Half-centuries from Jos Buttler and Alex Hales helped England to 179 for six in their crunch T20 World Cup showdown against New Zealand in Brisbane. Buttler was cagey early on and dropped on eight and 40 but he clicked into gear and contributed 73 off 47 balls in a match England need to win to realistically keep their semi-final hopes alive. Hales’ 52 off 40 balls in an opening stand worth 81 laid a platform for England, who elected to remain unchanged after their shock Ireland defeat but rejigged a misfiring batting order with mixed results. After Hales was stumped off Mitchell Santner, who surmised the England opener was advancing and threw one out wider, Moeen Ali leapfrogged Dawid Malan but made just five off six balls before holing out. Daryl Mitchell put down a far more straightforward chance when Buttler was on 40 off 30 balls and from there, the England captain accelerated by unfurling some trademark power hitting and deft touches.

Source: The Herald November 01, 2022 16:08 UTC