An English Adventure

[Aislabie]

Well, that sucked. @Aislabie how do you play ODIs again? I'm like 2 and 15 now

I play my batters on five bars, moving up to nine bars after 20 overs (with 10 wickets left), 25 overs (with 9), 30 (with 8), 35 (with 7), or 40 (with 6 or fewer). I also then go up to max aggression for the last five overs if I have five or more wickets left at that stage.

As for bowling, set up some custom fields and only ever bowl on the most defensive settings available, way outside off stump. Also save your best bowler (ideally a spinner) to start their spell as late as possible. This just creates some delightful career stats after a while.

 

[ddrap14]

only ever bowl on the most defensive settings available

ah so that's how I lost the AU and IND games - went full aggro when I saw them in bad situations

 

[ddrap14]

In the meantime though, we have Tests to play!

Squad for Single Test vs :
Sam Hain
Keaton Jennings
Joe Root
James Vince
Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler
Ollie Pope
Sam Curran
Ben Stokes
Adil Rashid
Jimmy Anderson
:bwL: Stuart Broad
Mark Wood

I'm experimenting a bit here with the batting order, but the bowling unit is likely to remain same for the Ashes.

 

[ddrap14]

I had nice formatting for the Irish test, but I closed the tab accidentally, so here's the XIs
ENG: Jennings, Hain (debut), Root, Bairstow, Stokes, Pope, Buttler, Rashid, Wood, Broad, Anderson
IRL: Stirling, Porterfield, Balbirnie, MacCollum, O'Brien, Wilson, Dockrell, McBrine, Cameron-Dow, Murtagh, Young

England won the toss and bowled. Ireland made a very strong start to the game, reaching 1/110 thanks to 66 from Will Porterfield. A collapse of 5/23 looked to have ended their fun, but there was a revival from McBrine and Dockrell. McBrine made a nice fifty, while Dockrell finished unbeaten on 117 as Ireland set 360. Adil Rashid had five wickets, Stokes three and Anderson two in highly economical spell.

England's reply wasn't entirely convincing - despite a fifty from Keaton Jennings, they were in trouble at 7/185. It took some staying power for Mark Wood as well as Jos Buttler to resurrect the innings, as Buttler's 87 and Wood's 47 got England to a score of 317. Tim Murtagh (4/87) and George Dockrell (3/66) were excellent.

Ireland's reply was less expressive. Stirling and O'Brien delivered fifties, but aside from them, the reply wasn't brilliant, and they were all out for 226. Anderson (4/40) was outstanding, and Wood and Rashid had multiple wickets too.

The fourth inning... tweak

 

[ddrap14]

The Ashes
Game 1
Edgbaston
Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	David Warner
Sam Hain	Marcus Harris
Joe Root	Usman Khawaja
Jonny Bairstow	Steve Smith
Ben Stokes	Travis Head
Ollie Pope	Aaron Finch
Jos Buttler	Tim Pain
Sam Curran	Pat Cummins
Adil Rashid	Mitch Starc
Stuart Broad	Nathan Lyon
James Anderson	Josh Hazlewood

Australia go with the expected lineup, as do England, who bring in Sam Curran for Mark Wood from the Ireland game.

Joe Root won the toss and batted. Hain nicked behind for 18, but otherwise England made it to lunch unscathed. Jennings was bowled immediately after, though. Root played well for his 60, but holed out to Starc at deep mid wicket. After that, though, it was one way traffic for over 200 runs as Bairstow and Stokes churned out the runs. Bairstow eventually feathered one behind off Lyon to be out for a brilliant 166. After Pope failed again, Stokes and Buttler piled on a lot of runs again - 170 more were added before Buttler holed out to Harris. Stokes eventually went on the first over of Day 3, LBW Cummins for an elite 237. After fifties for Curran and Rashid, England finally were all out for a brilliant 754.

Harris was out for 17, LBW to Curran. Warner and Khawaja played well, with Warner being next out for 68, edging Broad behind. Smith carried on with Khawaja, and at the end of Day 3, Australia were 2/232. Khawaja was out almost immediately on Day 4 though, caught and bowled for 92. Smith made his ton, then nicked off Broad to be dismissed from the first ball of the new rock he faced. Finch was out cheaply, and Paine struggled at that end. Head still played well - he made a run-a-ball ton before Rashid bowled him. Rashid ended Paine's struggle a few overs later, and while Cummins and Starc hit effectively late on, Australia still were eligible for the follow-on - despite making 542. Broad had five of the wickets.

