England slump to 74-run defeat in third T20 with New Zealand despite Jos Buttler’s best efforts as too many big-hitters suffer an off-day at Edgbaston in pursuit of 203 target
- England and New Zealand head for a tense series finale on Tuesday
- Kiwis posted 202 for five, with Finn Allen smashing 83 and Glenn Phillips 69
- England fell considerably short despite captain Jos Buttler’s 40 off 21 balls
England were as awful in Birmingham as they were dominant in Durham and Manchester, losing the third T20 against a motivated New Zealand by 74 runs to set up a tense series finale.
Challenged to make an imposing 203 for victory, Jos Buttler’s team hobbled to 128, with even Harry Brook – the man of the moment – falling short, skying leg-spinner Ish Sodhi to mid-on for eight.
Buttler himself managed 40 off 21 balls, but England were off the pace in almost every respect as the tourists closed the gap to 2–1 ahead of Tuesday’s last game at Trent Bridge.
Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick then admitted that the speculation about Brook’s potential selection for the 50-over World Cup squad might be playing on the minds of those in the provisional 15-man party. On this evidence, that group may include Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone.
‘There’s no doubt, when you have that element – noise outside the changing-room – you just start to question sometimes, especially if you are not playing well, of course you do,’ said Trescothick.
New Zealand kept their T20 series with England alive courtesy of a 74-run win at Edgbaston
Jos Buttler top-scored for England with 40 runs off 21 balls but they fell well short of target
Buttler hits out but was caught by Mitchell Santner as England’s chase of 203 faltered
‘You deal with these anxieties and problems on many occasions, and you know what to do. It’s up to the individuals, with our help as coaches, to get themselves into the right frame of mind.’
If there was any glimmer to emerge, it was that England know they are in a battle after strolling to two victories. Some may argue they are also closer to working out whom to omit from their World Cup squad to accommodate Brook.
Malan’s painful 11-ball two drained the life from the powerplay, and took his tally from the last two games to two runs from 15 deliveries. At this rate, his half-century at Durham may not be enough to save him.
For Livingstone – who bowled four overs for 55 and fell sixth ball for two – it was also a day to forget.
But he was hardly alone in struggling against an accurate New Zealand attack boosted by the return of the giant Kyle Jamieson.
Will Jacks again sparkled all too briefly, before Malan’s torture ended when he carved Tim Southee to deep point. Jonny Bairstow then pulled Sodhi’s first ball to deep midwicket to depart for 12 off 16.
Brook glanced his first ball for four, and was then wrongly given lbw to Sodhi after gloving a reverse-sweep. A review saved him, only for Brook to waste the reprieve by falling next delivery. Buttler miscued a heave off Mitchell Santner, and after that only Moeen Ali played with any freedom.
‘Credit to New Zealand,’ said Buttler. ‘They outplayed us. Chasing that kind of score we needed a fast start and a good powerplay, but we didn’t get any partnerships going.’
Dawid Malan made a painful two off 11 balls before being caught by Devon Conway
New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips makes a spectacular diving block to stop Malan scoring six runs
Harry Brook could only make eight amid the controversy over his World Cup squad omission
A dejected Jonny Bairstow walks off after being dismissed for just 12 during England’s chase
The New Zealanders’ total of 202 for five – their highest in the format against England – centred on powerful innings from Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips.
From 75 for two in the 10th over, they hammered 88 off 47 balls, with Allen hitting the first three balls of Adil Rashid’s final over for six.
He was eventually bowled by Luke Wood for 83 off 53, with six sixes, while Phillips was superbly yorked by Gus Atkinson in the final over for 69 off 34, with five.
England’s Atkinson, who collected four wickets on debut in Manchester on Friday, was again the pick of the attack, and England underlined their preference for pace yesterday by adding Durham’s Brydon Carse to their squad for the four 50-over matches that follow this series.
Rested for this game, Carse had taken four for 39 in six overs in the first two matches, and must now be considered a possibility for the World Cup. The squad may not be as set in stone as national selector Luke Wright recently suggested.
New Zealand opener Finn Allen smashed 83 off 53 balls to tee up their total of 202 for five
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