Rain washes out tense T20 opener as Curran shines in England’s recovery in Christchurch
England recover after testing start before rain stops play
New Zealand captain Mitchel Santner won the toss and elected to bowl on what was a fresh Hagley Oval wicket. A sell-out crowd greeted the players in the middle at one of the most scenic grounds in the world.
The new-ball combination of Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy set the tone for the Kiwis, bowling a line and length that would not look out of place in a certain big series coming up this winter. Duffy found an early reward in the form of Phil Salt, exploiting the significant lateral movement on offer. Combined with his natural extra bounce, it was enough to find the outside half of Salt’s bat, sending the ball flying down to the grateful hands of Mark Chapman at third man. Salt was dismissed for 3, unable to continue his scintillating form from the Ireland series, leaving England 11-1.
Young Jacob Bethell was England’s number 3, returning to the ground where he first unveiled his special talent on the world stage in December 2024. While there were glimpses of this on show—most notably a classical lofted off-drive that cleared the ropes—eventually the brilliant Henry got his man, caught off his own bowling for 15. With Bethell’s departure, England found themselves 29-2. It is worth noting that these white-ball series will go a long way in determining who strides out at number 3 in Perth. Bethell will hope to impress while his competitor Ollie Pope watches on.
England failed to ever really wrestle back the momentum gained by the opening bowlers and always looked like they were behind the 8-ball. Matt Henry was relentless with a metronomic line, moving the ball both ways and asking questions of the England batters most balls—some feat in a T20I. England’s captains, current and former, managed to put on a partnership of 35 before Jimmy Neesham fortuitously castled the new skipper Harry Brook with a slower ball for 20. He did play some sumptuous strokes that we associate with Harry Brook, including his trademark six over cover, but he will be disappointed not to kick on from his start.
Things did not ease up for England as premier spinner and Blackcaps captain Mitch Santner got into his work. Santner is a canny operator and gave the England batters no width to work with, which was reflected in his stellar economy rate of 5.0. He finished with figures of 1-20 from his four overs, his one scalp that of Tom Banton, who was caught at long-on by Neesham for 9, leaving England four down.
75-4 soon became 81-5 as Jos Buttler was dismissed by Bracewell for 29. Arguably England’s greatest ever white-ball batter batted with good temperament, realising England’s best chance of posting a competitive score would be for him to take it deep. However, Bracewell picked up the key wicket caught in the deep, significantly hampering the chances of England posting a winning total.
The new batters were Sam Curran and Jordan Cox, a pair who know each other very well after both having excellent summers, starring for the victorious Oval Invincibles in The Hundred. Cox never really got going and was caught off the bowling of Jamieson for 16 off 18 balls. However, Curran top-scored for England after recently being recalled into the setup with 49 not out. He capitalised after being given a life on 14 and 26—the latter courtesy of a poor drop by Tim Robinson at deep cover. Curran managed to find the boundary with more regularity late on, including a lofty blow over deep square. As a result, England finished on 153-6 largely due to the exemplary work of Sam Curran.
Rain spoiled the prospect of New Zealand’s reply, meaning the match was abandoned without England bowling a ball. There are positives to take for England, the biggest one being the recovery to 153 from 81-5 in testing conditions. Rob Key and Brendon McCullum will also be delighted with Sam Curran’s performance, who is certainly justifying his re-inclusion into the side. Curran looks to be a key player with the approaching T20 World Cup in February given the balance he offers to the side as an all-rounder and the variations he offers with the ball.
Questions do remain with the white-ball side though. Has Tom Banton done enough to nail down a spot in the top six with the likes of Duckett, Will Jacks, and Jamie Smith all likely to return to the side after their red-ball commitments? One thing is for certain – English cricket has a lot of talent. Key and co. will have a serious headache to work out their best white-ball sides before the World Cup.
Looking ahead
England will return to the same venue for the second T20 on Monday with the scores level at 0-0. While they insist that their focus is firmly on the present series, one can’t help but look ahead to the A-word. It is essential that the members of that squad treat both New Zealand series as a way to prepare given the absence of extensive warm-up games down under. While it makes sense for the players to adopt the classic phrase “take one game at a time,” we fans can be forgiven for looking ahead to what comes next.
Bring on the Aussies!