Warner was out, LBW Curran for three, early on in the second innings. No more wickets fell on Day 4, but Rashid got Harris early on Day 5. This time, Khawaja made his ton - and more - while Smith was out before, caught behind for 59. Khawaja was caught at silly point in the same Rashid spell, departing for 135. Broad got Finch for 24, and an enterprising partnership between the cautious Paine and attacking Head was ended when the latter's thumb was broken by an Anderson bumper. Australia then declared; while England tried to chase 150 in 15 overs, they got nowhere near.

 

[ddrap14]

The Ashes
Game 2
Lord's
Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	David Warner
Dawid Malan	Joe Burns
Joe Root	Usman Khawaja
Jonny Bairstow	Steve Smith
Ben Stokes	Marcus Harris
Ollie Pope	Aaron Finch
Jos Buttler	Tim Pain
Adil Rashid	Pat Cummins
Mark Wood	Mitch Starc
Stuart Broad	James Pattinson
James Anderson	Josh Hazlewood

Two changes for your Poms - Dawid Malan in for Sam Hain as opener simply because I wanted to try something, and Mark Wood in for Sam Curran because I felt the attack was too one-dimensional last time out. Australia are forced to replace Head with Joe Burns - demoting Marcus Harris to five - and... drop Nathan Lyon?

This was a toss I was fine to lose, because I had no clue what I would do if I won. Australia, though, were intent on batting. Burns' recall lasted 13 deliveries before a cut flew to Malan at second slip. Wood induced a nick to the same fielder from David Warner, although 16 was better than anything he did in this series IRL. But the biggest wicket was Smith - a thick edge to the keeper saw Anderson pick him up for a second ball duck. Harris followed the next ball, leaving Australia 4/29 even after they negotiated the hattrick ball. Aaron Finch counter-attacked, but then chipped one back to Rashid. The spinner then bowled Paine three balls later, leaving the Aussies 6/59. Khawaja battled to 71 with a bit of support from the tail, but Australia were all out for just 151.

The openers almost got past Australia's six-down score. Jennings was out nicking at 56. Root and Malan did take the score past 151 before a thick edge to second did Root in for 71. Bairstow and Malan added another hundred before the wicketkeeper was out for 63, LBW. Stokes got a duck, Buttler failed, and Malan was bowled five short of the ton. Despite a weak performance from the lower order, the final score of 334 was still more than enough for a lead... with one huge question mark. Adil Rashid. Ruled out for the game with a fractured wrist.

Warner failed again, bowled by Anderson for one. This time, though, Khawaja also departed in the ten overs before the end of Day 2 - Bairstow snaffling a speccie down the leg side off the bowling of Australia's #1 Villain. Smith wasn't out before the night, but was out very early in the next morning, edging to slip. Stokes' first over of the match got Harris edging to second slip. Australia then finally put together a partnership - Burns' grinding and Finch's strokemaking added over 100 before the latter was pinned in front by Anderson. Paine failed, and Stokes finally got Burns for 81, caught at slip in the first over after tea following 213 balls. The tail again showed fight for Australia - 62, including 17 from Broad's first over with the new ball, from Starc pushed the second innings to 299 and the target to just over 100.

I wasn't a huge fan of the chase. Jennings, Malan and Bairstow contributed just 13 between them. Luckily, we were only chasing 116, and we had Root and Stokes, who saw us home from there. 1-0 series lead!

 

[ddrap14]

The Ashes
Game 3
Headingley
Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	David Warner
Dawid Malan	Joe Burns
Joe Root	Usman Khawaja
Jonny Bairstow	Steve Smith
Ben Stokes	Marcus Harris
Ollie Pope	Aaron Finch
Jos Buttler	Tim Pain
Jack Leach	Pat Cummins
Mark Wood	Mitch Starc
Stuart Broad	Nathan Lyon
James Anderson	Josh Hazlewood

One change for us - Rashid is hurt, so Jack Leach comes in. Please help me. Australia sensibly recall Lyon.

We lost the toss and were asked to bowl... which I didn't mind. And guess what happened again?

