England were hugely impressive as they became the first side to reach the semi-finals with an emphatic 87-run win over New Zealand
Well played England. They were good with the bat and electric with the ball. They have reached the semi-finals, and on Saturday they have a bonus ball: the chance to eliminate Australia. Thanks for your company, goodnight.
Related: Jake Ball and England pick New Zealand apart and reach semi-finals
Related: Eoin Morgan praises ‘outstanding’ England bowlers after New Zealand win
Southee hoicks Plunkett to deep midwicket, where Roy takes an easy catch to complete a quite brilliant performance from England.
Plunkett gets his third wicket of the game, and his sixth of the tournament, when Milne screws a big shot to mid-on. He’s also now the joint leading wicket-taker in ODIs this year with Rashid Khan.
44th over: New Zealand 223-8 (Milne 9, Southee 1) Wood replaces Rashid. He has bowled two superb spells, the first with the new ball to set the tone and the second with the old ball to reset it by dismissing the dominant Kane Williamson. Eight from the over.
43rd over: New Zealand 215-8 (Milne 8, Southee 0) Plunkett has taken 25 ODI wickets this year, more than any other quick bowler in world cricket.
Plunkett gets his second, with Anderson holing out to Hales at deep square leg. This match was tight for so long but England have run away with it in the final quarter.
42nd over: New Zealand 208-7 (Anderson 9, Milne 2) The bowler Rashid drops a relatively straightforward catch offered by Milne. No matter, he has had a very good return to the side and ends with two for 47.
Santner is stumped off a wide. He charged Rashid, who slipped a full toss down the leg side, and the unsighted Buttler skipped across to make a difficult stumping look easy. That’s brilliant.
41st over: New Zealand 206-6 (Anderson 8, Santner 3) Anderson blasts Stokes past mid-off for four, a very good stroke but nowhere near enough. Santner then thwacks towards long-on, with the ball falling just short of Moeen. Talking of which...
“I said earlier that it was the first time England had picked two spinners for an ODI at Cardiff,” says Tim de Lisle. “Turns out it wasn’t.”
40th over: New Zealand 198-6 (Anderson 3, Santner 2) If England win this they will qualify for the semi-finals, but that doesn’t mean Saturday’s game against Australia would be a dead rubber. When you have the chance to put Australia out of a tournament, even if you have qualified yourself, you should do so. Just ask Herschelle Gibbs.
39th over: New Zealand 196-6 (Anderson 2, Santner 1) Stokes returns to the attack and hustles through a cheap over. New Zealand are surely done. As well as England have played, it turned out to be a good toss to lose because there was definitely more life for the bowlers in the second innings.
“Broom out giving it the long handle?” sniffs Phil Sawyer. “I’ll get my coat.”
38th over: New Zealand 191-6 (Anderson 1, Santner 0) New Zealand need 117 from 12 overs. Even Old England would struggle to lose this.
With a name like Broom, he just had to get out sweeping. He planted his front leg to Rashid, missed and was given out LBW by Paul Reiffel. There was a tactical review, as he’s the last spectacular batsman, but the point of contact with the off stump was umpire’s call and Broom has gone.
37th over: New Zealand 191-5 (Broom 9, Anderson 0) The new batsman is Corey Anderson, who once scored an ODI century off 36 balls. New Zealand need some bish-bosh from him here.
Liam Plunkett gets the wicket his performance deserves. The ball after driving a sweet six over long-on, Neesham hoicks a short ball straight to Hales at deep midwicket. England have seven toes in the semi-final.
36th over: New Zealand 181-4 (Broom 7, Neesham 10) Three from Rashid’s over, which means the required rate is now above nine an over. Broom has seven from 15 balls, which isn’t good enough at this stage.
Rashid comes on in place of Ball, a calculated risk from Eoin Morgan. The batsmen are more likely to go after Rashid and therefore more likely to get out. Neesham survives a big appeal for LBW when he misses a reverse sweep - but Eoin Morgan has decided to review it. I think it pitched outside leg. Indeed it did: not out.
35th over: New Zealand 178-4 (Broom 7, Neesham 7) That’s a cracking shot from Neesham, who swings Plunkett over mid-on for a one-bounce four. A decent over for New Zealand, seven from it.
34th over: New Zealand 171-4 (Broom 6, Neesham 1) JakeBall has had a fine day, and figures of 8-2-31-2 don’t flatter him.
Gone! Taylor, who was getting bogged down, drags Ball straight Root at short midwicket. England have been terrific either side of Williamson’s wicket, wresting back control of the match.
33rd over: New Zealand 166-3 (Taylor 38, Broom 3) Plunkett replaces Wood at the Uneven Bounce End. Taylor is dropped by Roy at gully, an almost impossible low chance at full stretch, and there are five singles from the over. Broom can give the ball a whack, but his record against the better teams is not the best.
32nd over: New Zealand 161-3 (Taylor 35, Broom 1) Taylor is fortunate not to drag Ball onto his stumps, with the ball missing leg by approximately 0.00000001 millimetres. Later in the over he is beaten by a superb delivery that straightens off the pitch. With Williamson gone, batting looks extremely difficult again. New Zealand need 150 from 18 overs.
31st over: New Zealand 158-3 (Taylor 33, Broom 0) That really was a jaffa from Wood. I’m not sure there was anything Williamson could have done about it. He was unhappy with the pitch when he was out, looking down on it with disgust. There has been a lot of uneven bounce from that end, and another one hits the new batsman Broom high on the bat.
Dear Mark Wood, you are a beauty, love Rob. This is the wicket England desperately needed. He got one to burst from a length at Williamson, who had shaped to glide to third man and could only glove it through to the tumbling Buttler. Williamson played a masterful innings of 87 from 98 balls.
