England 67-4 in the 22nd over. Most of the big names for England are gone, were the twenty20 results a red herring?

England: 105-8 (36.2 overs)
New Zealand: Yet to bat
In Play

Cook - 11 from 26 balls.

Mustard - 31 from 60 balls.

Bell - scored 5 from 16 balsl.

Pietersen - scored 6 from 20 balls.

Bopara - scored 3 in 21 balls.

I said on another thread sittingduck that I was not being fooled by 2 superpjcricket results.

Cook and Bell together in the same one day side, puts the pressure on the other guys - and Mustard was not that hot.

Collinwood - Shan and Swann all run out batting under pressure, the only minute excuse for England being the pitch is very slow, like the England batting really.

__________________
Ern

Mascarenhas dropped for Bopara and Wright dropped for Cook - Nice one Mr Moores and Mr Collinwood.

England now England: 108-8 (41.0 overs) ,

Who was it that said "never in the field of competitive cricket, as one man stayed up so late for so little"

__________________
Ern

All out for 130, I've heard a couple of complaints about the pitch but England won the toss and batted. Three run outs definately didn't help though.

Kiwis look a much more confident unit, I don't know if its because they are vastly more experienced in one day cricket than 2020 or it may be Vettoris return to the leadership.

I'd expect NZ to cruise to victory but stranger things have happened.

Latest

England: 130 (49.4 overs)
New Zealand: 3-0 (2.3 overs)
In Play

Didn't NZ beat Aussie in similar circumstances last year?

Off topic a little - the last time England took two uncapped keepers on tour was in 1930/31 on a split tour I think of New Zealand and the West Indies - one played lots of games for Surrey, no surprises the other was an amateur playing only a handful of games for Oxford.

Latest:New Zealand: 18-0 (4.0 overs)
In Play .

__________________
Ern

McCullum's batting hyper-aggressively, standing out of the crease, charging down the pitch. Ryder's hit a couple of big strokes including a six over midwicket.

Seems like its a different pitch to the first innings, but I guess knowing they only need 130 the openers have been given a license to hit.

Yeah Ernest first game of the Chappell-Hadlee series last March Australia were dismissed for a similar score and New Zealand won by ten wickets (although I think it was Astle and Fleming who opened that day).

The pitch is on the extremely slow side, not of international quality by any means, although the England batsmen did not play well.

If NZ had to play on such a pitch in the sub-continent, the NZ media (Brian Waddle, the radio commentator in particular) would have criticised it beyond any imagination. I wonder what he has to say now??

Haven't seen much of this game. What I will say, however, is that it's good to know that Phil Mustard can at least rein himself in if required, instead of trying to hit himself out of every situation.

Other than that, the only plusses would seem to be the bowling efforts of Sidebottom and Broad, who you'd think would be certs for the rest of the series. Other than that, they might seriously need to consider recalling Mathew Hoggard to ODI colours- I always wondered why he's only played 30-odd matches. And dropping Wright I can understand, but Masceranhas needs to be back for the next match, for his bowlng as much as for his batting.

The pitch has been the same for both sides... and strikes me as having been excellent: for once, it was sporting. Boycott had no doubt that England should have scored at least 180.... and the NZ innings suggests that even 200-220 would have been an option.

The TMS crew have nothing very positive to say about England's batting... and with no target to bowl at, the bowlers haven't stood a chance... but no one has yet suggested that the pitch has been sub-standard - what's been sub-standard (typically) has been England's ability to judge the pitch and adjust their game accordingly.

That's been England's greatest weakness since Knight and Fairbrother quit: it's not been batting, nor bowling, nor fielding, but simply (or perhaps not so simply) judging the right approach, the right risks, the right targets.

All visiting teams, except perhaps Australia, have found NZ conditions not to their liking and have never really put up much fight against New Zealand. So from that perspective the result is not surprising.

I will not be surprised if NZ go on to win all the 5 ODIs.