New Zealand 226 for 8 (Ravindra 46, Overton 2-22) beat England 222 (Overton 68, Tickner 4-64, Duffy 3-56) by two wickets
New Zealand scrambled to a tense two-wicket victory in Wellington to seal a 3-0 sweep of the ODIs after England’s top-order was filleted once again. Jamie Overton slammed 68 off 62 from No. 8 to help England make a game of it but the armchair Ashes critics were given plenty more ammunition by another misfiring display before they hop across the Tasman.
It had appeared New Zealand would get the job done in routine fashion, as Daryl Mitchell anchored their chase of 223. But from 188 for 5 they slid to 196 for 8, with Mitchell the eighth man out for 44, edging Sam Curran behind. With more than 10 overs still to be bowled, however, there was time enough for Blair Tickner and Zak Foulkes to tick off the runs required in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand.
Tickner had earlier claimed his second consecutive four-wicket haul after new-ball pair Jacob Duffy and Foulkes had knocked over the England top five inside 10.1 overs.
New Zealand’s chase was given a solid start by a 78-run opening stand between Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. The run-out of Conway backing up – one of two such dismissals in the innings – triggered a mini-collapse, with three wickets falling in as many overs, but Mitchell once again provided the steady hand in another small chase, following up scores of 78 not out in Mount Maunganui and 56 not out in Hamilton.
Conway had replaced Kane Williamson, absent with a groin niggle, and endured some testing moments against Jofra Archer, who regularly touched 90mph/145kph during his opening spell. A checked drive for six over extra cover got him going, while Ravindra eased into gear with a series of boundaries off Brydon Carse. When Archer switched ends for the final powerplay over and saw it disappear for 24, New Zealand were 64 for 0 and coasting.
The stand was broken by a moment of fortune for England, with Overton again the catalyst as he attempted to field a drive from Ravindra only to see the ball deflect off his wrist, through his legs and into the non-striker’s stumps with Conway stranded. Ravindra was then bowled through the gate by Curran, before Overton ended Will Young’s unproductive series by having him caught behind off a steepling top edge.
Tom Latham, remarkably, was also run out when failing to get his bat back after Carse this time redirected a Mitchell drive into the stumps at the other end. Adil Rashid, having been held back until the 30th over, then struck with his second ball as Michael Bracewell holed out to deep midwicket with New Zealand still requiring 76.
Mitchell Santner struck two fours and two sixes in a breezy knock to bring victory in sight, but England kept chipping away. Santner holed out off Carse, Overton brought one back sharply to castle Nathan Smith, before Mitchell’s push at Curran left New Zealand having to scrap for the last few runs.
In a series billed in some quarters as an extension of England’s Ashes warm-ups – as many as seven of this XI could play the first Test in Perth in three weeks’ time – the batting suffered another malfunction. Having already conceded the series, there was to be no revival in fortunes, despite showing fight until the very end at Sky Stadium.
Inserted for the third game running, they plunged to 44 for 5 with none of the top four reaching double-figures. Two fifty stands – between Jos Buttler and Curran, then Overton and Carse – helped save face. Overton struck 10 fours and two sixes in his highest List A score, but the target for New Zealand still looked light.
England had actually been in a worse position in the first ODI when falling to 33 for 5, only for Harry Brook’s incendiary 135 to give them a similar score to bowl at. Here Brook was caught at second slip looking to defend as England were again found wanting in ideal conditions for seam and swing.
Foulkes continued his impressive maiden ODI series by striking with his fourth ball, Jamie Smith feathering a cut behind the ball after almost being bowled by an in-ducker – although it required DRS to detect the edge.
Ben Duckett heaved Duffy into the boundary boards for a six in the third over, but Foulkes was at it again in his next, pinning Joe Root with an inswinger. Duckett then toe-ended a swipe off Duffy to mid-on and when Brook nicked a Duffy outswinger, England were 31 for 4 inside the powerplay.
It meant that England set a world record for the fewest runs scored by a team’s top four batters (84) in an ODI series, where they batted at least three times.
Buttler was lucky to survive another peach from Duffy first ball, while Jacob Bethell almost ran himself out looking for a non-existent single. Bethell became the first England batter into double-figures, but an impetuous slash at the first ball outside the powerplay saw him off, courtesy a flying catch from Mitchell at slip.
With Duffy and Foulkes bowling unchanged through the first 14 overs, England had to retrench. Buttler then shifted through the gears against the change bowlers, as he and Curran brought up the fifty stand from 62 balls.
Tickner broke through, a combination of pad and inside edge taking the ball on to Curran’s stumps. He then bowled Buttler in more emphatic fashion, nipping a full delivery inside an expansive drive to topple off stump.
Overton had got off the mark with a pulled four, and his third scoring shot was a flat six that punched a hole in the low wall around the boundary. Carse joined the counterattack, hitting four towering sixes in 36 off 30 balls before top-edging a swipe at Tickner high into the covers. Archer managed a couple of boundaries before holing out to mid-on.
By then Overton was motoring, back-to-back thumps off Tickner helping to raise a run-a-ball half-century – his first in List A cricket, coming off the back of a career-best 46 in the first ODI. England’s last-wicket yielded 36 runs, but again the top-order deficiencies proved decisive.
