Sports
Salt, Brook fireworks set up crushing England win
Phil Salt and Harry Brook combined to blow New Zealand out of the water in the second T20I, as England sealed a dominant 65-run win in Christchurch to take an insurmountable 1-0 lead in this three-match series.
Both Salt (85 off 56 balls) and Brook (78 off 35) were independently brutal but came together in devastating fashion with a partnership of 129 from just 69 deliveries. England’s 236 for 4 was a new record T20I score at Hagley Oval, comfortably bumping off the previous best of 208 with 10 balls still to go in their innings. New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 171 with two overs to spare.
Mitchell Santner’s decision to bowl first upon winning the toss was a case of rinse-and-repeat; both teams opting for the same XIs after Saturday’s washout in the first T20I. Unfortunately for the Black Caps skipper, this was a truer surface than the one which saw England scrape to 153 for 6.
Drier with more pace, Santner’s bowlers were up against it from the off, with all six used posting double-figure economy rates. They were not helped by two dropped catches that would have given them a more realistic target.
The one that mattered more gave Brook a life on 40, after he had successfully overturned a caught behind decision on 22. The visiting captain was at his destructive best, with 54 runs through boundaries, including five sixes, two of which were carted out of the ground. Despite Kyle Jamieson accounting for both Brook and then Salt in the space of three deliveries, Tom Banton’s unbeaten 29 from 12 added the record-busting cherry on top.
Brydon Carse’s twin strikes in the second over clipped the Kiwis’ wings in pursuit of 237. And though Tim Seiffert and Mark Chapman restarted the chase with an engaging stand of 69, their respective demises to the spin duo of Adil Rashid and Liam Dawson all but confirmed the result.
Santner did his utmost to inject some late jeopardy with a breezy 36 off 15, before falling to Rashid’s final delivery, the legspinner finishing a solid evening’s work with 4 for 32. Luke Wood then had the honour of capping off victory in the 18th over with two dismissals in four deliveries, with New Zealand losing all 10 wickets to catches.
This new iteration of Salt is developing a knack of cashing in after missing out. His career-best 141 not out against South Africa in September came two days after a first-ball duck. And with as many days since 3 off 4 in the first T20I at Hagley Oval, he looked on course for a fifth century in the format.
No doubt Salt will feel he missed out in a different way, falling for 85 when he was caught on the long-off sponge, 15 short of three figures with as many balls of the innings remaining. Once again he spearheaded a record total a month after leading the breaching of 300.
He upheld his first-over responsibility by putting Matt Henry’s second ball on to the grass bank at midwicket, then whipping behind square leg along the floor once Henry had corrected. By the time Jos Buttler faced his second ball, Salt had already struck 20 from nine.
That was as dominant as Salt was in his stands. Once Buttler was dismissed for 4, he adopted a secondary role during his work with Bethell (scoring 19 of their 44 together) and Brook (46 of their 129). Hardly a passenger but more than happy to cede the driving.
Perhaps the best example of his continued intent was his dismissal, attempting a second six (and 13th boundary) two balls after Brook had holed out at deep midwicket. He now has more T20I runs than Jason Roy, despite 22 fewer innings, moving up to sixth for England run-scorers in the format, with a strike rate of 168.12 that is at least 16 ahead of any of those in the top 10.
“We’ve got such a strong batting line-up, we can keep going,” Brook said after a second coin toss of the series had gone against him on this tour. The response came after the England captain seemed nonplussed with being asked to set a total.
And how. Arriving in the eighth over, Brook, a straight-talker, got straight down to business. He raced to 19 off six, courtesy of three successive boundaries off Santner, with two sixes – the first into the crowd, the second over the roof at midwicket – sandwiching a craftily ramped four.
A second six beyond the confines of this boutique ground allowed him to knock two singles for a 22-ball half-century – his fifth overall in T20Is and first as captain.
He celebrated with 21 off the returning Kyle Jamieson in the following over. Earlier, he had provided 14 of the 20 picked off from Jimmy Neesham’s one-and-only over.
Both were examples of constantly putting bowlers under pressure, already a well-worn mantra in his six months at the helm. That knack of leading by example is not only why he was handed the keys to the white-ball job but instilled as Test vice-captain ahead of this winter’s Ashes.
That both teams opted for two spinners owed more to trending towards 2026’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. While New Zealand’s returned 1 for 77 from seven overs, England’s bagged 6 for 70 in eight.
The fact both wanted to bowl first showed there was a collective misreading of conditions. And as the lights took over for the second half, the pitch did begin to grip. It was, in more ways than one, a great toss to lose.
There is not much more to be said of Rashid, his status as one of England’s most-valuable white-ball cricketers set in stone long before becoming the first visiting bowler to take four or more in a T20I at this venue. But it was Dawson who laid down his credentials to partner the leggie for next year’s global tournament.
