Malan and Morgan hit out to send England T20 records tumbling
World Cup hopeful and Morgan in record stand England’s highest T20 total levels series at 2-2
It is not often that England steamroller New Zealand at both cricket and rugby in the space of a couple of weeks, but Eoin Morgan’s men defeated New Zealand in the fourth Twenty20 international by 76 runs with much the same panache that Owen Farrell’s side showed in the World Cup semi-final.
On a balmy and slightly barmy evening beside the sea, England posted their highest T20 total of 241 for three, largely on the back of a record partnership for England in T20 of 182 off only 76 balls – that is 12.4 overs – between Morgan and Dawid Malan.
It may be widely considered to be the format of young cricketers, yet Morgan is 33 and Malan 32, and together they not only hit 13 sixes but plundered the eye-watering amount of 153 runs off the last 10 overs. This is what T20 cricket was designed to be: a belter of a pitch, some short boundaries (in this case square of the wicket to either side) and a crowd who turn up for entertainment rather than the result.
At no point of the onslaught by Morgan and Malan were the New Zealand bowlers and fielders subjected to any booing or jeering, as the mood in this T20 series has been light-hearted – on the public’s part. It is “only” cricket after all, and the crowd of 5,562 was a third of what Mclean Park attracts for rugby matches.
But while the crowd’s mood was light-hearted, Morgan radiated the same intensity of purpose which took England over the line in the World Cup final in July, when he calmed and counselled Jofra Archer in the super over.
Morgan is not satisfied with one global title, and has his eyes set on the World T20 trophy a year from now in Australia. His strategy for this tour was to widen the player base, and this has been gradually happening while England have levelled this series at 2-2.
Malan, having reached 50 six times in his nine T20 innings for England, has added himself to the list of batting candidates. However, such is the talent around that he is still far from an automatic choice, after scoring what was the fastest T20 century for England and only the second to do so after Alex Hales. One year out, England’s top three in the World T20 finals look like being Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler in some order, followed by Morgan at four.
In his 91 off 41 balls, Morgan supplied evidence, if it were needed, that he is still worth his place as a batsman, for not only did he target the short square boundaries, he also drove straight and flat over the long straight boundaries on this oval ground.
Given Ben Stokes at five in England’s first-choice XI, that leaves one batting space, to be filled by either Joe Root or Sam Billings or Malan, or James Vince, since Hales after his indiscretions appears to be beyond the pale.
Tom Banton is a candidate, too, and he was first to press the accelerator here when, after the first five overs had yielded only 30, he took Blair Tickner for 17 off the sixth – and added two neat boundary catches under the floodlights. Malan had made no more than 10 at a run a ball by the end of the sixover powerplay. He needed Morgan,
as well as Banton, to turn on the tap – as Malan diplomatically and rightly admitted afterwards. Thereafter, he gushed himself, to the point where he hit Ish Sodhi’s spin for 28 from the 17th over.
As the bulk of white-ball hitting is leg side, what was pleasing about Malan’s batting were his cover drives – to, and over, the short square boundaries. His captain, Morgan, even managed to thickedge a six, but although the square boundaries were short, they were not that short: Trent Bridge, to one side, is usually shorter. With both taps fully on, the runs flowed in a torrent. The fast-medium Tickner conceded 32 from his first two overs; the clever left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner took two wickets for five runs in his first two overs, and was clubbed for 20 off his third. But the biggest punishment was reserved for New Zealand’s fifth and sixth bowlers, Sodhi and Daryl Mitchell, who was sentenced to bowl the 19th as his only over.
Together, in their four combined overs, Sodhi and Mitchell managed two dot balls, and conceded seven sixes and four fours: their 24 balls cost 74 runs in all. White-ball hitting is not Test-match batting, yet it can be “magnifique”.
New Zealand responded in kind initially – 16 off the third over from Sam Curran, then 17 off the fourth by Chris Jordan – but nobody could play an innings of substance, and England used the bouncer better than New Zealand.
England’s fielding, let alone their bowling, was greatly strengthened by Jordan’s return: he took a catch in the deep – whereas Pat Brown let one ball burst through his hands and knock off his cap – and brought off a direct-hit run-out.
For a wrist-spinner such as Matt Parkinson, it was double or quits, nightmare or field day, and by keeping a steady head and steady length, and by getting the ball above the batsman’s eye-line before it dipped, he picked up four wickets, two off consecutive balls.
He might have had more if he had bowled more leg-breaks and not so many sliders that turned into the right-hander.
To demolish what was almost a full-strength New Zealand team with a development side, by an enormous margin, was a triumph of its kind. Only the hosts’ captain, canny Kane Williamson, was missing, along with Lockie Ferguson, who was sent to build up his stamina for the Test series – which was a significant miss because the pitch was abrasive and the ball reverseswung for Trent Boult.
The fifth and final T20 is at Eden Park in Auckland tomorrow. The boundaries there will be the reverse of what they were in the second and fourth games – that is, they will be short straight ones and long to either side – but rain is forecast. Even if that intervenes though, England are making strides to becoming the first country to hold the 20-over and 50-over World Cups simultaneously.