Rain plays spoilsport in 1st NZ-ENG T20I, match abandoned
What's the story
The first T20I between New Zealand and England at Hagley Oval in Christchurch was abandoned due to rain. The match was shaping up to be an exciting contest, with England having posted a total of 153/6 in their 20 overs before the rain interrupted play. New Zealand will be disappointed as they had restricted England's innings and were confident of chasing down the target. Here are further details.
Match details
Curran guides England to a decent total
England lost their opener, Philip Salt (3), early in the innings. However, Jos Buttler (29) and Harry Brook (20) contributed with brief cameos. Sam Curran anchored the innings with an unbeaten 49 off 35 deliveries, guiding England past the 150-run mark. The rain started pouring down at the end of the England innings, leading to an abandoned affair.
Bowling highlights
NZ bowlers did well to restrict England
The New Zealand bowlers put up a collective effort, with several of them picking up wickets. Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and Mitchell Santner were the stars of the show as they bowled 12 overs between them for just 73 runs. Jacob Duffy started well but became slightly expensive toward the end of England's innings. All six Kiwi bowlers including all-rounders Mitchell Santner and James Neesham claimed one wicket each.
DYK
Buttler gets to this milestone
The game saw Buttler become the seventh player overall and second from his nation to complete 13,500 runs in T20 cricket. Buttler has raced to 13,503 runs across 471 T20 games at 35.72, as per ESPNcricinfo. In England colors, he has scored 3,865 runs at an average of 35.78 with a strike rate of 148.99 in 142 matches (50s: 28, 100: 1).