Oh how art imitates life. Burns, too, was out early, but the next two tucked into Wood and Stokes. Both Khawaja and Smith scored hundreds, and were advancing well when Smith flicked a ball directly to Pope at cover off Leach. Harris and Finch both failed, but Paine held down an end while Khawaja hit his double century. Paine reached a 150-ball 50 before he edged Stokes to slip, with Khawaja on 252. Usman was finally dismissed shortly after, caught at square leg for 271. Broad and Anderson dealt effectively with the tail, but Australia still set an imposing total of 547.

An opening stand of 90 was a good start. Keaton Jennings running himself out just shy of fifty, though, was less than ideal. Root was out just before the end of the day, too, edging Cummins to slip for 53. Buttler became the third English bat to fall between 47 and 53 a full session later, edging to slip for 49. But the problem for England was that he was followed by Malan - the guy who had to go big was yorked for 73 by Starc. The rest of the English wickets fell fairly quickly despite resistance from Bairstow at one end, and we ended up following on.

Root and Jennings failed early to have us in real trouble. Buttler and Malan added an almost century stand before the latter drove straight to cover. From there, despite hearty knocks from Buttler and Stokes, who both finished with seventies, England were always on the back foot, and ended up losing by an innings.

 

[ddrap14]

The Ashes
Game 4
Old Trafford
Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	David Warner
Dawid Malan	Joe Burns
Joe Root	Usman Khawaja
Jonny Bairstow	Steve Smith
Ben Stokes	Marcus Harris
Jos Buttler	Travis Head
Liam Dawson	Tim Pain
Adil Rashid	Pat Cummins
Mark Wood	Mitch Starc
Stuart Broad	Nathan Lyon
James Anderson	Josh Hazlewood

I felt last game we were short of batting and bowling. Hopefully, the two changes I've made rectify that - Rashid returns from injury, while Liam Dawson is in for the useless Pope. Australia also have Head back from injury, dropping Finch to make space.

Now, I didn't mean to click Bat after winning the toss, but it happened. My stupidity resulted in the early key wicket of Root, chipping back to Lyon. Dawid Malan also failed, and Bairstow left the game with a concussion after a nasty short ball from Starc (remember, this game is pre-sub). Jennings was brilliant and made a century, but did not progress past 107 when Hazlewood yorked him. Cummins immediately removed Buttler with the new ball, Dawson added nothing to the order, and the tail caved in to be all out for 258.

Australia scored just four from their first five overs, and as par for the course, Broad bowled Warner in the sixth. Khawaja, in career form, got the Aussies going, even after Joe Burns gloved one from Wood to the keeper. But he edged one into his pad in the over before lunch, and Malan at short leg did very well to grab the catch. Smith was out after a quick 27 after flicking Broad to midwicket, but after Head failed, Harris and Paine put a partnership together. Harris brought up his first 50 of the series before edging to third slip, while Paine did the same to Broad just short of his. Wood's pace annihilated the Aussie tail (apart from Starc, who hit a six off Rashid at the other end), and when the spinner removed the final man in Hazlewood (well caught by Hain at slip), England were six runs to the good.

The openers survived the five overs left in Day 2, but Root was out early nicking on Day 3. Malan got in and then out in similar fashion, and Stokes failed, leaving the Poms effectively 4/83. Jennings was dismissed without advancing the score, and Buttler and Dawson both failed. That left Rashid and the tail, and they did an excellent job to be fair, scoring almost half of England's final score of 196. Rashid had 52*, while Wood chipped in with a 30 and even James Anderson found a couple boundaries.

202 on a rapidly deteriorating wicket seemed to be in Australia's favour, but not overwhelmingly so. Warner was bowled cheaply by Anderson this time, but Burns and Khawaja steered the match towards Australia with a furious counter-attack. Burns played nicely for 73 off 93, but it was Khawaja who (as he did in Game 3) had the big impact. He had 92* off 72, as he and Smith ensured Australia won Game 4.