30th over: New Zealand 156-2 (Williamson 85, Taylor 33) Jake Ball replaces Rashid. Williamson is in complete control at the moment; he could probably make the wind stop if he wanted. Saying which, he misses a pull at a ball that keeps low. Three from the over. That means New Zealand need 155 from the last 20.
29th over: New Zealand 153-2 (Williamson 83, Taylor 32) Wood hasn’t been able to take a wicket but he has at least slowed New Zealand down with some good bowling. Two from the second over of his spell.
28th over: New Zealand 151-2 (Williamson 82, Taylor 31) An excellent googly from Rashid almost sneaks through Taylor, who just gets enough bat on ball to drag it to safety. Four singles from the over. Rashid is bowling nicely, even if figures of 6-0-35-0 suggest otherwise.
27th over: New Zealand 147-2 (Williamson 80, Taylor 29) Wood comes into the attack, with England needing a wicket. Williamson chips him down the ground for four, another high-class stroke. He has paced this innings perfectly: he scored 36 from the first 57 balls, when batting was extremely tough, and has since scored 44 from 30. Wood’s last delivery bursts from a length at Taylor, who loops it just short of the man at cover. As Nasser Hussain points out on Sky, all the uneven bounce has come from that end.
26th over: New Zealand 140-2 (Williamson 74, Taylor 28) Taylor swaggers down the track to clip Rashid handsomely over mid-on for four. That takes the pressure off for the rest of the over, and they will be happy enough with two additional singles. New Zealand need 171 from 24 overs and are probably favourites. Williamson has been immense.
25th over: New Zealand 134-2 (Williamson 73, Taylor 23) Williamson flashes a short ball from Stokes through backward square leg, another terrific stroke. After surviving an LBW appeal - it was going down - he completes the over by pinging a wide full toss to the extra-cover boundary. This is starting to look ominous for England.
24th over: New Zealand 123-2 (Williamson 65, Taylor 22) Williamson clips Rashid beautifully through midwicket for four and then drives two more over mid-on. The ball plugged on the outfield, which saved a boundary. New Zealand are having their best spell of the innings, with 45 from the last six overs.
23rd over: New Zealand 114-2 (Williamson 57, Taylor 21) Williamson hoicks Stokes over square-leg for a one-bounce four, not far away from Jason Roy on the boundary, and inside-edges the next ball past the stumps. Williamson’s batting is normally so pristine but there have been quite a few near misses today. Despite their struggles, New Zealand are still well in this game. Taylor flashes a back cut for four more in an over that brings 13.
“Earlier on there was a discussion as to what constitutes a good OBOer (the Naylor Conundrum) but I think you’ve inadvertently hit on the answer,” says David Hopkins. “A good OBO contributor should have the comfort of knowing how good we are/are not. I speak from experience, having once been chosen as the biggest loser from among that day’s contributors.”
22nd over: New Zealand 101-2 (Williamson 51, Taylor 16) Taylor goes after Rashid, swiping a boundary just past the leaping Ball at mid-on. That was close - and so was the next delivery, which hit the pad to prompt a biggish appeal for LBW that was rejected by Paul Reiffel. It would have hit the stumps but it pitched just outside leg and England rightly chose not to review. New Zealand need 208 from 28 overs.
“The trouble with a Special Relationship,” says Phil Sawyer, “is that it sounds like the kind of arrangement that ends up with one of the parties involved being put on a register.”
21st over: New Zealand 96-2 (Williamson 50, Taylor 11) The D/L score at this stage is 115, so England have a decent advantage. Stokes returns in place of Plunkett, who bowled a very good spell of 5-0-26-0. Williamson completes a determined half-century from 66 balls; New Zealand have some lusty hitters who can bat around him.
20th over: New Zealand 93-2 (Williamson 49, Taylor 9) Rashid’s mid-innings wickets have been so important to England in the last two years. Even figures of two for 60 would probably win this game. There’s a break in play when the boundary rope is blown infield, the most notable event of an over that yields five.
“If you know how good you are, you don’t worry about dress sense, because anything you wear will do the job if you have enough confidence,” says John Starbuck. “This is something that can come with age, which is why old(er) blokes can wear anything they want and don’t give a toss about it.”
19th over: New Zealand 88-2 (Williamson 46, Taylor 7) Williamson ducks under a short one from Plunkett and unwittingly steers it for four off the back of the bat. Two balls later he tries to whip once across the line and misses. This has been a struggle for New Zealand, and they’ve done well to stay in the game.
“The estimable folks at Guerilla Cricket can be listened to all over the world on TuneIn Radio for IOs and Android or at their website at guerillacricket.com,” says Chris Marti.
18th over: New Zealand 78-2 (Williamson 36, Taylor 7) It’s time for Adil Rashid to have a bowl. Williamson, on the run, chips just over the leaping Rashid for a single, one of five from the over. A decent start from Rashid.
17th over: New Zealand 73-2 (Williamson 34, Taylor 4) The Sky commentators make the point that, in these conditions, New Zealand will surely have to go after Moeen and Rashid. I never thought I’d type this, but it’s a shame England don’t have a fifth right-arm fast-medium bowler.
“Audio coverage for our American friend,” says Paul Smith, “in the interests of rebuilding that special relationship!”
16th over: New Zealand 69-2 (Williamson 33, Taylor 1) Taylor gets off the mark from his eighth delivery. This is a difficult period for New Zealand, with variation both in the bowling of Stokes and Plunkett - lots of cutters and cross-seam deliveries - and the behaviour of the pitch.
“The Talksport app has all the games in the US - works great,” says
Talksport’s
Ed Perrin.
15th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Williamson 30, Taylor 0) Another vicious delivery from Plunkett spits from a length and smacks into the bottom of Taylor’s grille. “Something is happening out there,” says Mike Atherton, going all Twin Peaks for a moment. He’s right, though: at the moment this is a pretty Lynchian pitch, with some seriously disconcerting bounce.
