Super Over II
England clinch T20 series in dramatic finale again
It was some coincidence that the quasi-final which was the fifth T20 between England and New Zealand – the teams standing at 2-2 – should be tied then go to a super over, just like the World Cup final. And it was some fixity of purpose which saw England, in both cases, over the line.
The atmosphere on a damp Sunday evening at Eden Park, in front of a crowd below 10,000, was nothing like the tumult on that Sunday evening in July when Lord’s witnessed the most extraordinary climax of any cricket match – perhaps of any sporting event. Even so, England needed the steely-eyed and single-minded determination of Eoin Morgan to steer them home.
In July, Morgan, with outward calm, had strolled over to Jofra Archer during the super over after he had been called for a wide then swung for six by New Zealand’s hitter, Jimmy Neesham. This time he had the far more experienced fast bowler, Chris Jordan, to deliver the super over, and this time Morgan helped by taking the catch which won the day, and this series 3-2: an exceptional feat for an England team close to being the T20 Lions.
Initially, however, Morgan had far more pressing concerns: after only four overs, New Zealand had scored 70 without loss. Morgan has never betrayed any negative emotion in front of his bowlers but a trace of vexation would have been pardonable as Sam Curran’s over was hit for 17, Tom Curran’s for 20, Jordan’s – for all his experience – 18, and Adil Rashid’s for 14.
Rain had postponed the start by two hours until 4pm, so the game was reduced to 11 overs per side. This meant the first four overs constituted the power play, when only two fielders could be placed outside the semi-circles. Some relief was at hand therefore after New Zealand had rocketed to 70, but even five fielders could seldom protect the straight boundaries, which were 55 yards from the bowler’s stumps.
Morgan dragged it back so that New Zealand did little more than double their total in their last seven overs. Saqib Mahmood, bowling quick and back of a length, contributed an over that cost seven, and Rashid one that cost five.
England’s reply rather resembled the Light Brigade’s charge. They had to score at more than 13 runs an over to win this series, and they charged selflessly. The cagier batsman took one ball to play himself in and get off the mark.
Still, England were in danger of overheating as they fell to 48 for three after their four-over power play. This was the cue for Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran to hit 20 off the fifth over and 22 – the highest of the day – off the sixth, so England were back in it with 90 off six.
Never before had the younger Curran walked in and instantly struck fours and sixes – and having done so here, to go with his left-arm variations, his case to be part of England’s side for the World T20 finals is strengthened.
Bairstow bristled and launched, like a howitzer, flat straight sixes. He was chosen to be man of the match, as he added eight more runs off three balls in the super-over, but it should have been Jordan.
With only three balls left, England still needed 13 to win, as Jordan walked in to face Neesham. It had been Neesham, of course, who had teed off against Archer in the World Cup super-over, after England had set New Zealand 16 to win. This time, it was Neesham who had 16 runs to play with when he bowled the final over of the match – and Jordan, Archer’s best friend in cricket, smote a six, two and four to tie the totals on 146.
Ben Stokes was away in Whangarei practising with the Test specialists, so on this occasion Morgan had the chance to open. He drove the second ball from Tim Southee, New Zealand’s captain, for six and scored nine off three balls to Bairstow’s eight: 1,6,1,6,1 and 2 made up the 17.
It was Archer’s first ball that was called a wide in the World Cup, here it was Jordan’s second – and the extra delivery he had to bowl was driven for four by Tim Seifert, so New Zealand needed 11 off four. Then Seifert also tried to be too cute and scoop – and missed – before lashing Jordan’s fourth ball away over extra cover.
Morgan turned and scampered, like many an All Black scrum-half must have done on this ground. He hurled himself to make the matchsaving tackle – and held on. If he had not caught it, New Zealand would have scored two, and needed eight off the last two balls – very feasible given the short boundaries – with Seifert on strike.
Both sides were philosophical in the aftermath. Southee expressed hope that it would be “third time lucky” if these two sides contested another super over, while Jordan paid tribute to Morgan for “being as calm as he usually is, especially when he takes a blinder like that”. And Morgan admitted that his young side had “messed up” in their two defeats when chasing, but that the series victory was “another step forward”.
“It creates a really good headache for us when it comes to selection,” he said. “We are further ahead than we thought and the guys on this tour who will probably miss out on South Africa (at the beginning of next year) have raised that benchmark for guys who come back in. “They are now almost expected to score runs and expected to do well because of opportunities given and taken by these guys.”
When asked whether he thought the game might come down to a Super Over, he added: “No, not at all. I definitely thought there was going to be a result in an 11-over game.
“I thought we’d either chase it down or we’d get beaten quite comfortably. The fact it went down to the wire indicates how the guys applied themselves and the level of skill they produced to get close. It was brilliant again and another step forward for us as a group.”
It was interesting to note that the game throughout, though frenetic, held its shape. It was precisely that, a game of cricket, albeit condensed to 11 – ultimately 12 – overs per side. The key word is “overs”: they give every cricket match its shape. Whether it will be the same when the Hundred is staged next summer, with its blocks of five and 10 balls, remains to be seen. Somehow a super block does not have the same ring.