 

[ddrap14]

The Ashes
Game 5
The Oval

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	David Warner
Jason Roy	Marcus Harris
Sam Hain	Usman Khawaja
Joe Root	Steve Smith
Dawid Malan	Joe Burns
Ben Stokes	Travis Head
Jos Buttler	Tim Pain
Adil Rashid	Pat Cummins
Mark Wood	Mitch Starc
Stuart Broad	Nathan Lyon
James Anderson	Josh Hazlewood

England fans - I'm sorry. Jason Roy is in the Test team. He and Hain come in for the hurt Bairstow and the dropped Dawson - I wanted an aggressive bat to replace Bairstow, while Dawson and Rashid were just too similar. The Aussies meanwhile continue to try and get Jimmy Anderson to 600 wickets by dropping Burns to the middle order and opening with fragility.

Australia won the toss and batted, and Anderson got #597 early on as he bowled Harris. Khawaja didn't go big, surprisingly - he was so surprised by Mark Wood missing his length that he nicked it down the leg side. Warner stuck around for a while, but it was a long time, not a good time - he struggled to 35 before Malan caught him at cover. Anderson got Head shortly after lunch, and Burns made a nice start then flicked Wood to square leg. This left Steve Smith, on a run-a-ball ton, with Paine and the tail. Wood yorked Paine two overs later, leaving him with just the tail. Cummins showed some life with the bat, making 26, but he and Smith (for a magnificent 142) got out to Broad in the same over. While Lyon hit a few nice shots, Wood mopped up the tail for his 5-for. Australia didn't stick around for long enough to see the second new ball, but they did get 331 on the board.

Jennings and Roy put on 69 for the first wicket before the latter edged to second slip. England's decision to promote Malan to three didn't work as he chipped one back to Lyon immediately, but although accidental (again), Buttler at four worked out handsomely. He and Roy weren't separated until the over after tea (having united halfway through the first session), with Buttler chipping to square leg for 60. Stokes failed, and Root didn't take the unintentional demotion well, getting a golden globe caught behind. Hain and Roy added 80 before Cummins finally bowled the opener for 178, an innings that shook up the battle for England opener. Despite Rashid failing, Hain (who made it to 73) got enough support from the tail to push the score to 387.

The goal for the second innings was simple - get a chaseable target, with Jimmy getting two wickets to get to 600. Both plans were derailed by David Warner suddenly reverting to Australian form. Harris struggled and was eventually LBW for 22 by Rashid, but the score was 80 by this point. That said, Warner was bowled without adding to the score, which led to Anderson being recalled. He immediately trapped Smith in front with a full one that moved in - #599. Rashid dealt with Head when the batsman got too aggressive, leaving Australia having lost 4/6. Burns gloved Rashid behind twenty runs later, but there was no more England success on Day 3, as Khawaja played a few nice shots while Paine fought for his life - at close of play, he had faced 130 balls for 25 runs. They kept fighting into Day 4, until Khawaja ran himself out five short of a hundred. Wood, who was bowling at the time, took advantage by instantly dismissing Cummins. Paine and Starc survived the frontline bowlers with the new ball - Starc hit some cracking shots, but was then yorked by Wood. In the first over after lunch, Anderson ended Paine's vigil - he picked Broad at deep square leg for Jimmy's 600th Test wicket. The last pair added just six more, setting England 229 to win.

49 of those 229 were accomplished by the openers, before Jennings got a nasty blow to the ribs and retired hurt. Malan failed again at #3, and while Roy succeeded again, he was bowled by Steve Smith attempting to remove him from The Oval with 77 still needed - his 81 was key, though. Joe Root, repromoted to 4, and Buttler almost took England all the way there, and would have if Buttler didn't try and finish the game with a six off Lyon and pick out Starc at long off instead. It was instead Ben Stokes who hit the winning runs as the Ashes finished, as it did in real life, in a 2-2 draw.



Usman Khawaja is Man of the Series for a nutty 814 runs at 101.75. England's best contributors were Stokes (392 @ 65) and Wood (17 wickets at 25).