“I like the concept of having ‘the security of knowing how good you are’,” says Tom van der Gucht. “Sadly the concept swings both ways and I’ve spent my life living under the cloud of knowing precisely how good I am at most things - which happens to be not very good whatsoever - and my knowledge of this hasn’t provided much security, If I’m perfectly honest. In fact, sometimes a bit of undeserved bravado would have been much appreciated when facing up to situations where my awareness of my shortcomings held me back, such as when trying to select clothes which are flattering and bordering on fashionable.”
14.2 overs: New Zealand 63-2 (Williamson 29, Taylor 0) Plunkett rams a terrific bouncer into the side of Williamson’s helmet. He seems unruffled, because he is unruffled, because he’s Kane Williamson. England have extracted some malevolent bounce from this pitch. The umpires decide to take drinks while Williamson changes his helmet.
“I’m a cricket fan in Connecticut, USA,” says the singular Sonja Beason. “Where can I get audio coverage of the ICC games?”
14th over: New Zealand 63-2 (Williamson 29, Taylor 0) The new batsman is Ross Taylor. Meanwhile, this week’s Spin has arrived. It’s written by Andy Bull, so it has a 99.94 per cent chance of being a cracker.
Related: Bowlers suffer in ever greater numbers for their love of the game | Andy Bull
This is a huge wicket. Guptill chases a full, wide delivery from Stokes and edges it straight to Root in that fifth-slip position. You can put that wicket down to force of personality: the same delivery from any other bowler would have gone for runs.
13th over: New Zealand 58-1 (Guptill 23, Williamson 28) An expensive and eventful over from Plunkett - 11 from it. Williamson takes on Root at fifth slip, gliding a single just wide of him, and then a superb bouncer from Plunkett roars through Guptill and over Buttler for four byes.
12th over: New Zealand 47-1 (Guptill 23, Williamson 21) England have got more bounce and sideways movement than New Zealand, which suggests the pitch was juiced up by the rain. Ben Stokes is coming on in place of Mark Wood. The required rate is already pushing seven, though that won’t disturb Williamson’s equilibrium. He has what my colleague Daniel Harris calls the security of knowing how good you are. What a lovely feeling that must be. He needs that security because he isn’t quite right at the moment, and he’s beaten pushing outside off stump. That fielder at fifth slip has been a big success for England.
“RE: Roy’s comment in over three,” says Nick Clark. “It’s typically very hard to start immediately after rain has stopped as you give time for the water to soak into the ground. The guidance to league umpires is that if there any standing water then you can’t play. The whole unfit-to-play rules were massively tightened up the year before last as an umpire got sued by a player who damaged his knee playing after the umpires said it was fit to play.”
11th over: New Zealand 44-1 (Guptill 22, Williamson 19) Liam Plunkett, England’s best ODI bowler this year, replaces Jake Ball (5-2-20-1). A quiet first over goes for four, one of them a needless overthrow.
10th over: New Zealand 40-1 (Guptill 19, Williamson 18) “‘You can’t imagine the likes of Ian Austin getting buffeted about’ says Richard O’Hagan, and he’s correct,” says Phil Sawyer. “The only buffet Lanky legend Bully cared about was the one he fought his way to the front of the queue of, and any resulting wind was definitely someone else’s problem.”
9th over: New Zealand 39-1 (Guptill 18, Williamson 18) Guptill clatters Ball through the covers for four more. He is a superb one-day opener who deals in huge scores: 237 in a World Cup quarter-final, 189 v England a few years ago, some others. Another good over for New Zealand - nine from it, with Williamson pushing the last delivery back down the ground for four.
8th over: New Zealand 30-1 (Guptill 13, Williamson 14) The wind is so strong that almost all of the players are shivering and frowning. Mark Wood has a big dumb smile on his face. He’s such an infectious character. He concedes his first boundary from the fifth ball of his fourth over, with Williamson chipping carefully wide of Hales at midwicket. New Zealand are into their work now - 12 runs from the first six overs, 18 from the last two.
“Is the Stephen Fleming that complained about the slow over rate the former Kiwi captain?” says Matt Emerson. “What, this one...?”
7th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Guptill 12, Williamson 6) Guptill gets the first boundary of the innings, timing Ball classily down the ground, and then slaps the second past backward point. Ball responds by ripping a great delivery back through the gate and over the top of the stumps.
6th over: New Zealand 12-1 (Guptill 2, Williamson 6) Williamson takes a tight single to mid-off, where Plunkett picks up smoothly and throws just wide of the stumps. It would have been extremely tight with a direct hit. Guptill is then beaten, pushing outside off stump. New Zealand can’t get going at all, and Wood’s over concludes with another play and miss, this time from Williamson.
“The strong wind - and Jake Ball’s problems with it - proves that there is still a place for the yeoman cricketer in this day and age,” says Richard O’Hagan. “Wafer-thin bowlers such as Ball might be blown off course, but you can’t imagine the likes of Ian Austin getting buffeted about.”
5th over: New Zealand 10-1 (Guptill 2, Williamson 5) Sky’s pitch map shows how good Ball’s length has been so far - “dare I say it, the Shaun Pollock length” chirps Mike Atherton to his co-commentator, Shaun Pollock. It certainly beats the Jackson Pollock pitch map of previous matches. He concedes his first run from his 18th delivery - and that’s only because of a misfield from Morgan at backward point. New Zealand need 301 from 45 overs.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t buy into this notion that the Aussies have been suffering especially from the rain,” says Geoff Wignall. “Yes, they’ve been the side most affected by it; but in all likelihood it’s cost them a point and gained them a point, so they’ve little cause to feel hard done by.”
