil Salt
9.1 overs: England 101-2 (Salt 50, Brook 21) Salt clips Bracewell for two to reach a 33-ball fifty, his seventh in T20 internationals to go with those four hundreds.
9th over: England 99-2 (Salt 49, Brook 21) Brook launches his opposite number Santner onto the roof at wide long-on, an outrageous stroke played with a flamingo flourish at the end. His trusty rollover ramp brings four more next ball – and then he cuffs an even bigger six over midwicket when Santner drops short. “Harry Brook has entered the chat!” chirps somebody in the commentary box.
Brook was 3 not out from 3 balls; he now has 21 from 7.
8th over: England 80-2 (Salt 48, Brook 3) A quieter second over from Bracewell: no wickets but no boundaries either.
7th over: England 75-2 (Salt 46, Brook 0) The seventh over is Santner time. He starts pretty economically, conceding seven runs, with one boundary through backward point for Salt. He’s off on one again: 46 not out from 27 balls.
I’m not sure us England fans really how lucky we are to have Phil Salt. His T20I record is outrageous: average 39, strike rate 169. And in the last two years those figures are 48 and 175.
6th over: England 68-2 (Salt 39, Brook 0) That was a fun innings from Bethell, 24 from 12 balls.
Since you asked, it should be Ollie Pope at Perth. You’re welcome.
WICKET! England 68-2 (Bethell c Neesham b Bracewell 24)
Mitch Santner gambles by introducing the spin of Michael Bracewell for the last over of the Powerplay. It works, sort of: Bracewell concedes 21 from the over but picks up the dangerous Jacob Bethell with his last ball.
Bethell hit consecutive sixes down the ground and was looking for a third when he dragged to mid-on. It was nicely bowled by Bracewell, wider and slower, and Bethell shouted “oh no!” the moment he made contact.
5th over: England 47-1 (Salt 31, Bethell 12) Bethell tries to pull Duffy, is beaten for pace and top-edges the ball precisely 500 miles in the air. The ball swirls horribly and is dropped by the keeper Tim Seifert, who ran too far and had to reach back in an attempt to take the catch. All he could do was punch the ball onto the side of his face.
Bethell, who hit his first boundary before being dropped, makes room outside leg stump to muscle his second over mid-on. Fine shot.
4th over: England 37-1 (Salt 30, Bethell 4) Bethell almost wipes out the square-leg umpire with a pull shot off the new bowler Kyle Jamieson. The umpire saw it late – there’s a low evening sun – but managed to save face, and his face, by ducking at the last minute. “That’s one way to get the heart rate up!” says Frankie Mackay, the former White Fern, on commentary.
After a promising start – five from five balls – Jamieson strays onto Salt’s pads and is put away for four.
3rd over: England 28-1 (Salt 23, Bethell 1) Nothing much to report in Henry’s second over, four runs from it.
2nd over: England 24-1 (Salt 20, Bethell 0) Duffy dug that wicket ball in short, which meant it hit high on the bat as Buttler came charging at him. Nicely bowled if he meant it.
WICKET! England 24-1 (Buttler c Santner b Duffy 4)
This Hagley Oval pitch looks better for batting than on Saturday. Salt climbs into a wide ball from Jacob Duffy, blasting it square on the off side for four, then top-edges a pull over the keeper’s head for another boundary.
After getting off the mark with a sizzling drive over cover for four, Buttler charges Duffy and clunks the ball high to Santner at mid-off. He has to wait near the boundary edge while they check for a no-ball. It’s very tight, and the angles aren’t great, but the third umpire decides it’s a fair delivery and Buttler is on his way.
1st over: England 11-0 (Salt 11, Buttler 0) Phil Salt sets the agenda by clouting Henry’s second ball over midwicket for six. I mean, why wouldn’t you? A drag behind square brings four more off the next ball. Good start for England.
And… action
The weather is lovely at the moment, as Simon said, and the brilliant Matt Henry is about to open the bowling.
Simon Burnton
Evening/morning/whatever. Tonight might be a near-replay of Saturday – same teams, same result at the toss, same decision made, equally lovely early evening and an equally dismal forecast for later. Looks like the rain might hold off until 11pm or so, allowing us to get a full game in, but you never know. Definitely a smaller crowd, what with it being a weeknight and everything, but Hagley Oval is looking resplendent in the early evening sun and with my optimistic hat as ever lodged in place it’s hard not to be a bit gleeful at what we’ve got in store.
Team news
Both sides are unchanged. Next!
New Zealand Seifert (wk), Robinson, Ravindra, Chapman, Mitchell, Bracewell, Neesham, Santner (c), Jamieson, Henry, Duffy.
England Salt, Buttler (wk), Bethell, Brook (c), Banton, S Curran, Cox, Carse, Dawson, Rashid, L Wood.
New Zealand win the toss and bowl
It worked pretty well on Saturday, so whoever won the toss was always going to bowl first.
Erm, about that Christchurch weather forecast
Turns out opinions vary, and we may be looking at another rain-ruined game. It’s the height of spring in New Zealand, what did you expect man!
Sam Curran’s intelligent unbeaten 49 was the main positive for England in the first game. “He’s going to be around for a while, I think,” said his captain Harry Brook after the game.
Preamble
Hello, hello and welcome to live, over-by-over coverage of the second T20 international between New Zealand and England in Christchurch. The first match on Saturday was abandoned because it’s the height of spring in New Zealand, what did you bloody expect man rain, but the forecast is better tonight and we should get a full game.
The match starts at 7.15pm local time, 7.15am BST, and we’ll have the toss and team news around half an hour before that. But first, coffee.