 

[ddrap14]

Squad for 2-Test Series In :
Sam Hain
Keaton Jennings
Dawid Malan
Sam Robson
Joe Root
Jason Roy
Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler
Ed Barnard
Liam Dawson
Adil Rashid
Ben Stokes
James Anderson
Stuart Broad
Pat Brown
Craig Overton
Ollie Robinson
Mark Wood

All 13 men in the Game 5 squad for the Ashes (the playing XI, plus Craig Overton and Liam Dawson) return for this series, as does Jonny Bairstow, who may not actually start (and if he does, it'll be as the keeper). The other four are County standouts. Brown and Robinson have a chance of playing thanks to stellar County seasons - they're like-for-like replacements for Anderson and Wood in case of injury. Barnard may have the best chance of the four, as he's averaged 33 with the bat and 25 with the ball, and could be a decent shout if a pitch presents such spin-averse conditions that Joe Root will suffice as the spinner. Robson won't play unless everyone else possible gets food poisoning - he had an even 1000 runs in County, but I'd rather keep the younger guys in. Harsh misses include Tom Alsop, Jamie Porter and Jack Leach.

 

[ddrap14]

Three Day Friendly with Otago
No need to put a fancily formatted team list out, but here's the team: Jennings-Robson-Hain-Buttler-Bairstow-Malan-Dawson-Barnard-Overton-Robinson-Brown. Dropped everyone assured of a spot (except Jennings as I needed an opener) and trotted out the reserves.

We won the toss and I elected to bat. Jennings and Robson weren't separated until halfway through the second session, when Jennings top edged a pull through to the keeper. Hain failed, and then the surprisingly lethal Travis Muller bowled Robson to have all three so far. 73 for Bairstow saw him take the lead in terms of the wicketkeeper spot, while 75 for Malan and an unbeaten 50 for Ed Barnard were good signs for the pair. England were all out for 484.

Brown and Robinson kept it tight with the new ball, but didn't break the opening stand. On the other hand, Barnard was expensive in his first stint, but also induced an edge from Josh Tasman-Jones. Brown came back on to get Mitch Renwick, while Cam Hawkins was LBW to the first ball after tea from Liam Dawson. Robinson produced a destructive over immediately after that had Anaru Kitchen LBW and bowled Nick Kelly, and Dawson trapped Dean Foxcroft after a short stand. Barnard was expensive again, but knocked over the tail easily, allowing a follow-on.

I used the other pair of quicks early in this game, and Overton got two early wickets - JTJ edging behind, and Renwick flashing to square leg. Hawkins made another nice forty before edging to slip off Brown, and while Kitchen and young Phil Wheatley stayed together for a while, Dawson finally had Kitchen out caught at short leg. Wheatley brought up a solid ton before he lost Kelly at the other end plumb LBW to Dawson. Wheatley finally fell for 137 late in the day, LBW Overton, and while two more wickets fell (one to the impressive Overton), the match was always going to be a draw when a couple fours from big Jacob Duffy saw Otago pass the English score.



The bats impressed me - while the top scorer was Keaton Jennings, knocks from Bairstow and Malan convinced me of their selection - but I'm less sure of the bowlers. Ed Barnard was good with the blade, but expensive with the ball and a bit blunt in the second inning. Overton was the other way around, and Pat Brown was generally raw but showed promise. Dawson, at least, seems like a competent 1B for Rashid.

 

[ddrap14]

England vs New Zealand
Match 1 of 2
Wellington

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Tom Latham
Jason Roy	Martin Guptill
Sam Hain	Kane Williamson
Joe Root	B. J. Watling
Dawid Malan	Ross Taylor
Jonny Bairstow	Henry Nicholls
Ben Stokes	Colin de Grandhomme
Adil Rashid	Tim Southee
Mark Wood	Ish Sodhi
Stuart Broad	Neil Wagner
James Anderson	Trent Boult

Well, with all that drama in the test match, there's only one change from The Oval. Bairstow returns in place of Buttler at keeper. That said, Sam Robson is actually in five-star form right now, so there's a chance he does play a part in this series. As for the Kiwis, they play the expected team but not in the expected order - why is Watling at 4?

We won the toss, batted, and immediately watched Southee york Roy. The further losses of Jennings - thinly edging a drive off Wagner - and Root, plumb LBW sweeping off Sodhi, saw England in a tough position at lunch of 3/81. The loss of Sam Hain to a suspect LBW call for 53 amplified those issues. After a solid partnership, the dismissal of Bairstow (caught at long on) saw three quick wickets fall. Malan and Wood, though, added 74 to rescue the innings. Malan was eventually stranded on 87 as the innings finished on 273.