4th over: New Zealand 8-1 (Guptill 2, Williamson 4) Williamson forces Wood classily through the covers for three. He has a very simple plan: to bat 48 overs for 140 not out and win the match. It is so windy in Cardiff and that is making for a slightly strange atmosphere, almost like this is practice until the wind calms down. England are getting enough movement to trouble New Zealand, however, and Wood ends a good over by beating Williamson on the inside.
3rd over: New Zealand 4-1 (Guptill 1, Williamson 1) After consultation with Ian Copestake, England have decided that the ball won’t swing, so instead they are hitting just back of a length. That makes sense, especially with the short straight boundaries, and for the time being New Zealand are unable to do much in the way of run-scoring.
“The rain stopped about 15 minutes before play resumed,” says Roy Allen. “The sun had been shining for ten minutes at least before they came back on. A little urgency from the ground staff and umpires wouldn’t go amiss. Cricket is hopeless sometimes.”
2nd over: New Zealand 3-1 (Guptill 1, Williamson 1) Mark Wood shares the new ball, and beats Williamson with a fine delivery just outside off stump. There could barely be a greater contrast between the batting styles of Ronchi and Williamson, the man who replaced him, so that wicket has changed the mood of these first few overs.
“The idea of a knockout match for the second fiercest rivalry in cricket (Notts vs Derbys, since you ask) is very appetising,” says Lee Smith, “but should it be YJB who has a constant craving for runs or will the selector ensure that TMS has Roy on my radio.”
1st over: New Zealand 1-1 (Guptill 0, Williamson 0) England have a bespoke field for Williamson, with a man at fifth slip.Williamson loves to manoeuvre the ball to third man. Ball has to pull up twice in his run-up because of the wind but eventually completes a wicket maiden. That’s a nice confidence boost for Ball, who has gone for 80+ in two of his last three ODIs.
“Since the Brexit decision I notice that balls have stopped swinging,” says Ian Copestake. “Blame Brussels now you twerps.”
Gone! Luke Ronchi goes first ball to a fine delivery from Jake Ball that moves back through the gate to hit the top of middle stump. That’s a good wicket because Ronchi is a dangerous slogger.
Play will resume at 3.15pm, aka now.
The covers are coming off, the sun is out, we’ll hopefully have a restart time soon.
Poor over rate again. Not sure why it is taking so long to bowl 50 overs but it is becoming a trend not an exception which is a concern!
“Bit of rain up here in Tonypandy but blowing a gale so who knows where it will go.,” says Chris Evans. “310 doesn’t seem enough to me, Glamorgan have been having great games with each team getting 335. The Sophia pitch can be a bit slow so I think Rashid and Ali will be key. 20-0-80-3 would be an exceptional return. Otherwise we need to knock the top 4 over with the new ball and then hang on. If NZ bat 50 overs they’ll win.”
Those short straight boundaries worry me. Early wickets are very important, for all kinds of reasons. I’d have Stokes ready to come on first change, maybe as early as the fifth/sixth over.
Australia in a knockout match on Saturday. Can you imagine?
It’s raining in Cardiff. The old man isn’t snoring, though, so hopefully it won’t be too long a delay.
Hello folks, Rob here. The most frustrating thing about modern sport is the lack of jeopardy. The demands of TV mean that teams generally get umpteen chances to fail; at the last World Cup dear old England were not eliminated until their fourth defeat. But there is jeopardy galore (coincidentally the name of my teenage guitar band) in the Champions Trophy, due to a combination of the format and the weather. Australia could even be eliminated without being defeated. The losers of today’s game won’t be out of the competition, but they will have a disconcertingly clear view from the precipice.
If England win, they are through to the semi-finals with a match to spare and their world remains a happy place; if they lose, they will play Australia in a knockout match on Squeaky Bum Saturday. The margins between success and failure, hubris and nemesis, MBEs and P45s, are gossamer thin. For lovers of the England cricket team and jeopardy in elite sport, the next few hours will be an exquisite torment.
It’s a sign of how much England have improved that a total of 310 in 50 overs now feels faintly disappointing. Hales, Root and Stokes each played half a great innings, but Buttler made up for that by steaming along at a strike rate all his own, even though he wasn’t at his best. The bowlers, especially Southee, did well in the face of short boundaries, relentless winds and niggling rain; credit to the umpires too, for playing on regardless. If New Zealand fall short of 311, England are through to the semi-finals, helped by the rain elsewhere that has singled Australia out for special pain.
Thanks for reading and for taking part in a lively selection meeting, which decided, albeit narrowly, that Jason Roy needs a break and Jonny Bairstow should open the innings at Edgbaston on Saturday.
England are bowled out for 310 as Jake Ball fends his first ball to backward square and Southee finishes a fine spell with two wickets in two balls. Buttler, who could have added another ten, is left high and dry on 61 off 48. But England will be happy-ish with 310, which is the average score for the side batting first at Cardiff in recent one-dayers.
A golden duck for Mark Wood, chopping to short extra. England are 310-9 and Buttler is stranded at the other end with four balls left.
49th over: England 309-8 (Buttler 60, Wood 0) Plunkett brings up the 300 with a pull for six. That’s England’s 23rd score of 300 since the last World Cup; the next-best are South Africa with 13. The sixth fifty of this innings took only 31 balls as Buttler showed a cool head between the stumbles, and Rashid and Plunkett chipped in. Game back on.
Plunkett steps away, slogs and sacrifices himself. He’s done his job: England are 309-8.
48th over: England 294-7 (Buttler 53, Plunkett 9) Trent Boult’s final over goes for only three singles, which is quite an achievement.
47th over: England 291-7 (Buttler 52, Plunkett 7) A shovel-pull for four from Plunkett, and another tennis shot from Buttler, this time for six over mid-off. If sport is a language, he is a genius at coining new words. He goes to fifty off only 41 balls.
