Tuesday 25 June 2013

Eng vs NZ T20 clash

There has been a lot of comment from the English fans about the timing of this two match T20 series and the impact it had on 'that' weather affected match a few days earlier. Like it or not, the giggle and hit was always going to be played at the Oval, and was always destined to draw the crowds. And so it did.

Game one, England won the toss and sent New Zealand in to bat.
The lucky, capacity English crowd had a beautiful summer's evening and made the most of the pleasant conditions after a day at work. So spare a thought for those of us on the other side of the planet, getting up at 5am on a cold, dark winters morning; to watch T20 cricket under a blanket on the sofa.

There are three key highlights from this match for me, and this was the first- Hamish Rutherford's innings. New Zealand lost Franklin early to Rankin, and it ruffled a few polar fleece blankets in the predawn light on sofas round New Zealand. However, Rutherford has had a little bit of batting practise in recent weeks, and was good to go. He batted as well as he ever has, striking the ball cleanly and getting a good number out of the middle of the bat. And so he was rewarded with 65 runs off 35 balls, and a bit more confidence to tuck into his back pocket for the next match.
Hamish Rutherford on his way to 62 runs
Courtesy Getty Images


The second big highlight for me was Brendon McCulllum's captaincy. He continued his aggressive and beguiling tactics, rotating bowlers and fielders and keeping the batsmen guessing. This was clearly illustrated when Butler came on to bowl and he put Taylor in at slip. The commentators couldn't fathom it with comments from Bumble like 'why on earth would you put a slip in there?' Two balls later, his question was answered as Taylor reached high over his head to take a magnificent one handed catch to dismiss England's captain. Taylor later claimed on Twitter that the catch was an absolute fluke.


Ross Taylor's catch
Courtesy Getty Images

My third highlight was the final over. McCullum again with his clever captaincy put the new guy Anderson on to bowl. At the time I questioned whether he would have the confidence and composure to finish the match for NZ.   And once again, McCullum was proven right. Anderson took each ball on it's own and focussed on it with steely determination. He was relaxed; smiling even. And he came through with the goods.
  New Zealand won by 5 runs.




4 comments:

  1. Totally agree about the last over! And was totally hoping Corey Anderson could be the "hero" for us and restrict the scoring; great to see him showing level-headedness and maturity - good for the future :)

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    1. Yes, Anderson looks to have the goods. I've watched him play domestically but he didn't really stand out for me at that stage. It's good to see McCullum standing behind his new guys and giving them the opportunities.

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  2. Great game ! Was fun to watch.
    What a brilliant match report must say. Even took the bumble commentary part which was correctly proved wrong by Bmac. Also the twitter reaction of Ross taylor afterwards. Very personal and very well researched. Wish all match reports were like this.

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  3. Thanks for your feedback. I just call it as it is! I actually quite enjoyed that match- unusually for me as I am not the biggest T20 Fan. Lets hope the BlackCaps can do it all again on Thursday!

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