Prior to the downpour began, England's winter campaign became a disappointing affair. On a cool Christchurch evening, the team's batters were surprised by seam movement – “You don’t expect that in white-ball cricket, so when it does do a little bit it’s almost a shock,” stated Harry Brook. They were also stifled by the bowling of Mitchell Santner and Bracewell, stumbling to five wickets for 81 runs until first Curran seemed to save them, and then the rain definitively did.
Feeble Start for England
Only two batters managed over twenty runs, and the dismissal of Buttler for twenty-nine, the former captain turning into the fifth man to fall, marking a sluggish start to England’s innings before Curran’s forty-nine boosted their position.
“To have him back in the side, he’s a very valuable player to us now with bat, ball and in the field,” commented Brook. “For him to get us out of a bit of a hole and up to a respectable total was awesome. He’s a valuable player to have in the middle order, a left-hander as well – he’s going to be around for a while, I think.”
Brook’s Achievement Marred
Prior to the match, Harry Brook had been presented with a commemorative cap – similar to his regular one – to mark his half-century of games in this format, the white-ball captain becoming the 14th player from England to achieve this milestone. But, the highlight on his cap was the only high point of his evening, which included a unsuccessful toss and a similarly unfortunate dismissal, clean bowled off his pads just as he got into form after a awkward beginning.
Curran’s Fortunate Escapes
Any good fortune England had was eagerly seized by Sam Curran, who was helped by three remarkable escapes. At 14 runs when he skied a Duffy delivery toward the Christchurch air, from which precipitation had, fortunately, begun to come down. The ball came back freshly lubricated and promptly escaped the fielder's fingers.
After a brief interruption and seven deliveries later, the batsman, at 26 runs, hit the ball to point, where Tim Robinson did not have to move but still failed to handle it. Then, in the following over, he tried to paddle a Kyle Jamieson ball that was overpitched for that action, missed it completely, and was trapped on the leg.
There was little doubt about where the ball was heading, and the on-field umpire agreed, but by this stage Curran was the last recognised batter and the team had challenges to use. Upon one look at a video, the 27-year-old was halfway to the pavilion, gloves off, when it was determined that the ball had landed beyond leg stump and he was called back. He added another 19 runs off his final deliveries to push the team to 153/6, at which moment the weather returned to curtail the contest.
Squad Confidence Remains High
But, their inability to answer the questions posed by New Zealand’s attack does not mean England will be looking for any other options. “Obviously we didn’t get the start we wanted but the message is going to be just double down,” explained the batsman. “Our lineup is designed so that in tough spots, someone can always rescue us from difficulty.”
The Opposition's Positive Outlook
In spite of those two drops, the Kiwis will be encouraged by the way they dismantled the English theoretically strong batting lineup, their attackers taking a wicket apiece. “Not knowing how the game would have played out we can only judge on our performance and I guess we’re happy with where we’re at,” said Kyle Jamieson. “I think we made good improvements from when we played Australia a couple of weeks ago. It’s just growth really. As long as we continue along that path that’s a win for us, and that’s what success looks like.”