And our latest armchair selector is Richard Thomson. “In response to Phil Sawyer (38th over), you never can tell when a wrecking ball like Roy will be too far gone. He can hit the ball here, there and everywhere. I’m making believe that a hard bargain will be arrived at.”
46th over: England 278-7 (Buttler 46, Plunkett 1) Buttler is single-handedly keeping England on course for 310. He has 46 off only 38 balls, despite not being in great rhythm.
Buttler at his best: not so much a ramp shot, as a flap over the keeper and up on to the camera platform. Light as the breeze.
45th over: England 268-7 (Buttler 36, Plunkett 1) The bowling from one end has been persistently short, to make the batsmen play square to the long boundaries. That’s fine by Buttler, who accepts the invitation with a glorious tennis shot to the rope at midwicket.
A tweet arrives from Alistair Connor. “You realise you jinxed England by calling them ‘strong and stable’, eh? Not to draw any analogies but the wheels are coming off.” Well, I was hoping those words now came with built-in irony.
The New Zealanders think they may have got Buttler caught behind, but they haven’t.
44th over: England 260-7 (Buttler 30, Plunkett 0) Better from England, as Rashid comes to the party with a lovely late dab for four off his fellow spinner, but then worse again as he’s beaten by a wily change of pace.
An email from Peter Salmon. “I can’t help feeling that the Roy/Bairstow debate playing out on this OBO is what it must look like in Angus Fraser’s brain at 3am... Interspersed with his 5/66 against the West Indies at Lords in 1995.”
Straight it is, and Rashid’s buzzy cameo is over. That’s 260-7.
Rashid is given out lbw, and it looks fairly straight...
43rd over: England 250-6 (Buttler 28, Rashid 4) A more fruitful over for England, if not a more convincing one: the only four came off Buttler’s top edge and his helmet. But he has 28 off 25, and he hasn’t really got going yet.
“A great OBOer,” muses Richard O’Hagan. “Isn’t the answer simply ‘Rob Smyth’?” In my book, it is.
42nd over: England 240-6 (Buttler 20, Rashid 2) Santner, bowling super-slowly, concedes only four. New Zealand would be favourites now even if they didn’t have the weather on their side.
41st over: England 236-6 (Buttler 17, Rashid 2) It was hit out or get out for Moeen, and he did both. Adil Rashid, who may have been recalled partly for his batting, starts positively. Fifteen off the over, but another wicket to keep England stuttering.
Moeen flicks a six, then flicks a chance to short fine leg, which is beautifully grabbed by Trent Boult. England are 230-6 and threatening to blow it.
40th over: England 221-5 (Buttler 17, Moeen 4) Boult is back, and England continue to collect singles. This is a trickle when they need a flood. Come on Mo.
39th over: England 217-5 (Buttler 15, Moeen 2) Anderson keeps the lid on the pot; he has 2-44 off eight overs.
On email, Phil Sawyer has a word of warning. “Those crying out for change should be careful what they wish for. Before telling Jason Roy it’s over, we should all remember that constant chopping and changing of the line-up was exactly what sent England supporters running scared back in the bad old days of selection. Stability in the team is something we only experienced in dreams back then.” Yes, but it’s possible to swing too far the other way.
38th over: England 212-5 (Buttler 11, Moeen 1) Kane Williamson has managed his attack, and the wind, with great skill. Now the question is whether he can stop Jos Buttler making a quick fifty.
Meanwhile, at the email end, Stephen Brown comes back on. “I have another idea (not always this full of them). Why not go full ruthless and (assuming the Aus game is a practice match) rest Hales and give Roy and Bairstow a shoot-out at the top of the order? The problem with giving Roy the chance to play himself back in to form without Bairstow having some game time, is that if Roy is dire again then you throw YJB into the semis with no prep time. And I am vehemently anti-that.
That’s the scalp New Zealand wanted. Stokes plays an upper cut, not badly, but not high enough to clear third man. England are 210-5 and wobbling a bit.
37th over: England 207-4 (Stokes 48, Buttler 8) Milne continues, and Buttler flicks a couple of twos into the leg side with those hockey wrists of his.
An email from Rob Peterson. “Afternoon Tim, from sunny (well, dark, but it was sunny earlier) Bali. One point that seems to have been missed in this Roy/Bairstow discussion is that it might do Roy a lot of good to be left out at this point. He must be aware that he’s not worth his place in this form, which is a difficult position to be in. At some stage, keeping him in crosses the line from consistency of selection to downright embarrassing, and we’re surely fast approaching that moment.” Yes.
36th over: England 202-4 (Stokes 47, Buttler 4) Back to spin as Santner returns. He’s a brave bowler, willing to flight the ball, even in the face of these short boundaries. “Good over,” says Nasser as England manage only four singles.
35th over: England 198-4 (Stokes 45, Buttler 2) Milne, replacing Southee, puts the ball just where Stokes wants it, in the slot for a straight drive. He then drops short, but a murderous pull is well stopped at short midwicket. Stokes needs to make a hundred here, in the interests of both entertainment and atonement.
An email arrives from Romeo, who may be an Elvis fan. “In answer to Lee Smith (33rd over), I can’t walk out on Jason Roy (however cloudy and rainy his current position), and we can’t build our dreams on YJB scoring 170+ just because he did so a few weeks ago.”
34th over: England 189-4 (Stokes 37, Buttler 1) Root had only faced 22 balls in 12 overs, so Nasser Hussain is putting the blame for that wicket squarely on the shoulders of Stokes. But give some credit to Corey Anderson, who fought back well after the first ball of his spell had gone for six.
An email from Nik Maynard. “Checking the weather in Cardiff and it’s looking increasingly like there isn’t going to be a lot of rain, maybe just the slightest chance of an odd shower but nothing more. This is a great website for your rainfall radar needs – http://meteox.mobi/forecast/threehours – usually pretty accurate. I’d like to think that we’ll comfortably pass 300.”