Latham was subdued early, scoring one off 26 balls faced in the first six overs. Guptill got eleven from the first seven, but flashed another big drive at Broad and edged to the keeper. Wood came into the attack and bowled Williamson in a huge moment for the game, and then after a VERY defensive partnership between Latham and Watling, the keeper was bowled by Rashid. Latham and Taylor finally attacked after lunch, with Anderson particularly being targeted, but after an important 80-run partnership, Broad bowled Taylor. Nicholls nicked the first ball after tea to slip, and Broad pinned de Grandhomme LBW with the second. Southee survived the hat-trick ball, and then counterattacked. The Kiwis, though, lost their backbone when Latham was caught spectacularly at square leg by Roy off Rashid for 72. Sodhi and Wagner fell quickly to Wood, but Boult stuck in there for Southee and was actually the undefeated partner after Broad yorked Southee for a superb 75 with the new ball.

England only had a lead of 24 after Southee's counterattack, and while both openers survived the four overs in Day 2, the next morning Jennings was out very early on. Roy nicked one after a start, and Hain was LBW shortly before lunch - conveniently leaving us 3/82 at lunch. Malan failed this time, though, as did Bairstow, Stokes and Rashid, all out cheaply. Wood provided some resistance, but there was little else from anyone but Root, and when the captain was run out trying to complete his 50, NZ had to get just 203 to win.

The Kiwis were much more positive out of the gate, polishing off 92 of those within the 22 overs left that night. Anderson was targeted particularly, leading Mark Wood to get the ball at the start of Day 4 instead - which immediately got Latham caught at square leg. Stokes eventually got Guptill caught at gully for 75, but the damage from his entertaining innings was done. Rashid kept England in the fight by dismissing Watling and Taylor in the same over, but Nicholls and Williamson saw the Kiwis home with no further loss.

 

[ddrap14]

England vs New Zealand
Match 2 of 2
Auckland

Lineups:

Sam Robson	Tom Latham
Jason Roy	Martin Guptill
Sam Hain	Kane Williamson
Joe Root	B. J. Watling
Dawid Malan	Ross Taylor
Jonny Bairstow	Henry Nicholls
Ben Stokes	Jimmy Neesham
Adil Rashid	Tim Southee
Mark Wood	Neil Wagner
Stuart Broad	Lockie Ferguson
James Anderson	Trent Boult

As it turned out, I had no choice but to play Robson, as a groin strain ruled out Jennings. While I'm still not happy with Rashid, I'm otherwise fine with the team, so only the one change. The Kiwis also made a change, going with an all-pace lineup.

This was a toss to win and bat first. We lost. The Kiwi openers were once again very circumspect early, but they accelerated throughout the period - particularly Guptill, who got 60 off 70 before falling LBW to Rashid just before lunch. Latham chipped a drive back to Anderson shortly after, but from there Watling and Williamson turned the game towards NZ. Then Stokes turned it back, getting the pair in three balls with full and straight ones that Watling got a pad in front of and Kane didn't. Stokes also got Taylor for 34 in his next spell, bowled, but Neesham and Nicholls made it to stumps undefeated. Rashid got the breakthrough fourty minutes into Day 2 - Nicholls' attemped sweep ballooned up for Bairstow, ending an enterprising innings at 81. Stokes got Neesham nicking the next over, and then Wagner plumb LBW for the five-for. Mark Wood cleaned up the tail, and NZ were all out for 385, losing their last five for 22.

3/17 wasn't ideal, as both Sams and Roy failed (Robson was my fault; I pushed his slider up by mistake). Root and Malan fought back, until Root was yorked one short of his fifty. Malan was bowled for a hard-fought 58 late in the day, and Stokes failed again, leaving us 6/242 at close of play. Bairstow eventually nicked off in the first over with the new ball for a critical 117, and Broad and Anderson frustrated the Kiwis by adding 20 in 12 overs. Thanks to the recovery, we were only 70 behind, having made 313.

Broad got rid of Latham before he'd conceded a run. All the other Poms were expensive early on, as Guptill and Williamson took the game to England. It was again Stokes who got the breakthrough, as Williamson got a healthy edge to second slip. Rashid quickly removed Watling, and Anderson bowled Taylor off the final ball before tea. Guptill ended up hitting a run-a-ball 110 in a highly impressive effort, before he edged a Stokes full toss to Bairstow. Stokes also had Nicholls caught at square leg, and Anderson removed the stubborn Southee late in the day. The next morning, Wood and Rashid cleaned up the tail. This left England needing an even 350 to win.

