CT 2017, Match 6, ENG v NZ – England Player Ratings

England took on New Zealand in the 6th match of the ICC Champions Trophy at Cardiff, Wales. The two sides had made good starts to their campaigns in their previous games and this one was expected to be a close contest given the balance of the two sides. But as it turned out, the hosts proved to be too good for the Black Caps.

New Zealand won the toss and invited England to bat first who after a decent opening stand, lost Jason Roy. Alex Hales and Joe Root then added 81 runs for the 2nd wicket and got to their individual fifties. Ben Stokes batted well for a while but a minor collapse hindered their progress. Jos Buttler came to the rescue with a quickfire 61 and England finished at 310 losing all 10 wickets 3 balls short of 50 overs.

In reply, New Zealand were rocked back in the very first over by Luke Ronchi’s dismissal. The skipper Kane Williamson had back to back fifty run partnerships first with Martin Guptill and then with Ross Taylor. But after his departure, the following batsmen succumbed to the pressure and were bowled out for 223 in the 45th over falling 87 short of England’s total.

Here are the player ratings of England who became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Jason Roy – 3/10

The form of the opener has been one of the very few worries for England in the recent past. After a string of low scores, he managed to hold on to his spot in this game but failed to make an impact again. He scored 13 off 23 balls and became the first wicket to fall in the English innings.

Alex Hales – 7/10

The right-hander has been flourishing with good form in the tournament and once more turned up with a solid performance. He scored 56 off 62 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes and was involved in a stand of 81 runs with Joe Root. Hales’s knock was pretty vital in rebuilding after the early loss of Roy.

Joe Root – 8/10

The stylish batsman walked in to bat in the 9th over after the fall of Roy and built a stable partnership with Hales. Root then added 54 runs with Ben Stokes as well. He was looking well set for his second consecutive hundred but his innings was cut short by Corey Anderson to 64 off 65 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes.

Eoin Morgan – 5/10

The skipper began well and struck 2 boundaries but just when he seemed like hitting the stripes, fell to Anderson for 13 in the 25th over. Even though he failed to make a substantial contribution with the bat, his captaincy was instrumental in handing England their second victory in the tournament.

Ben Stokes – 7/10

Stokes looked in a fine touch in his innings of 48 off 53 balls. He struck 4 fours and 2 sixes and was setting up for a quick finish but lost his wicket in the 38th over to Trent Boult. With the ball, he bagged figures of 46/1 in 8 overs and claimed the crucial wicket of Martin Guptill.

Jos Buttler – 8.5/10

The wicket-keeper batsman played the decisive innings of the match. He walked in to the crease after the dismissal of Root in the 34th over. England kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Buttler kept them in the hunt and played a superb innings of 61 off 48 balls that included 2 fours and as many sixes. He played a vital role with the gloves too by taking a catch and inflicting a stumping.

Moeen Ali – 3/10

Moeen was in at number 7 when more than 12 overs were yet to be bowled. He needed to stay at the crease until the end but couldn’t do so. The left-hander scored just 12 off 11 balls and got out to Anderson. He wasn’t given a bowl during New Zealand’s innings.

Adil Rashid – 7.5/10

Rashid scored 12 off 11 balls while batting and was dismissed by Mitchell Santner. But his major contribution came with the ball as he bagged figures of 47/2 in 10 overs accounting for the wickets of Neil Broom and Mitchell Santner. He was brought into the side to replace the injured Chris Woakes and the leg-spinner did complete justice to his selection.

Liam Plunkett – 8.5/10

After bagging a 4-fer in the last game against Bangladesh, Plunkett backed it up with another one in this game. He removed James Neesham, Corey Anderson, Adam Milne and Tim Southee all in quick succession. He picked up the last wicket of the Kiwi innings and finished with figures of 55/4 in 9.3 overs.

Mark Wood – 7/10

The pacer bagged the most important wicket of the New Zealand line-up when he dismissed Kane Williamson for 87 in the 31st over. The Kiwi side was looking in control until that point but suffered a collapse from then onwards. Wood ended with figures of 32/1 in 9 overs.

Jake Ball – 8/10

Ball picked up the wicket of Luke Ronchi in the very first over courtesy a peach of a delivery. He then sent back another important player in the form of Ross Taylor that put the Black Caps further into trouble. He bowled 2 maidens as well and ended with impressive figures of 31/2 in 8 overs.