Root, starved of the strike by Stokes, plays on. He walks off whacking the turf in frustration, and England are 188-4.
Sensing that something needs to happen, Stokes lofts the first ball of Anderson’s over beyond the short straight boundary.
33rd over: England 181-3 (Root 64, Stokes 30) Tim Southee prevents any fours, which are the currency of Stokes’s batting. The next thing for him to work on, as he gradually advances on greatness, is rotating the strike.
Lee Smith is back. “I think Phil Russell has it about right, as whilst Jason Roy appears to be lost in cloud with too much rain, giving him another shot whilst allowing YJB some game time has to be the best of both worlds.”
32nd over: England 176-3 (Root 63, Stokes 27) A crisp cover push from Stokes yields four more off Neesham. The rain seems to have backed off, as well it might, seeing Stokes in full flow.
“Me again,” says Rich, “one of those days at work… Are England missing a trick and would they be better off moving Stokes up to 4 and Morgan down a place (or even two, depending on situation)? Since the start of 2016, Stokes’ batting has been pretty exceptional in ODIs, and he is undeniably the more technically correct batsman. Plus Morgan is more inventive at the death. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, or time to mix things up?”
31st over: England 168-3 (Root 62, Stokes 20) Southee returns and induces a rare wobble from Root, who plays an air shot and then top-edges just short of the man at deep square. A good over.
Ian Copestake joins the conversation about what makes a great OBOer (24th over, et al). “The greatness of an OBOer is in his or her refusal to kowtow to the Murdoch coin. They are not cheapskates but Chartists.” Well, yes, thank you, but given The Guardian’s freelance rates, we pretty much have to be cheapskates.
30th over: England 166-3 (Root 61, Stokes 19) So Root survives the run-out appeal, and then nearly perishes in a different way, as Stokes plays a straight drive that is more like a missile. That’s drinks, rather gratuitously, on this cool damp day.
The Roy/Bairstow debate rages on. “I think England are caught in a trap over Jason Roy,” says Chris Drew. “Dropping him send the the message that he probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. But not picking YJB makes it look like a closed shop. I still think YJB is worth his place, and is certainly worth more than first bib-wearer.”
For a run-out against Root, who was backing up, but he made it back into his crease.
29th over: England 162-3 (Root 61, Stokes 15) Root, sensing that Atherton is on air, pays tribute to him with the back-foot tuck through square leg that brought Atherton so many of his runs. He enjoys it so much that he immediately plays it again, Ath.
“How’s the Cardiff weather looking?” wonders James Walsh on Twitter. “Do England need to get a Stokesian hurry on in case of Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern?” It’s looking wet, alas, and yes they do.
28th over: England 156-3 (Root 56, Stokes 14) Williamson is bowling Trent Boult, as if sniffing a collapse, but England are having none of it. Stokes follows up that six with a breezy push for four through mid-off. “Plenty of time,” says Mike Atherton, “for England to double this score and more.”
27th over: England 150-3 (Root 56, Stokes 8) A superb statement from Stokes. He’s a player who tends to run hot, but that was nonchalant stuff.
An email arrives from Harry Lang. “Previous correspondent Stephen has called the Roy situation admirably – and very Britishly. If there’s nothing at stake against Australia, give him another chance to recapture his mojo. Why the hell not? Best to save the faces of all concerned, avoid awkwardness and give him another bally good go. On the other hand, if he were Australian he’d already be slopping out a Walkabout pub dunny, wondering if Qantas would let him on the return flight. Personally, I prefer the British way - but I’ve never lifted any sporting trophies, either.”
Stokes’s settling-in process is going rather well. He swings Anderson over midwicket without any discernible effort.
26th over: England 142-3 (Root 55, Stokes 1) A reverse lap for four, and Root has 55 off 55 balls. His next 45, if he gets them, need to come off 35 to allow Stokes to settle in at the other end.
Joe Root eases to yet another half-century. He has faced plenty of dot balls – 23 – and still got to 50 off 52, thanks to those two delicious sixes.
25th over: England 135-3 (Root 49, Stokes 0) That is the half-way stage, in theory, and New Zealand have clambered back into a decent position – but they need to see off Joe Root, who is cruising along, oblivious to the weather, like an expensive car.
Just when he was looking so good, Morgan perishes – to a dreadful ball. It was wide outside off, he groped for it, and it took the edge. England are 134-3 and that’s game on.
24th over: England 133-2 (Root 48, Morgan 13) Boult is trying to test Morgan with two slips in, and so far it’s not working. Morgan plays a pull for four and a creamy straight drive, so straight that it’s fielded by the pile of sawdust behind the umpire. When Sky update their fielding chart, that pile of sawdust may well go straight in at number one.
“What makes a great OBOer?” asks Chris Drew. “A sense of fun. An ability to always see the glass half-empty, to accept failure. And the joy of reading the wonderful comments of others!”
23rd over: England 125-2 (Root 48, Morgan 5) Milne allows only three singles. He has taken both wickets and coped manfully (can you still say that?) with the wind.
An email from Stephen Brown. “If we win this, we are through to the semis (I believe). The game against Australia would therefore be either a great chance for Roy to play himself back into form, or a wonderful opportunity to give Bairstow a chance to open under no pressure. At what point do we say that while we don’t want to drop players too often, we do want a team made up of the players most likely to score runs?
22nd over: England 123-2 (Root 47, Morgan 4) Morgan is on the charge already, whacking Boult for four over extra-cover. Mind you, he did something like that in the middle of the morning when England were 20-6.
Andrew Benton is back for more, answering the follow-up to his own question (19th over). “I think you only have to read some of the late, great, Dan Lucas’s OBO blogs to know what makes a great OBO-er.:-)” Amen to that. Dan was also a lovely man, kind to me last summer when I was the new kid in town.
