Lockie Ferguson to Jacob Bethell, 1 run.
Lockie Ferguson to Jacob Bethell, FOUR! Punched down the ground! Back of a length, just outside off, angling away, Jacob Bethell stands tall and punches it against the pace of the ball. The ball zips toward the right of the mid on fielder and races away to the fence for four runs.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, SIX! Brookball on display! Full and straight, without any warning, Brook gets down and across and plays an audacious scoop. So audacious is the shot that he gets it over square leg and the ball nearly hits the old scoreboard at that end! 11 from the over and England will hope that it ignites their flames.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, FOUR! UP AND OVER! Brook connects at last. Short, outside off, the skipper backs away to the leg side and slaps this over point, getting his first boundary.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, NEARLY A RUN OUT NOW! Nervous times for England. On middle and leg, the skipper nudges this through mid-wicket and sets off for a single. But his partner is ball watching and has not moved a muscle. Brook has to scamper back and luckily for him, the fielder misses his shy at the striker's end. Direct hit would have been interesting.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, High-class bowling. On a good length, around off, Harry looks to play this straight but the ball lands and then nips away after pitching, bouncing as well, to beat the outside edge.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, Back of a length, outside off, Brook gets across and tries to lap again. He loses his footing, misses the ball and gets hit on the chest as well.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, On middle and off, solidly defended.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, WIDE. Down the leg side, Brook moves across and looks to scoop but misses.
Lockie Ferguson to Jacob Bethell, INSIDE EDGE, FOUR! Since when did R.Premadasa become Headingley? On a length, around middle, Jacob Bethell looks to defend but the ball swings back in a mile, cramps the batter for room, takes the inside edge and luckily for Bethell, goes over the stumps, to the fine leg fence! A wicket and 6 runs from an extremely rapid Ferguson over.
Lockie Ferguson to Jacob Bethell, Around off, Bethell pushes it towards point.
Lockie Ferguson to Harry Brook, Outside off, on a length, Harry Brook steps out and tries to hammer this through the off side. But he does not get any room and gets a thick inside edge instead, which goes past the stumps towards short fine leg! A single taken.
Lockie Ferguson to Jacob Bethell, On a length, down the leg side, Jacob Bethell misses his flick and gets hit on the pads. The ball deflects away to the leg side and the batters pinch a leg bye.
Early trouble. Jacob Bethell walks in next, at number 4, replacing Jos Buttler.
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Lockie Ferguson to Jos Buttler, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Buttler's rotten luck gets even worse. He was coming off single-digit scores in his last 4 innings and now, add a duck in the 5th as well. On a good length, outside off, pretty much similar to the previous one, but this has extreme pace. As a result, there is extra bounce as well and all Buttler is able to do, is follow the away movement, aiming to instructions it to the off side. But he is unable to adjust to the bounce and gets a thick outside edge. The keeper, Tim Seifert, leaps to his right slightly and makes no mistake. ENGLAND ARE 2/2 and need another 158 RUNS FROM 112 BALLS!
Lockie Ferguson to Jos Buttler, On a good length, outside off, Jos Buttler pushes it towards point.
Any chance of spin with the latest ball? Nope. Pace. Sheer one. Lockie Ferguson will share the new-ball attack.
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, Whoa! A terrific delivery to end a sensational opening over. Brook jumps out but Henry follows him, bowling this on back of a length, outside off. Brook looks to go inside out but misses and the ball goes over the stumps!
Matt Henry to Harry Brook, On middle and off, Harry Brook pushes this towards mid on.
Skipper time? Indeed. As mentioned at the toss by himself, Harry Brook strides out at number 3, replacing Phil Salt.
Matt Henry to Phil Salt, OUT! CAUGHT BEHIND! Just as they found Mitchell Starc too hot to handle in the Ashes with the recent ball, England are facing problems against Matt Henry as well. He will be on a plane in roughly four hours from now, as he seeks a paternity leave back home after this match. On a length, around off, Phil Salt looks to hit it on the up over mid off or cover but the ball lands and then shapes away a touch. This time, the outside edge is taken and the ball goes straight to the keeper behind and Tim Seifert makes no mistake. Salt departs cheaply and ENGLAND ARE 2/1! Equation - 158 runs, 116 balls.
Matt Henry to Phil Salt, On a length, outside off, moving away sharply, Phil has a massive hoick, only to miss.
Matt Henry to Phil Salt, Wow. This one moves the other way! On a length, outside off, Salt stays back to play, assuming it will come in. But the ball lands and then shapes away, squaring him up. Takes the leading edge and goes behind point. A couple taken.
Matt Henry to Phil Salt, On a length, outside off, nipping back in sharply. Phil Salt plays all around it, as he looks to flick and misses, getting hit on the pads. There are mutiple appeals for LBW but none is given. Going down the leg side.
We are all set to commence the second inning! Fresh Zealand, just after entering the field, have been spotted making a huddle, it seems skipper Mitchell Santner has last few words to his teammates before they disperse to take their fielding position. It's Phil Salt and Jos Buttler to open the inning for England. Matt Henry will start with the fresh ball with a slip in place. Away we go...