The left-arm spinner’s wiliness was on show in his first three overs, manipulating his angles to remove Mark Chapman and then the dangerous Michael Bracewell. It took until Dawson’s 16th delivery for New Zealand to find a boundary off him – Jimmy Neesham smearing a four to midwicket – and even then, heading into his final over, the Hampshire allrounder had an impressive 2 for 15 by his name.
Twenty-three conceded off a scatty fourth messed up those figures. Two sixes from Santner were responsible the untidy finish, triggering five wides as Dawson bunged a full toss down the leg side in an attempt to hide the ball from the home skipper’s arc. Nevertheless, Santner’s 0 for 41 earlier in the piece highlighted just how impressive England’s own southpaw twirler had been.
For all England’s enterprise with the bat, there was unnecessary generosity from their hosts. You do not usually associate slack fielding with New Zealand, but two drops tilted this match against them significantly in Christchurch.
Tim Seifert was responsible for missing the first and tougher chance. Jacob Duffy, having pulled out of the previous delivery as Jacob Bethell gave himself room to the leg side, dug one in short with a bit of cut. Bethell, on 7, went for his pull shot, only to top-edge high towards short third.
Seifert had tracked it well, but was done by the stiff north-west breeze, ending up on his back, palming the ball just before he hit the deck. Though Bethell “only” managed 17 more before being dismissed with the last ball of the sixth over, his back-to-back sixes off Bracewell lifted England’s powerplay score to 68 for 2.
That it was the highest at this ground was a sign of things to come, but that, too, could have been avoided. At the start of the 13th over, Matt Henry returned and was greeted with a lofted straight heave from Brook. Somehow, Neesham, having just bowled an over that cost 20, botched a straightforward catch at long-on allowing Brook a life.
They did not have to count the cost of dropping Sam Curran twice on Saturday, the allrounder’s 49 not out hustling England to a respectable total of 153 before the rain intervened. Here, the price of the combined errors was 55 – a figure New Zealand only made up for in their innings with the final ball of the powerplay.
Brief scores:
England 236 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 85, Jacob Bethell 24, Harry Brook 78, tom Banton 29*; Jacob Duffy 1-44, Kyle Jamieson 2-47, Michael Bracewell 1-36) beat New Zealand 171 in 18 overs (Tim Seifert 39, Mark Chapman 28, James Neesham 17, Mitchell Santner 36; Luke Wood 2-36, Brydon Carse 2-27, Adil Rashid 4-32, Liam Dawson 2-38) by 65 runs
[Cricinfo]
Inspired by Lamine Yamal, Spain strolled to a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Group H, as Mikel Oyarzabal restored his reputation with two goals and Luis de la Fuente’s side found their groove after an underwhelming World Cup opener.
Yamal opened the scoring in the 10th minute on Sunday and Oyarzabal, who failed to register a touch in the opening half hour in Monday’s scoreless draw with Cape Verde, scored twice in quick succession as Spain had the game wrapped up by half-time.
An own goal shortly after the interval failed to reopen the floodgates, as Spain used the opportunity to make changes and rest their scorers.
De la Fuente celebrated his 65th birthday in style, and Yamal, whose only football in the last two months came as a substitute against Cape Verde, sparked life into the team that returned to Atlanta Stadium.
A huge cheer greeted Yamal’s first touch, twisting and turning his marker before playing a teasing cross that was cleared by Abdulelah Al-Amri, the scorer of Saudi Arabia’s goal in their 1-1 match with Uruguay.
The opening goal came with Oyarzabal sending an inviting ball across the box, and Yamal being there to slide in at the back post and score his first World Cup goal.
Having toiled in vain in their opening game, Spain relaxed after the goal, and began to carve open the Saudi defence at will, and the second goal came from a corner.
Dani Olmo sent the ball back into the mix, and after the Saudis failed to clear it, Aymeric Laporte nodded down to Oyarzabal, who bundled the ball into the net.
Three minutes later, Spain were in again with a beautifully worked goal. Pedro Porro floated a pass into the area and the ball never touched the ground until it found the net.
Marc Cucurella’s hooked pass found Olmo, who headed into the six-yard box for Oyarzabal to tap it in on the volley, as the striker proved that given the right service, he is Spain’s man to deliver
Spain replaced Yamal and Oyarzabal for the second half, but picked up where they left off when the Saudi goalkeeper blocked Cucurella’s volley from a corner and the ball ricocheted off defender Hassan Al-Tambakti and into the net.
The European champions continued to create chances, but understandably took their foot off the gas on a day when even Vozinha, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old hero keeper, would have struggled against this version of Spain, who look back to their best.
Spain advance to four points in the standings, while Saudi Arabia stay on one after two games each. The other teams in the group, Cape Verde and Uruguay, meet later on Sunday in Miami.
Oyarzabal said he was happy to get the win and to have given his own performance after criticism of how he played against Cape Verde.
“It’s not about proving myself. I’ve always said I feel loved by my teammates, the coach, the staff day to day. That’s what counts for me,” he told the media.
“People will talk outside. We know how the football world works, but we have to stay relaxed.”
Yamal said it was a “dream” to score in a World Cup.
