BLACKCAPS v ENGLAND 4TH ODI at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
BLACKCAPS 349-7 (Guptill 53, McCullum 35, Williamson 90, Taylor 42, Elliott 55*) lost to England 350-3 in 44 overs (Roy 38, Hales 67, Root 106*, Morgan 113) by seven wickets
The runfest continues.
England has tied the series 2-2 in the fourth One-Day International at Trent Bridge, overcoming the BLACKCAPS by seven wickets to force a decider in Newcastle on Saturday.
An all-round effort from the BLACKCAPS batting line-up, led by 90 from Kane Williamson, elevated them to a respectable 349-7.
It wouldn’t be enough, though, with a 198-run third wicket partnership between Joe Root (106*) and Eoin Morgan (113) inspiring England to its largest ever successful chase.
England was belligerent from the outset in pursuit, Alex Hales brutally clubbing 67 from just 38 balls. He and Jason Roy (38) helped the home side bring up 100 in just the 11th over, before a double strike from Matt Henry momentarily stopped the flow of runs.
Hales loses his middle pole on 67. Images: Photosport.co.nz
The respite was short, however, Morgan and Root swiftly carrying their side to 200-2 after 25.1 overs. They wouldn’t stop there, going on to build England’s biggest-ever partnership against New Zealand.
Morgan attacked relentlessly, hammering five sixes and 13 fours. He brought up his eighth ODI ton off 73 balls and pushed England to within 38 runs of victory, before eventually being caught at fine leg.
It would only be a blip on the radar for the hosts though, Root bringing up his own ton soon after and guiding England to a famous victory in just 44 overs.
It was another fantastic display of batting, in a series which has been dominated by the willow.
Earlier, the BLACKCAPS innings had been set up by an 88-run stand between Martin Guptill (53) and Brendon McCullum (35), the opening pair taking the sting out of the England bowling attack.
Martin Guptill helped build a platform for yet another 300+ total
When McCullum departed at the start of the 14th over, an in-form Williamson came in and took full advantage of the platform set for him.
A superb catch from Steve Finn saw to the demise of Guptill shortly after his half-century, but the dynamic duo of Williamson and Ross Taylor was once again pivotal for the BLACKCAPS.
Williamson found the gap with nearly every shot he played and raced to a seemingly effortless 50 from 39 balls. His 58th run of the innings represented his 3000th ODI run, becoming the fastest ever New Zealander to reach the milestone.
Kane Williamson is among the fifth fastest batsmen in the world to reach 3000 runs, displacing Virat Kohli
Having put on a record 206 run partnership in the third ODI in Southampton, Williamson and Taylor continued to bamboozle the English bowlers, notching another 100 run stand together. The BLACKCAPS entered the 34th over at 215-2, before Taylor finally came undone on 45 - the first time this series he hasn’t reached 50.
Williamson continued to accumulate, but England restricted the BLACKCAPS to 23-1 during the batting powerplay, with Steven Finn and Mark Wood keeping things tight.
With 10 overs to go the visitors looked to push the run-rate up, but with another century beckoning, Williamson found the man at mid-on. It reduced the BLACKCAPS to 250-4 and when Luke Ronchi fell cheaply, the visitors were in danger of not capitalising on their strong start.
That quickly change at the start of the 46th over, with Elliott crunching 14 off the first three balls. A single the following ball brought up his 50, which brought up the most half-centuries in a five match series between two teams – with a match still to come.
Mitchell Santner (44 from 19 balls) nearly became the next one to join the list, putting on a spectacular late innings display.
The 23-year-old hit four huge sixes and one four, as he blasted 28 from one Adil Rashid over. It was the finishing touches on a well-rounded innings from the BLACKCAPS, with six of the top seven batsmen making considerable contributions.
Unfortunately though it wouldn’t be enough, with a brave England putting on a clinical display with the bat.
Winner takes all this Saturday.
