Last Updated on November 1, 2022 by
England won nervously in a 20-round win over New Zealand to reignite their hopes for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Knowing that a defeat would almost eliminate them, England survived under severe pressure to successfully defend 179 in Gabba.
After shrinking to 28-2, Black Caps looked like they tipped the game in their favor as Glenn Phillips and captain Kane Williamson joined at a span of 91 out of 59.
But with 61 runs needed from 31 balls, Ben Stokes made the decisive breakthrough, shedding Williamson for 40 balls out of 40.
From there, England impressively tightened the bolt – and kept her nerves in check under a series of high grips.
In the 18th minute the increasingly reliable Sam Curran had Phillips being dropped 15 by Moeen Ali, caught long haul for 62 of 36 balls, ending New Zealand’s offer.
Earlier, Jos Buttler, who was pardoned by a TV review of the eight catch and relegated to 40, hit 73 out of 47 to lift his side to 179-6.
He made 81 on the opening goal with Alex Hales who had 52 of the 40 balls left and although England did not make full use of the stake, he is ahead of the final round.
They will qualify for the semi-finals if they defeat Sri Lanka on Saturday, provided Australia doesn’t beat Afghanistan the day before and also nullifies England’s significant net advantage.
The fact that England’s game will take place 24 hours after Australia helps their cause as they will have a clear idea of any run-rate requirements that will come up in their last game.
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England hold their nerve
The victory margin looked pretty good towards the end, but the night was no different.
For a time in the pursuit of New Zealand, in an area where England had suffered many of Ashes’s heartbreak, it looked like Buttler’s team was plunging into defeat.
But, rather than supporting the Australian Bears, Gabby fans mostly cheered on the English, and these fans sprang to their feet to celebrate the last half.
Buttler played a key hand with the stick when it was needed most, making full use of opportunities to achieve a good result on a tiring pitch.
Bowling was an all-round effort by the sailors, with Curran and Chris Woakes taking two goals each and Mark Wood and Ben Stokes taking one.
Sri Lanka will not push in Sydney on Saturday – they are Asian champions and trained by former England boss Chris Silverwood – but England has kept its mission alive.
Phillips’ onslaught is survived
England controlled the chase early, after Woakes grabbed Devon Conway by the leg on the second run – Buttler catches the dash to his right – and Curran tricked Finn Allen into a slower goalkeeper to see the rear opener before he could wreak havoc.
But then came the moment that could end the World Cup in England.
Phillips had mistaken one Adil Rashid and Moeen looked ready for the simplest catch, only to barely catch the ball.
Phillips responded with a thrash 17 with Rashid, including two huge sixes on the leg side. He won the hundred years in a New Zealand win over Sri Lanka – a foolish man to let go.
As the game slipped away, Stokes had Williamson trying to lead his team in his usual fashion, caught short in third.
Five balls later, Jimmy Neesham, who led New Zealand to a win over England in last year’s semi-final, pulled Mark Wood into a deep middle wicket.
In the next game, Daryl Mitchell – a thorn in the English team’s test cricket earlier this year – was captured in the long run as Woakes finished 17th over the cost of just five.
Still, while Phillips remained, there were always doubts, but Curran removed his right arm as he tried to clear the ropes again to seal the contest.
Buttler capitalises on unusual New Zealand lapses
The day could have been quite different if New Zealand had ventured to fire Buttler.
Williamson jumped off the extra cover when he thought he had taken Buttler, but the reruns showed the ball bounced as he hit the ground and the England captain called back, almost making it to the box.
Although he hit hard, Mitchell’s next chance was easier on the deep square legs. Buttler punished this with two fours in the rest of Ferguson, the first hit Ferguson in the head and the next slower ball brilliantly deflected.
Hales was the more aggressive of the two in the beginning – he beat Southee for a long time in the top six – as England gave themselves a platform to build for the first time in a tournament.
New Zealand, however, rolled cunningly and England didn’t make it all the way, despite promoting Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone to the attack after Hales was pushed off spinner Mitchell Santner.
Santner also dismissed Moeen, who was caught on the heel from a penalty kick, while Livingstone was crushed by Ferguson attempting to ramp – the ball after scoring four with the same shot.
Buttler finally left the runway at the end of a non-striker in the penultimate episode where Harry Brook was caught seventh in a long game.
Stokes was pushed down and only scored eight out of seven as England struggled with a strong finish which he will want to improve.
‘England were clinical’ – reaction
England captain and match player Jos Buttler: “I said during the throw that you wouldn’t become a bad team overnight. We had a bad performance but we know we have great players in our squad so there was still a lot of confidence in the group and we left it all tonight.
“It’s a ruthless tournament. Last year we saw South Africa go by winning four out of five games, so it can be hard to get through this.
“But now we know everything is in our hands and you expect to be under pressure in the Cricket World Cup, that’s what it is all about.”
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson: “It’s the way England played. They put pressure on us right from the start with the stick and we fought for a breakthrough to change the momentum. It was a hard surface, but they played beautifully. We were in the second half and needed a few things to go our way, but hats off to England, it was clinical.