Williamson powers New Zealand to T20 series win over England

Kiwis beat Poms by 12 runs New Zealand vs England Scoreboard

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Feb 13, (AP): New Zealand ended its three-match losing streak with a 12-run victory over England in a tri-nations Twenty20 cricket international on Tuesday, inspired by an innings of 72 from captain Kane Williamson.

Williamson posted his eighth T20 half century but his first in 10 innings since January last year to guide New Zealand to 196-5 as it batted first after winning the toss. England was held to 1849 in reply.

Williamson shared an 82-run second wicket partnership with Martin Guptill (65) which laid by the loss of grass growth during a record hot summer in Wellington, played much better than expected and rewarded bold strokeplay, especially from batsmen who hit under the bounce.

“It was important we assessed the wicket, we didn’t know how it would play and it certainly played a lot better than it looked,” Williamson said. “Guys got off to a very good start for us and we were able to build partnerships throughout.”

Williamson was relieved after a recent lack of form in T20 cricket to make a Man of the Match contribution.

“You always want more runs and you always train hard to contribute as much as you can to a team performance,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s been a number of occasions recently when I wanted to contribute more and it wasn’t to be. It was nice to spend some time in the middle today to help our side get a good total and that was the best part.”

WELLINGTON, Feb 13, (AFP): Completed scoreboard in the fourth Twenty20 Tri-series match between New Zealand and England in Wellington on Tuesday: M. Guptill c Plunkett b Rashid ......................... 65 C. Munro c Billings b Wood ..................... New Zealand’s Kane Williamson bats during the first Twenty20 cricket match between New Zealand and England at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Feb 13. (AP)