Roy holed out after making 26 of those to be the first wicket to fall. Hain lasted two deliveries, leaving Robson to add 75 with Root. That ended when the captain edged to his counterpart at slip, but a bigger blow was 40 runs later when Robson edged through to the keeper after a lovely 68. Bairstow was dropped in the last over of the day, leaving England with 143 to get on day 5 for the win. That became 114 by the time the first of the six wickets in reserve fell, as Malan was brilliantly caught by Southee in his followthrough for 49. Boult got Bairstow with the new ball, and a Rashid failure left Ben Stokes and the tail to get 69 after lunch. Stokes remained for just ten of those before being bowled, and the tail couldn't get the remaining 59.



That, uh, was unplanned.

 

[ddrap14]

Squad for 5 T20s vs :
Alex Hales
Eoin Morgan
Joe Root
Jason Roy
Phil Salt
James Vince
Jos Buttler
Moeen Ali
Jofra Archer
Benny Howell
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
David Willey
Tom Curran
Mark Wood

All-rounder heavy is the effort here. Howell comes in after a great T20 season, which also leads to recalls for Ali and Roy. Really, this is my first major T20 squad. No Stokes - I didn't have room for him, simply.

 

[ddrap14]

Match 1 - Wellington
England XI: Roy, Hales, Buttler, Root, Morgan, Vince, Willey, Ali, Archer, Curran, Wood. Rashid and Jordan both miss out.

NZ prevailed in the death of this one. 3/61 in the seventh was a big problem for the Kiwis, but Tom Latham's 80 brought them back well. England generally batted aggressively to try and chase down the 173, but were bowled out four short after a four-wicket haul from Tim Southee.
NZ 4/173 (Latham 80) beat ENG 169 (Root 40, Southee 4/33)

Match 2 - Auckland
England XI: Roy, Hales, Buttler, Root, Morgan, Vince, Willey, Ali, Archer, Curran, Wood. Unchanged, but a huge amount of form watch for Morgan, who could go next game if he fails again.

I feel bad for Mark Wood. He bowled incredibly - 6/20 was a shoo-in for MOTM - but got let down, firstly by pies from Archer and Curran allowing Taylor and Neesham to resurrect the NZ innings, and then by another batting failure.
NZ 184 (Taylor 65, Neesham 48, Wood 6/20) beat ENG 128 (Southee 4/44)

Match 3 - Christchurch
England XI: Roy, Buttler, Hales, Root, Vince, Howell, Willey, Ali, Jordan, Curran, Wood. Out goes Archer and Morgan, in comes Howell on debut and Jordan who should be better than pies.

For the second match of the series, it was Tom Latham winning the game for NZ. I was much happier with the batting performance - nobody really took charge, but everyone contributed. But, apart from Willey and Wood, everyone got taken down by Latham's 44 ball knock.
ENG 174 (Hales 42, Southee 3/29) lose to NZ 5/178 (Latham 91*, Willey 2/27)

Match 4 - Wellington Port
England XI: Roy, Buttler, Hales, Root, Vince, Howell, Willey, Ali, Rashid, Curran, Wood. One change - a spin friendly track sees Rashid come in for Jordan.

Expensive bowling costs us another game... Batting was again fine, as led by Hales, a competitive target was set. But the spinners and Willey got nuked by Taylor and Munro after the Kiwis were 4/52.
ENG 8/175 (Hales 68, Ferguson 3/28) lose to NZ 5/180 (Taylor 60, Munro 58*)

Match 5 - Napier
England XI: Salt, Buttler, Hales, Root, Vince, Howell, Willey, Ali, Jordan, Curran, Wood. A reversal of the Port change, and then Salt comes in given the dead rubber.

The bowling failed again, as Nicholls and Latham really got going. But Jos Buttler and Joe Root secured a relatively easy win for England in what is my first T20 success in six tries. Credit to NZ for dropping Sodhi for Henry.
NZ 2/193 (Nicholls 71*, Latham 54*) lose to ENG 3/194 (Root 83 from 37, Buttler 80*)

NZ win series 4-1. POTS: Tom Latham