21st over: England 118-2 (Root 46, Morgan 0) Hales reaches fifty for the fifth time in eight matches. It’s been an innings of two halves, first muscular, then strangely muted. As if aware of this, he cracks a flat-bat six over mid-off. And then gets out.
A lateral thought from George Rogers. “I think the answer to the Roy dilemma lies in the language. I feel we’re too stuck in the past with how we talk about players and their place in the international pecking order. Roy is an established short-form danger man. If we don’t pick him for a few matches, I do not believe he should be considered to have been dropped.
Suddenly, it’s all happening. Hales reaches fifty, flat-bats a six, and then departs, expecting a short one and getting a slower ball instead. England are 118-2.
20th over: England 104-1 (Hales 49, Root 40) There are days when sport is a language. Roy has lost the gift of the gab; Root, even after that nick, is fabulously fluent. But Neesham has a few things to say too, and he rounds off his first over by beating Hales.
Jimmy Neesham comes on, and instantly finds the edge of Root’s bat, no mean feat at the moment – but the nick goes for four.
19th over: England 99-1 (Hales 49, Root 36) Adam Milne restores order, and Phil Sawyer joins the fray. “Perhaps a more pertinent question than Andrew Benton’s (8th over) might be ‘what makes a great OBOer?’. If we ignore the fact that the term ‘great OBOer’ is itself an oxymoron, perhaps your reader might like to send ideas in. To start off, and despite the fact that the word ‘great’ has never been applied to me in any context (apart from ‘Great Heavens! What is that unholy mess of a human being?), then my own OBO credentials appear to be a constant expectation that a loss is inevitable, an outdated line in self-deprecation, and an increasingly gammy leg.”
On a more straightforward note, here’s Laurie Huggett-Wilde. “Come on now Tim, ‘We needed that’ (11.34), what was it Richie Benaud always used to say, ‘There are no teams in the world called we or they!’ You’re quite right, but I didn’t mean either team – I meant we, the people.
18th over: England 97-1 (Hales 48, Root 34) Root follows that six with the finest of laps for four. Santner has gone for 29 off four overs, without bowling badly. Have England recalled Adil Rashid at just the wrong moment?
Joe Root is reinventing himself as Jason Roy on a good day. He lofts the spinner for another silky six, and England are 93-1.
17th over: England 87-1 (Hales 48, Root 24) After all those singles, Adam Milne decides enough is enough and lays down a row of dots, which he only slightly spoils with a wide and a long-hop, flipped for two by Hales. That’s the fifty partnership from 56 balls: strong and stable.
An email from Joe Haycock. “For the unfortunate souls like myself that are unable to watch the game AND follow the OBO (is cricket even cricket without the OBO?), what do you reckon a formidable score will be going by the pitch and weather conditions?” That was impressive – one of the great philosophical questions slipped in in brackets. Well, the average first-innings score here, over the past three ODIs, has been 310. England should be aiming for that, but it may all come down to Duckworth-Lewis.
16th over: England 84-1 (Hales 46, Root 24) Six from the over, and that’s drinks. It’s been... sedate. But Hales and Root are playing with great ease, unlike poor old Roy. I’m with the Bairstow wing of the party: it’s absurd to persist with a player who is this out of form, and an opening pair that doesn’t work, when you have someone on the bench who’s been in blazing form for about two years.
15th over: England 78-1 (Hales 44, Root 20) Anderson continues, and gets the scoresheet back into binary: 11.1(wd).11. Thrilling stuff. If anyone feels an email coming on, this might be a good time.
14th over: England 73-1 (Hales 42, Root 18) So the second over of spin goes for nine. On the England balcony, several pairs of eyes are watching closely: with Rashid restored, this is the first time they’ve picked two spinners for a one-day game in Cardiff, where the straight boundaries are very inviting.
By Joe Root, of all people – the field is up and he sashays down the track to put the ball in the stand at long-on. We needed that.
13th over: England 64-1 (Hales 40, Root 11) Another over from Anderson, another series of singles. This is like a one-day game from way back in the early 2010s.
12th over: England 60-1 (Hales 38, Root 9) The first spin of the day as Williamson turns to Mitchell Santner’s slow left-arm. The batsmen continue to get ‘em in singles.
An email from Rich. “This isn’t witty or particularly insightful, but it’s just getting a bit silly if England persist with Roy for the rest of the tournament. Bairstow is in great form, and knocked 170-odd not out opening the batting for Yorkshire recently. I’m all for keeping the faith in players and not dropping too soon, but when you’ve got a major tournament to win and a player like Bairstow in the shed, it’s got to be done hasn’t it. I will seriously lose my faith in Morgan as a captain and Bayliss as coach if Roy lines up next match…having said that, he’ll probably get a hundred.”
11th over: England 56-1 (Hales 36, Root 7) Corey Anderson comes on, and England pick up several ones and a two. Hales has 36 off 34, good going in this disorientating wind.
An email from Richard O’Hagan. “Re: your reply to Andrew Benton (8th over). You do all of that and still your email address describes you as ‘casual’!” Nice one, but I certainly wouldn’t claim to do all of it. The question was, what makes a great sports journalist.
10th over: England 50-1 (Hales 32, Root 5) Milne gets one past the broad bat of Hales, who retorts with a pull for four and brings up England’s fifty at five an over. Brendon McCullum, the sage of Dunedin, feels the pitch is two-paced.
9th over: England 41-1 (Hales 25, Root 3) Southee continues and Joe Root gets straight into the groove with that back-foot stroke of his, square of the wicket on the off side, that is far too elegant to be called a force.
