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Rarely will you see a more valiant, match-winning knock than the one played by Ross Taylor. Of the boxes ticked – a century made in a winning chase, seeing his side over the line, on one leg – the crucial point is a five-wicket victory that squares the series 2-2, with one match to play. If they still make DVDs, they should get to commissioning this series. Not many have contained as much drama and intrigue.
New Zealand beat England by five wickets in fourth ODI – as it happened Read more
Taylor’s unbeaten 181 from 147 – his second hundred of the series, a 19th in ODIs and a new top score – was brutal, but equally damaging blow for England came in their innings. Having been set-up for a spectacular finish by Jonny Bairstow’s third ODI century, they conspired to lose eight wickets in the space of 75 balls. Only Joe Root’s 102 and an unbeaten cameo of 22 from Tom Curran, which included 18 from the final over, took England to 335-9 – the second-highest total posted on this ground.
Bairstow had done his bit as he walked off having been caught in the ring, 12.2 overs still to bat with 267-2 on the scoreboard. But the clatter of wickets, for just 68 runs, ceded control to the Blackcaps. Ish Sodhi was the beneficiary of England’s middle-order flunk: removing Jos Buttler, caught and bowled, for a two-ball duck, Ben Stokes caught slog-sweeping to square leg and Moeen Ali mistiming a hook, down to Tim Southee at long on. That gave him ODI-best figures of four for 58. Had Root not registered his 11th ODI hundred, England might have ended up in the gutter.
Taylor and Tom Latham, the combination that won New Zealand the opening ODI, were back at it, this time setting a new record for a fourth-wicket partnership against England of 187. A recovery from 2-2 was aided by skipper Kane Williamson (45), too, who shared in a stand of 94 with Taylor.
There were no signs of that dicky quadricep as Taylor sprinted the final run to move to 100 from 98 balls. Ten fours and two sixes eased the strain on a muscle injury that kept him out of the previous two ODIs. But soon he was struggling, requiring extra strapping to get by at the end of the 38th over. Now unable to deal in sharp singles, he set himself and swung for the Dunedin hills striking 10 of 23 boundaries (17 fours and six sixes) from that point onwards.
A Curran slower ball forced Latham to sky a catch to Moeen at mid on for 71. Moeen, though, could have had Latham on four, when he dropped a sitter of a return catch from his first delivery, at the start of the 20th over. Colin de Grandhomme’s 23 from 12 rid the situation of any immediate tension. Just as England started to claw back, Taylor stuck his foot on the accelerator once more. He deserved the crowning glory, but it was left to Henry Nicholls to whip Curran around the corner for six to seal victory with three balls to spare.
It seems trivial after Taylor’s knock, but Root’s and Bairstow’s were hundreds of personal importance. For Root, a first century in 19 innings this winter, converting at the ninth attempt of passing fifty. Bairstow’s 86-ball century nailed him down as the team’s first-choice opener after failing to crack on with starts of 36, 60, 39, 44 and 37 this year alone. All of his hundreds – this being the fastest – have come since being drafted in at the top of the order.
Jason Roy lays claim to second. His record-setting 180 in Melbourne seems a long time ago – 14 January, to be exact – but his quickfire 42 gave England the perfect start, having been sent in conditions that felt like April on the county circuit. The first 10-overs were taken for 77, as Roy and Bairstow struck cleanly through the line of the ball. Roy did the brunt of the damage, ticking over 2,000 ODI runs. He fell to Sodhi two balls outside the Power Play, working him around the corner, into the out-stretched arms of Mitchell Santner. Having had two similar catches revoked in the last month, Roy stood his ground, believing more in karmic justice than any hoodwinking on the fielder’s part. He began walking off as soon as he saw the first replay on the big screen.
Bairstow continued what Roy had started, thumping Sodhi for his first and longest six (107m, apparently) over the commentary boxes down perched above the sight screen , before taking a single to move to 50 from 38 balls. On 74, he misjudged a drive off Trent Boult, straight to Santner at cover. Somehow, it was shelled and Bairstow cracked on. Root’s was a slow-burner, a first six, his fourth boundary, taking him to his half-century from 61 balls. His acceleration – 51 to his century took 38 balls – saw the final 90 of his and Bairstow’s stand come off just 53.
The manner of this defeat will sting England. Quite how they let this slip – it bears repeating, 267-1 in the 38th over – will leave them in the doldrums ahead of the series decider in Christchurch on Saturday. They can take solace in the fact that they were bested by an innings of a lifetime.
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James Anderson took over the role for the Ashes in Stokes' absence, but the allrounder's return to the fold for the New Zealand tour means it is a situation that needs to be addressed
If there was any venue in the country where New Zealand could go to try and wrestle back to the advantage, it would probably be the Westpac
Eoin Morgan thought the match had got away from England at Westpac Stadium when Kane Williamson and Mitchell Santner were together only for a bit of "luck" to turn it back their way
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Moeen has been a key figure in England's continued one-day success, first in Australia and now in New Zealand where he took 3 for 36 including two wickets in two balls
In 2015, these two teams played out an epic 3-2 tussle - on that occasion England came back from 2-1 down to take the honours - and now New Zealand need to do the same
England have the chance to seal a keenly contested ODI series in New Zealand when the fourth match gets underway in Dunedin on Wednesday
Joe Root's Test and ODI workload threaten to undermine the development of a player who ought to be central to England's World T20 plans in 2020
Ross Taylor produced one of the greatest ODI innings - a large part of it on one leg - to help New Zealand level the series 2-2
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