England slump to 14-run defeat against New Zealand

Despite looking certain to win the third T20I, England lost five wickets for ten runs in 18 balls in a collapse that ended their chances of victory

England slumped to a disappointing defeat to New Zealand in the third T20 International, having looked like they were cruising to a 2-1 lead in the series. They only needed 42 runs to win off the final 31 balls and were just two wickets down for 139 runs on the board. However, the side suffered an all too familiar middle-order collapse, losing five wickets in the space of just 18 deliveries, scoring just 10 runs in the process. As such, England fell short of New Zealand’s total by 14 runs, in a hugely disappointing result.

A frustrating defeat. New Zealand take a 2-1 series lead.

Scorecard: https://t.co/RdR0lMIKk3#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/QWp6PYdUsQ

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 5, 2019

England had fielded an inexperienced line-up but still appeared to be heading to victory as they contained the home side to a, seemingly manageable, 180 from the 20 allotted overs. It was the experienced 33-year old Colin de Grandhomme who was the star of the show for New Zealand, scoring 55 runs from just 35 balls.

Opener Martin Guptill had also got New Zealand off to a strong start with 33 runs from 17 deliveries, with Ross Taylor contributing well with a well-struck 27 runs from just 24 balls, in an impressive showing at the Saxton Oval. Tom Banton was making his debut for England and opened up with an impressive partnership with fellow opener, Dawid Malan.

The pair scored 25 runs from the first two overs before Banton was bowled out by Blair Tickner. Malan then continued his impressive scoring on the way to posting 55 runs from just 34 balls, a figure which was the top score from English batsmen. Banton also scored a total of 18 runs before being dismissed.

James Vince was another to star for England and had built an early partnership with Malan before the latter was dismissed. Vince went on the attack early, and his 49 runs from 39 balls, in partnership with Captain Morgan, set the visitors up for what was a seemingly comfortable victory.

However, when Morgan was dismissed, this turned out to be England’s ultimate downfall. Sam Billings was run out before Vince was also then dismissed, which will have left him frustrated, having been just one shy of his half-century.

England then failed to make any major headway to the New Zealand total, with only Tom Curran’s 14 not out digging into the Kiwi’s total. The New Zealand bowlers were very impressive in the latter stages, with specialist death bowler, Lockie Ferguson taking 2-25 from his four overs.

Incidentally, he looks good value to be the series top wicket-taker and is currently second-favourite with most bookmakers to achieve the feat. New Zealand now lead the series 2-1, as England will look to regain the winning momentum following this defeat. The fourth test is taking place on Friday at McLean Park in Napier, New Zealand, and is an eagerly awaited contest with punters across the globe.

The hosts are now heading into the next test as the favourites and are likely going to prove a popular selection for many bettors, as they look to wrap up the series victory. Whilst New Zealand started as favourites for the series before a ball was bowled, England’s win in the first test saw a lot of market support for the visitors.

These were, of course, the two nations that played out that breathtaking 50-over World Cup final at Lord’s back in July, and continue to remain as two of the leading sides in the betting market for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Following this defeat, England captain Morgan said they would be adopting the same game plan as they have throughout this series. “The game plan remains the same,” he said. “Everything about what we do is positive, smart, aggressive cricket in the field, with the bat and with the ball. We want young guys to come in and adapt to that.

So, there are a lot of ¬positives to take from today, but moving to Napier it’s a must-win game to level the series. We’ll need to up our game.” This gives a clear indication that England are happy with their approach, although the somewhat tame collapse of the middle-order will give cause for concern.

The series is still there for the taking for both sides, with England currently priced at a general 7/2, and New Zealand the strong favourites at 1/5.