“I watched the last World Cup from a classroom, so being able to score here with my mum and my family in the stands is a dream come true,” he said.
[Aljazeera]
[Cricbuzz]
In a contest billed as the biggest of the group stage, South Africa took a big step towards the semi-final after Marizanne Kapp led them to a six-wicket win over India. She starred with ball and then with bat, helping South Africa recover from 25 for 2 inside the powerplay to hunt down 159 and combined with Tazmin Brits, playing her first match of the tournament, to take them to a six wicket win.
Kapp and Brits put on 97 for the third wicket but their time together was not without its chances. Kapp offered two tough chances, on 9 and 25, and one simple one on 65 but finished on an unbeaten 81 off 45 balls to take South Africa home. They also nullified India’s primary threat with the ball, Deepti Sharma, taking 44 runs off her four overs.
On a fresh Old Trafford pitch and after choosing to put runs on the board, India may look back at their batting effort as the place where the match was lost. After a sparkling start, none of their line-up was able to kick on and Shafali Verma’s 31 was their top score. Kapp was crucial to the squeeze, and with 2 for 27 in four overs, was also South Africa’s most economical bowler.
The result keeps the group alive with India and South Africa both on four points. India need to beat both Bangladesh and Australia, whereas South Africa’s remaining games are against Bangladesh and Netherlands.
In typically audacious fashion, Shafali got India’s boundary-count underway with a clip through short fine leg as Kapp strayed onto the pads. But it was when she got extra pace from Shabnim Ismail that Shafali really cashed in. She found the gap at cover point before handing over to Smriti Mandhana, who drove Ismail through the covers and then swivel-pulled her through fine leg to take 14 runs off her first over. Mandhana’s innovation continued when she walked down the track to Kapp to hit her through mid-on and then tried to ramp Kapp but played on. Inexplicably, Chloe Tryon was give the fourth over and Shafali was all over her. She took14 runs off the first three balls, used her feet well and South Africa seemed at a loss. India were 47 for 1 after four overs.
Just when it seemed Shafali had got away from them, South Africa hit a stroke of luck. Ismail had avoided bowling the bouncer to her but did with the fourth ball of her second over. Shafali considered going after it but then tried to pull out of the shot and fell over. As she refound her feet, South Africa reviewed and replays showed Shafali had gloved the ball through to Sinalo Jafta. Yastika Bhatia, picked ahead of Bharti Fulmali, was out lbw to Ayabonga Khaka’s second ball and Jemimah Rodrigues caught off a leading edge by Nadine de Klerk to leave India 82 for 4 in the 11th over.
It was now down to the experienced hands of Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti and the India captain started with a boundary against Tryon. Together they then took on Mlaba for a 12-run over before Harmanpreet required some treatment on the field. She lasted just two balls after that before chopping on against Ismail’s wobble-seam delivery for 24. South Africa strangled Richa Ghosh with their lines and forced Deepti to play a tumbling sweep for a catch to short fine leg with a packed leg-side field. Ghosh also handed a catch to short fine leg, off Kapp’s slower one in the last over, and India managed just 36 runs off the bat in the last four overs.
South Africa had a completely different start to their innings as they struggled to get India away, and their captain Laura Wolvaardt continued to struggle for fluency. She was on 20 off 19 balls when she tried to take on N Shree Charani. She hit the ball straight back to the left-arm spinner, who took a sharp return catch. Charani’s over got better when Annerie Dercksen went for a big shot almost immediately, played across the line and was bowled. The powerplay ended with a wicket-maiden and South Africa were 25 for 2, well behind the required run-rate.
South Africa were far off the pace on 45 for 2 after nine overs but had the experience of Kapp and determination of a returning Brits. Kapp took 10 runs off the first two balls of Prema Rawat’s first over, including the ramp that would become a favourite of hers through the innings. Brits bided some time before she took on Deepti and whacked her over long-on for six. Their stand grew to 50 in the 12th over, just after Brits correctly reviewed after being given out lbw on 28. Neither Brits nor Kapp allowed the chances they offered India to slow them down, even when they could not find boundaries.
Their headline moment came in the 15th over when they took 16 runs off Arundhati Reddy. Brits hit her back over her head for four, then Kapp scooped her over fine and swept her for back to back boundaries and South Africa had broken the back of the chase.
SCORES:
India Women 158/7 in 20 overs [SmritiMandhana 17, Dhafali Verma 31, Yastika Bhatia 15, Jemimah Rodrigues 12, Harmanpreet Kaur 24, Deepti Sharma 29, Richa Ghosh 15; Marizanne Kapp 2-27, Shabnim Ismail 2-28, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-33, Ayabonga Khaka 1-31, Nadine de Klerk 1-16] lost to South Africa Women 161/4 in 19.1 overs [Laura Wolvaardt 20, Tazmin Britts 40,Mrizanne Kapp 81*, Chloe Tryon 10*;Shafali Verma 1-22, Shree Charani 3-24] by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
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