A chaotically entertaining game characterized by sensational or – more often – disorder, was ultimately settled by Daryl Mitchell’s ability to find peace in the midst of the disaster.
Mitchell’s level-headed 78, notably assisted by Michael Bracewell (51), took a side floundering at 24 for three in pursuit of a superficially simple target and set them on the road to victory, eventually wrapped up by four wickets and with 13.2 overs to spare.
But if England were overshadowed, it was their captain, Harry Brook, who shone brightest in putting together a century of phenomenal skill and judgment. His knock of 135 might not have saved his side from defeat, but it did save them from humiliation.
It was remarkable that New Zealand had to think even for a brief moment about the possibility of losing here, given the start they had made to the match. But this was not the day to be a top-order batsman as only one member of either side’s top three scored more than five runs – and England’s opening trio failed to reach that number.
The tourists started their innings with three batters who had arrived in the country just a few days earlier, while the side was in Auckland for the failed final match of the T20 series. Perhaps they found it difficult to shake off the jet lag, as they hit like men suffering from watery eyes and persistent brain fog.
It didn’t help their acclimatization that the bowling at the start of the England innings was exceptional from both Matt Henry and Zak Foulkes. Jamie Smith fell to the first ball of the series, with Henry sneaking one past a half-heartedly offered bat. Then both Ben Duckett and Joe Root went in the next over, both for two runs. Duckett was squared by Foulkes before falling behind, while Root was beaten by someone who edged back inside and crashed into center and out.
The 23-year-old Foulkes later dismissed Sam Curran for six, ending just his second ODI with four wickets. “My favorite? Definitely Joe Root,” he said. “I watched him so many times growing up. It felt pretty surreal playing against people like him.”
Only twelve balls in the day, five runs were on the board and England’s number five was on the brink. Three overs later, Jacob Bethell (two) lost his stump to another great delivery from Foulkes. Four wickets behind and Brook was already his team’s top scorer, with four. The 26-year-old later described his mindset as he walked out: “Get myself into it and then try to punch it.” And yes, he did. “Obviously it wasn’t an ideal start,” he added, “but it was a do-or-die moment.”
From then on, it took a miracle for England to reach even a vague approach to a respectable score, and the name of that miracle was Harry Brook. Under any circumstances it would have been an extraordinary innings, but given the one he was in it was simply brilliant. Ten for four soon became 33 for five and 56 for six, but from the moment he arrived Brook played his own serene game, completely unrelated to the game in which his teammates were struggling so miserably.
By the time Adil Rashid’s wicket became the ninth to fall, Brook was on 85 off 73 and England were on 166, still well short of a competitive total despite Jamie Overton’s score of 46. Brook faced a further 28 deliveries and added exactly 50 more runs before hitting Mitchell Santner to deep midwicket, with England’s innings ending on 223 with 17.1 overs unbowled.
Luke Wood contributed five to a final wicket stand of 57, which saw Brook hit seven sixes, including three in a row off Jacob Duffy, the latter of which brought up his second century in the format. His 135 runs made up 60.53% of his team’s total, an English record in ODI innings completed.
“It’s absolutely no cause for concern,” Brook said of England’s top-ranked striker. “They’re all incredible players. There’s a reason why they play for England – they’re the best four hitters in the country. It’s just one of those days. A few of them got some nice shots. Can we try to go a little harder and unnerve them? Personally I think so, but that’s something we can learn from this game.”
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The Black Caps’ task looked simple enough until the penultimate ball of Brydon Carse’s first over rocketed off Will Young’s pads and into the stumps. Kane Williamson’s long-awaited return to the national team ended when he dropped his first delivery to Jos Buttler. Shortly afterwards, Rachin Ravindra (17) became Luke Wood’s first ODI wicket, and his first in List A cricket since 2019.
Enter Mitchell, and common sense. The chase was aided by Root dropping Bracewell when he was on two, Wood getting an easy chance to dismiss Mitchell himself when he was on 33, and some occasional anodyne bowling. “We have to try to find a way to get wickets in the middle overs and not just rely on Rash. [Adil Rashid] to have a little bit of magic,” Brook said.
With no magic involved, Mitchell hunkered down, refused to panic and gradually sucked all doubt and drama out of a momentarily dangerous situation.
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