Kiwis and England all set for finale to cracking series
New Zealand v England
Hagley Oval
Fifth ODI, 22:00 GMT
OVERVIEW
A humdinger of a series reaches a fitting conclusion at the beautiful Hagley Oval ground in Christchurch with both teams desperate to secure victory over their nearest challengers and close the gap on India in the MRF ODI Team Rankings.
The teams meet for the first time at the Hagley locked at 2-2, with New Zealand taking the first and fourth matches thanks to a pair of centuries from Ross Taylor, with England grabbing the middle two.
The tourists will be frustrated to have lost the last match at Dunedin after dominating the first third, before a dramatic collapse saw them give up seven wickets for 46. Taylor was thereafter unstoppable, and the Kiwis romped to their 335-run target with three balls to spare.
Taylor holds the key again. A leg injury has been tested in the build-up and he was reportedly moving with relative freedom during a fitness test on the outfield. Suggestions are that he will be fit to start.
A win for England would make that 11 series wins from their last 14 dating back to the ICC World Cup in 2015; since that tournament, they boast the best win ratio of all the teams in the top half of the rankings.
KEY PLAYERS
NEW ZEALAND: For all Kane Williamson’s relentless consistency – his unbeaten century on a corrugated surface in the third match was nothing short of a masterpiece – it is hard to look past the form of Ross Taylor, whose career-best knock in the previous game took his century-tally against England across all formats to seven. The big question is whether is injured leg holds up and he can take the field…
ENGLAND: Jonny Bairstow continues to force the issue. He is now England’s premier opening batsman in the 50-over game, having edged out Alex Hales and out-scored Jason Roy since getting the nod in June last year. After his third century in 14 matches since opening the batting, he comes into this one in sparkling form: in the previous match, he stuck three balls out of the ground, with one six travelling 115 metres, in his 106-ball 138.
CONDITIONSA much larger playing area than Dunedin’s should even the balance between bat and ball. In the last international match at the Hagley, the West Indies stumbled to 99 all out; that said, New Zealand have passed the 300-mark three times in recent years. Expect some movement early on. Thereafter it will be good for batting. Overhead conditions should be fine; mostly sunny, no chance of rain.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
NEW ZEALAND: Mitchell SantnerThe southpaw all-rounder has been more effective with bat than ball so far in this series. Just two wickets from four matches, but consistently dangerous from No.8 in the order, guiding New Zealand home in the first match with a brilliant 27-ball 45* and following up with an unbeaten 63 – his first half-century in ODI cricket – and 41 in the third match. He currently averages 149 for the series.
ENGLAND: Ben Stokes
Stokes has gone about his business quietly so far in this series. He claimed the Player of the Match award in his second game back and spoke warmly about being reintegrated into the team environment. Either side of that game he has yet to fully fire. What better time to make his mark on the series than in the decider, in the city of his birth.
NEW ZEALAND TEAM (probable)
Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
ENGLAND TEAM (probable)
Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c); Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali; Adil Rashid; Tom Curran, Chris Woakes; Mark Wood