- 1st ODI: New Zealand, 297-2, bt England, 291-6, by 8 wickets
- Great batting partnership leaves England’s bowlers floundering
As soon as Harry Brook was called up as cover, this one-day series became a play within a play, a spin-off with the glamour of the Colbys in their 1980s shoulder-padding prime. And in episode one, a crushing eight-wicket defeat by New Zealand, Dawid Malan and Liam Livingstone snuck the best reviews though neither as sparkling as Devon Conway’s and Daryl Mitchell’s match-winning centuries.
Tom Latham won the toss and bowled, so Malan marched out with Brook after Jason Roy, another with a question mark floating above his head, suffered a back spasm before play, and Jonny Bairstow was rested with a shoulder twinge. After a watchful start against tight New Zealand bowling, Malan eased into his work, snatching two fours off Tim Southee’s third over. Now he was centre stage, here a drive past Matt Henry’s toes for four, there an effortless pull for four in front of square – just a man pulling off his velvet bow tie after a dinner cruise on the Hudson river.
Written by Tanya Aldred at Sophia Gardens
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/08/mitchell-and-conway-centuries-for-new-zealand-make-short-work-of-england under the title “Mitchell and Conway centuries for New Zealand make short work of England”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