Three Lions' Spin Siege - From England's perspective, the Powerplay went really bad. They gave away 54 runs without picking a single wicket. The game turned when Adil Rashid got the opening breakthrough. After that the bowling changes were wrapping one after the other. It was a sensational debut from Rehan Ahmed as well. He bowled three overs and picked up two wickets, giving 28 runs. Will Jacks and Adil Rashid ended with two wickets each and Liam Dawson chipped in for one. But it would be interesting to see now the Kiwis' spinner will get into the action. Stay tuned for the second inning as it will start sometime soon!
A quick chat - England's REHAN AHMED comes up for a chat. On cricket seeming after a wonderful Global Cup debut, Rehan smiles and says that he wishes that the game was easy. Admits that he didn't get the length right on his first ball, but feels grateful that Rachin Ravindra didn't hit it as he ought to. On the nerves before this game, Ahmed credits his teammates, for making it very easy for him and adds that after his first ball, he felt at home. On the pitch, RA mentions that it's breaking up. Reckons that 160 is about par and feels that England did very well to peg the Kiwis back from around 130/4. On his side's batters going about the run chase, Rehan Ahmed smiles and says that everyone has different approaches. Stresses that if the ball is there to hit, the batters will hit sixes, else they will knock it around. On the knowledge of the surface, Rehan says that he had played some practice matches here and also some one-dayers before the Global Cup. Ends by saying that the track is pretty much the same way as it has been doing in the past.
Spinners stifle after explosive Powerplay - The Kiwis had a strong start with the bat. Their openers, Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, gave the start what any team would love to have in this short format. They had a partnership of 64 runs off 42 balls. In the seventh over, it's Adil Rashid who broke the partnership, picking the wicket of Tim Seifert. After that dismissal, the game opened up for the Three Lions. The Kiwis were forming firm partnerships, but when the batters were trying to take on, the English bowlers were chipping wickets. Glenn Phillips was the man in the middle order who stayed quite a long time, scoring 39 runs, but he also got eliminated by Will Jacks right in time.
Even-steven! What an inning it was! Entertainment to the fullest. New Zealand have posted a total of 159 runs on the board, losing seven of their wickets. But we can say the match is evenly poised. Remember Upcoming Zealand's last match? They posted 168 and they won the clash by 61 runs. Well, if we compare the two innings, they are 9 runs short, but if the Kiwi spinners react well, it's going to be an entertaining chase after the break.
Rehan Ahmed to Mitchell Santner, SIX! Clean as a whistle! Tossed up, outside off, Mitchell Santner comes down the track and lofts it straight back over the bowler. Clears long off with ease and Recent ZEALAND FINISH ON 159/7!
Rehan Ahmed to Mitchell Santner, Full, outside off, no pace offered, Mitchell Santner goes for a large slog sweep but misses.
Rehan Ahmed to Matt Henry, Full, on middle, chipped down to long on for a single.
3 balls left. Matt Henry walks in next, at number 9, replacing Cole McConchie.
Rehan Ahmed to Cole McConchie, OUT! BOWLED! Rehan bounces back. 7th wicket down and all the wickets have gone to spin! Second for this leggie. Tossed up, but not too much flight, around the leg stump. Cole McConchie gets down on a knee and looks to play the slog sweep but misses. The ball lands and then bounces low a touch, spinning past the outside edge and shatters the stumps. 97/2 BECOMES 152/7!
Rehan Ahmed to Cole McConchie, FOUR! 150 UP FOR NEW ZEALAND. McConchie comes down the track and converts this into a full toss. Whips it towards long on who comes running in, but the ball lands and skids through, taking the fielder by surprise. He misses and the Kiwis profit with a boundary.
Rehan Ahmed to Mitchell Santner, Outside off, punched through the covers for a single.
200? 160 looks out of bounds now. How much can Novel Zealand get in the final over? Rehan Ahmed will bowl the 16th over of spin, the most by any English team in a T20 Global Cup match!
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Tossed up, outside off, Cole McConchie winds up for the massive slog sweep but misses as the ball pitches and then spins away past the outside edge. Just 5 runs from the 19th over! Rashid finishes with bowling figures of 4-0-28-2.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Outside off, pretty full, CM brings out the reverse sweep now. Gets it through point for a couple.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Landed outside off, another sweep shot employed, but does not result in anything.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Full, around off, Cole looks to play the slog sweep but gets a bottom edge onto his pads.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, WIDE. Short and spinning a mile down the leg side. McConchie looks to pull but misses.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Outside off, punched through the covers for a couple.
Adil Rashid to Cole McConchie, Down the leg side, Cole McConchie looks to sweep but misses. No wide given.
Will Jacks to Cole McConchie, Outside off, pushed through the covers for a single. A wicket and 7 runs from the over, 10/2 in the last 2!
Will Jacks to Mitchell Santner, Around off, punched down to long off for a single.
Will Jacks to Cole McConchie, Outside off, pushed through the covers for a single.
Will Jacks to Cole McConchie, FOUR! Nicely done. Full, down the leg side, Cole McConchie gets down and sweeps it behind square leg, getting off the mark with a boundary.
