England v New Zealand: Key Plays

The main protagonists and standout moments from the Group A fixture in Cardiff, where England beat New Zealand by 87 runs to become the first side to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.

MOMENT OF THE DAY

At 158-2, requiring 153 more for victory in 20 overs, and with Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor well set, New Zealand was in the box-seat. The boundaries were flowing freely and England’s bowlers were starting to look short of ideas. It felt like a defining moment of the match when Eoin Morgan tossed Mark Wood the ball for a second spell, and so it proved. The England quick found some extra bounce from a short, cross-seam delivery and took Williamson’s glove, with Jos Buttler pouching a tumbling catch. The Black Caps skipper clearly wasn’t happy, gesturing at the pitch before he trudged off, 13 short of a second consecutive century.

MAN OF THE DAY – ENGLAND: JOS BUTTLER

An honourable mention for Liam Plunkett, who took his second consecutive four-wicket haul, but Buttler takes the honours. By his own very high standards England’s keeper-batsman hasn’t been on top form in recent months, with one half-century from his last 10 ODI innings. He was back to his enterprising best with a bang in Cardiff, giving England’s innings some much-needed impetus at the death with an unbeaten 61 from 48 deliveries. Buttler played some breath-taking shots (more on that later) and took his team past 300 after a flurry of wickets looked to have left the hosts struggling to reach that mark.

MAN OF THE DAY – NEW ZEALAND: KANE WILLIAMSON

Who else? After scoring a century in the rained-off fixture against Australia, Williamson looked on course for another until that brute of a delivery from Wood. After a steady start, he eased through the gears and appeared to be toying with England’s bowlers as he expertly threaded the ball through the gaps. It was the Kiwi’s fifth consecutive 50-plus score against England.

SHOT OF THE DAY

The lone cameraman stationed way up in a gantry at the River Taff End had an eventful day. Buffeted by strong winds throughout and sporadically rained upon, he was almost knocked off his perch by an outrageous stroke from Buttler in the 46th over. To a fullish delivery from Trent Boult, Buttler stepped away to the off-side to give himself some room and ramped the ball straight over the wicketkeeper and very nearly out of the stadium. The shot of the tournament so far, let alone this match.

BALL OF THE DAY

Jake Ball, to be precise. The strapping seamer endured a difficult match against Bangladesh, conceding 82 from his 10 overs, but England’s brains trust kept faith in him. Ball rewarded them with an excellent opening spell, which included a jaffer to dismiss Luke Ronchi, as he nipped the ball back between the opener’s bat and pad to take out middle stump.

STAT OF THE DAY

Despite scoring runs at a healthy lick, England’s batsmen struggled to put together meaningful partnerships as the Kiwi bowlers continued to chip away. The most significant was the 81-run second-wicket stand between Alex Hales and Joe Root, who seem to love batting together in ODIs. It was the duo’s 13th 50-plus partnership in 23 innings and they average 71.26 in tandem – the highest average of any English pair to have batted together more than eight times.