England win the T20 series 1-0 against New Zealand
England carry the series after winning the single completed match, and now they prepare for the ODI series ahead.
There’s not a great deal to be taken from this, but at least the team have escaped the pressure that would come with defeat.
Thank you for reading today, and it’s a shame for Tim Seifert, who looked in exceptionally strong early form before the rain had its say.
New Zealand vs England 3rd T20 Highlights
Video credit: TNT Sports
Match abandoned – New Zealand 38-1 after 3.4 overs.
The umpires have decided that is it, and we’re done for the day.
We didn’t even get four overs of action, and the rain has forced an end to the action.
How low can we go?
Spiritually? Probably quite low. In terms of innings length – it’s an easier answer: five overs a side.
That means the game is not called off yet, but it’s approaching the cut-off point where the umpires will have to rule out any further action. A swift end to the rain now is essential.
Doom
The rain is back, and off we trot once more. Get the covers!
New start time – six minutes left
We’ll be back very shortly, but we’re down to eight overs a side.
Covers coming off
The umpires are out under umbrellas. The grass on the outfield will need to dry out, and the crowd is starting to head home as thoughts of existential dread start to cloud their pre-bedtime thoughts. Or they just need to be up early for work, who knows?
No word on when we will be back at work.
Waiting on a restart time
Everyone is looking for the umpires to return to the pitch for an inspection, but there’s no news yet.
Let’s wait and see, but given the format allows for some heavily abridged innings, we’re still looking likely to get a result.
If England are kept on the sidelines for the rest of the match though, they will of course be pleased with the series win, but you’d imagine they’d want the chance to sharpen up.
Zero batting time will clearly hurt the visitors as they look to get up to speed with the ODIs still to come.
Anyway, maybe we’ll be back in action soon enough. I’ll let you know as soon as there is news.
Seifert’s six
(One of several!)
‘Catch of the summer’ as Seifert clears the ropes for New Zealand
Video credit: TNT Sports
Covers on – but rain has stopped
The rain has stopped again, but with the big covers on now, it’ll take a little while for that to be changed.
There are some concerns though that the outfield is pretty wet. That will need to be addressed to protect both the players and the ball.
Robinson goes cheaply as Carse gets breakthrough for England
Video credit: TNT Sports
New Zealand 38-1 (3.4 overs) – Seifert 23 Ravindra 10
Ravindra flies at the ball but misses. His second effort gets him a six, with a pull shot almost directly behind him. The short boundaries here are helping the home side, and England will need to make similar use in their own innings. Ravindra dashes to a single as the rain comes down again – Seifert would not have survived a direct hit – and there are concerns that this could be another interruption. Seifert makes use of his reprieve to fire in another six with a pull shot, into the second tier of the ground. And off we go again for rain.
New Zealand 25-1 (3 overs) – Seifert 17 Ravindra 3
Ravindra takes a single to keep the scoreboard ticking over, as does Seifert, and they are boosted by another wide, this time from Wood. The next effort whistles just past Ravindra’s outside edge as it moves from inside to out. The following delivery costs runs as Curran misfields behind, hurting Wood’s already iffy figures further. Seifert attempts another scoop over the top, and misses.
New Zealand 20-1 (2 overs) – Seifert 16 Ravindra 1
The second over comes to a close with a single for Ravindra.
Wicket! Robinson c Bethell b Carse 9 – New Zealand 20-1
Robinson attempts to land his own six, hoiking over to the left, but Bethell is underneath it and takes a solid catch.
New Zealand 20-0 (1.5 overs) – Seifert 16 Robinson 0
A wide – hugely high more than anything – starts Carse’s spell. A loose shot from Seifert balloons the ball up, but it’s short of Brooks at mid-off. Seifert adds six with a looping sweep as he moves over to the right of the wicket, a lovely and inventive effort. A leg bye comes when the ball strikes Seifert’s hip or side, and he winces a little when he finishes his single safely, and New Zealand get an extra run as it is declared a no ball too. Carse gets his first sight of Robinson, now, who whips at the ball narrowly to add a couple more.
New Zealand 9-0 (1 over) – Seifert 9 Robinson 0
Wood restarts with no runs off his first ball of the restart. They dash for a quick single when Seifert plays off his hip into space, and Robinson faces his first delivery of the over, and the match. Nothing from that.
Restart in five minutes
It should be 14 overs aside.
The outfield is apparently greasy, but the pitch is meant to be dry enough to bowl on. If we get no more rain, things should be fine here.
Inspection in 10 minutes
The umpires will check the surface in 10 minutes to decide what’s going to happen. Let’s hope that the rain holds off for the rest of the night.
Covers coming off – no start time yet
Excitement abounds. The big covers are coming off, and should be followed by the smaller covers.
It’ll take a while to get things restarted once that’s done, but a projected start time will come through at some point.
Rain delay continues
There’s no news yet on when we might be back in action. For now, why not catch up with Australia v India.
Australia v India second men’s ODI LIVE – Latest as Rana and Arshdeep power India past 250‘We love beating England’
‘England the inventors of cricket – but we love beating them’
Video credit: TNT Sports
Seifert’s opening boundary
Here is how the match got started as New Zealand made a strong start before the rain kicked in.
Seifert gets New Zealand going against England before rain arrives
Video credit: TNT Sports
England beat New Zealand: Highlights
Watch the highlights from the second match-up, while we wait for the action to restart.
Highlights: England romp to 65-run win over New Zealand in second T20
Video credit: TNT Sports
Australia defeat India in first ODI
A shortened match – another affected by rain – and Australia come out on top.
Here’s the highlights.
Highlights: Australia cruise past India in rain-shortened first ODI
Video credit: TNT Sports
New Zealand 8-0 (0.3 overs) – Seifert 8 Robinson 0
It looks, as the great Mike Selvey says, like it is mildly rodding it down. The big covers are coming out to protect the surface.
We may be parked up for a while here, and we’ll know more soon. I hope.
New Zealand 8-0 (0.3 overs) – Seifert 8 Robinson 0
Wood’s delivery goes for a four from Seifert, but his next ball wafts through after a missed stroke. The third is driven hard for another boundary from a third full toss. And… we’re off for rain. The downpour has got a little too heavy and we’ll have a brief interruption.
A handy chance for Wood to reconsider his approach, perhaps.
The players are on the pitch
The first delivery should be any minute now!
One change for New Zealand
Zak Foulkes replaces Kyle Jamieson for the Black Caps.
England to bowl
England have won the toss, and they will be bowling first.
They are unchanged from their last match, the win in the second T20 game, so will be hoping for more of the same.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to TNT Sports’ live coverage of the third men’s T20 between New Zealand and England from Eden Park.
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