An email from Tom Adam. “If Roy on a good day is Roy of the Rovers (“Man of the Moment”, below), then which Roy is he on a bad day? I think I’d go for Roy Hodgson – bumbling along in hapless frustration till put out of his misery to a collective but pitying sigh of relief.” Harsh, but fair at the moment.
8th over: England 37-1 (Hales 24, Root 0) Williamson brings on Adam Milne, and Roy, after moving outside off looking to whip to leg, adjusts smoothly and plays a straight drive for four. That’s his most decisive shot so far. But then he tries something similar again, misses, and he’s gone.
“Tim.” Yes, Andrew Benton. “What does it take to be a great sports journalist? (I’ve not (yet) bought your book...hoping for some free insights).” Ha. It’s an excellent question, and I may not be the best person to answer it, but I’ll have a go. It takes drive, composure, a love of the game, a love of the language, a lot of reading, a voice of your own, and a lot of luck.
Roy walks across his stumps and misses! His horror show continues, and England are 37-1.
7th over: England 31-0 (Roy 8, Hales 23) Southee doesn’t rate this pitch highly: he tries a slower ball and a bouncer. Hales does like it – he dances down it and lofts a square drive for four. And now, the game stops for a minute’s silence, in honour of those who lost their lives in the London Bridge attack. It is a very silent silence, followed by some muted applause.
6th over: England 27-0 (Roy 8, Hales 19) Williamson takes the only slip out, which is a little victory for the batsmen – in this fixture at the 2015 World Cup, New Zealand famously had five slips. Roy continues to plod along while Hales cruises.
5th over: England 23-0 (Roy 7, Hales 16) Tidy from Southee, who has a decent shout for lbw against Hales and has gone for only 10 off his three overs.
An email lands from Lee Smith. “Heaven forbid that they actually have a West Germany/Austria 1982 World Cup moment, but is it possible England and New Zealand could contrive a result that would put Australia’s progress in jeopardy? Not that I have a suspicious mind or anything like that.”
4th over: England 22-0 (Roy 6, Hales 16) Hales cuts for two as well as pulling for six; he has 16 off 13, while Roy has 6 off 11. On commentary, Brendon McCullum says “these are two of the most dynamic teams in world cricket”. That’s a bit like James Brown saying he liked Mick Jagger’s dance moves.
Boult drops short, and Hales deposits him over the rope with a pull downwind. England are 22-0.
3rd over: England 14-0 (Roy 6, Hales 8) Hales, who is in form, tucks Southee for three. Roy’s scores this summer, m’learned friend Rob Smyth notes, have been 0, 20, 1, 8, 4 and 1, making 34 from six innings before today, average 5.67. Miserable stuff, but he manages to pass that average now by walking over to off stump and shoving square for two. They all count.
2nd over: England 9-0 (Roy 4, Hales 5) Trent Boult shares the new ball, left-arm over, and Hales uses his long arms to turn an offside wide into a cracking four. Then he comes close to playing on as Boult finds some inswing, or, as my old friend the Guardian auto-correct would have it, some insuring.
1st over: England 4-0 (Roy 4, Hales 0) Tim Southee opens up, gets a smidgeon of swing, and appeals, rather half-heartedly, for lbw, as Roy props forward with pad and bat together. Second ball, Roy plays and misses. Third ball, he locates the middle of the bat with a push to mid-on. Fourth ball, Southee drops short on leg stump and Roy shows his poor form by failing to connect. But fifth ball, he cover-drives for four. That’s his highest score of this tournament. The last ball is defended, solidly: maybe he’s going to be OK.
So we had the New Zealand anthem and the British anthem, followed by “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, which slotted into that batting order rather seamlessly.
The anthems are ringing out, full of rickety magnificence. And the first tweet has landed. “Lucky to play today,” reckons Chris Evans. “We had all of June’s rain yesterday! Not a fun day to be a spectator.” His Twitter bio says: “Old, miserable git. Cardiff.”
On a good day, Jason Roy is Roy of the Rovers, cheerfully thumping good balls for four or six. But the good days have dried up lately. At the Oval last Thursday, Roy played like a lost soul. It’s probably a help that England are batting first, depriving him of another three hours to brood on his troubles. On the other hand, he has to get straight out there on a pitch that could be as sweaty as his palms.
England: Roy, Hales, Root, Morgan (c), Stokes, Buttler (w), Moeen, Rashid, Plunkett, Ball, Wood.
New Zealand: Guptill, Ronchi (w), Williamson, Taylor, Broom, Neesham, Anderson, Santner, Milne, Southee, Boult.
Kane Williamson calls heads, heads it is, and, not being a blithering idiot, he opt to have a bowl. “There’s a bit of weather around,” he says, and he can say it again – the wind is making everybody’s trousers wobble like a new red ball. NZ are unchanged. England would have bowled too. The injured Chris Woakes is replaced by Adil Rashid, which will please a lot of people.
Or should that be pre-soaking? Morning everyone. The Champions Trophy is in danger of being ruined by the rain. Today’s game is in Cardiff, where raindrops can be found on the BBC forecast every hour from 12 noon to 9pm. That said, each of those hours is also sporting a ray of sunshine, so it should be a covers-on, covers-off sort of day. Very English, and very New Zealandish too.
The rain in Britain now falls mainly on the Aussies, which has interesting implications. If England (the only team in this group with a win so far) win again today, they are through to the semi-finals, with (almost certainly) a golden chance to complete Australia’s misery at Edgbaston on Saturday. If New Zealand win today, they go top of the group and England v Australia probably becomes a shoot-out for second place. It’s a lot more intriguing than the other group, where, so far, all has gone to form, and India and South Africa appear to be cruising into the semis.
Tim will be here soon. In the meantime you can read Ed Aarons’ take on cricket’s return to the BBC …
Related: BBC delivery could restore England’s cricket mania. But will it stump up? | Ed Aarons
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