England help Pak reach Semis by beating NZ

Tags: ENG v NZ 22nd Match at St Lucia - May 10, 2010, England, New Zealand, ICC World T20 - 2010, Daniel Luca Vettori, Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan, Timothy Thomas Bresnan, Luteru Ross Poutua Lote Taylor

Published on: May 13, 2010

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

A well professional England side defeated New Zealand by 3 wickets and five balls to spare in a chase of 150.

England Innings

A well professional England side defeated New Zealand by 3 wickets and five balls to spare in a chase of 150. This victory to England and a defeat to New Zealand means that it has paved way for Pakistan to reach the Semis despite winning only one game out of three in the Super Eights!! Pakistan have made it based on a better net run rate compared to New Zealand and South Africa who have also won one out of three matches in this round.

Well it was a very comprehensive win for England with Morgan and Wright holding the chase very well and Bresnan finished it in style! Eoin Morgan (40 from 34 balls) along with Luke Wright (24 from 17 balls) put on a match-winning stand of 52 to rescue England from a precarious situation of 66 for 4 in the 9th over. Tim Bresnan made the chase look utterly simple with his unbeaten 23 from 11 balls. He got the Man of the Match for his overall all-round performance.

The main bowlers of New Zealand were disappointing with the exception of Skipper Daniel Vettori who dismissed the dangerous Michael Lumb (32 from 21 balls) while conceding only 24 in his four overs. Scott Styris bowled well too for his 2 for 16 in 3 overs.

New Zealand Innings

New Zealand have posted 149 for 6 on the slow Gros Islet pitch with the batsmen struggling to find their timing right. Ross Taylor produced his best innings of this tournament so far, scoring 44 from 33 balls with two sixes. He got a 62-run partnership going with Scott Styris, who made 31 from 19 balls with three fours and a six. The Kiwis got a cautious start from Brendon McCullum who took 32 balls to score his 33.

The English bowlers used plenty of short deliveries along with change of pace. The spinners - Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann hardly went for any big runs. Amongst the three pacers, Tim Bresnan was the best conceding only 20 in his four overs, foxing Jesse Ryder with a slower one and in the end bowling a superb last over.

Toss and Teams

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat first against England at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet. A win for New Zealand here will carry them into the Semi Finals. For England, this match means nothing as they are already sitting pretty in the Semis with two consecutive wins over Pakistan and South Africa. Spin will be the key today and New Zealand would be hoping that the pitch further slows down in the second innings to help Daniel Vettori and Nathan McCullum to grip the surface.

There is a change in the NZ team with Aaron Redmond coming in for Martin Guptill. Kevin Pietersen is not in the Caribbean and has been replaced with Ravi Bopara.

England Playing XI : Craig Kieswetter (WK), Michael Lumb, Ravi Bopara, Paul Collingwood (C), Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Ryan Sidebottom

New Zealand Playing XI : Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Aaron Redmond, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Gareth Hopkins (WK), Daniel Vettori (C), Ian Butler, Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Shane Bond

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