NZ 201/4 beat Eng 196/5 by 5 runs
New Zealand 201 for 4 (B McCullum 68, Rutherford 62, Taylor 32*, Wright 2-31) beat England 196 for 5 (Wright 52, Hales 39, Bopara 30*) by five runs
For a supposedly pointless fixture squeezed rudely into the calendar, this game produced enough wattage to light up a fair proportion of south London. New Zealand were the victors in a match that aggregated 397 runs as a full house at The Oval lapped up a classically rambunctious T20 international.
Hamish Rutherford and Brendon McCullum tore up some mediocre bowling on a good pitch as New Zealand posted 201 for 4 and, although Luke Wright muscled a typically busy half-century, England's lower-order was left with too much to do after Ian Butler and Mitchell McClenaghan struck in successive overs.
Butler's dismissal of Eoin Morgan, via a brilliant Ross Taylor catch, leaping high to his right at slip, was as concussive a blow as any. For the captain, Brendon McCullum, to insert a slip at that stage was another strikingly aggressive gambit.
Although the ground thrummed to the beat of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, as the crowd chanted in support of England's new cult hero, Ravi Bopara, his 30 off 18 balls was not quite enough to complete England's highest successful chase in T20 internationals.
This is what T20 in England is supposed to be about - warm summer evenings, turbo-charged batting and a well-lubricated crowd ready to cheer on whichever team hits the hardest. The T20 series with New Zealand has overshadowed the launch of the Friends Life t20 but there may be hope that the domestic competition can plug in to a similar power source for the next couple of months.
The weather will play a big role in that and, after the enforced 20-over affair during a soggy Champions Trophy final on Sunday, for once the sun shone and the skies remained clear for a genuine T20 contest.
A side featuring four players in Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler and James Tredwell who took on India at Edgbaston and several of England's T20 specialists may have missed a handful of regulars being protected for the Ashes but they pushed a more experienced New Zealand all the way.
At the end of the Powerplay, England were 67 for 1, which offered a perky comparison with New Zealand's 54 for 1. Although Michael Lumb was bowled, playing the ball on to his stumps via a boot in the fourth over, he had set the tempo with two crunching leg-side blows for six.
His Nottinghamshire partner, Hales, who last made more than 21 six weeks ago and was coming off a run of 11 single-figures score in 13 innings, was afforded the slice of luck he required when a top edge flew high to fine leg and the chasing Rutherford dropped the ball, which then rolled for four.
The delivery was also called a no-ball - though Mitchell McClenaghan may have pointed to Stuart Broad's crucial dismissal of Kane Williamson in these teams' Champions Trophy encounter by way of defence - and the over went for 25.
A partnership of 55 runs in 41 balls with Luke Wright followed before Hales picked out deep midwicket with a mishit slog. Wright reached 50 off 29 balls but after his dismissal the requirement had risen to 63 from 30 deliveries, which for all Bopara's muscle proved beyond England.
The tone for the evening had been set by New Zealand's second-wicket partnership, worth 114 runs in 67 balls, between Rutherford and McCullum, with the former scoring his first half-century in a limited-overs international. McCullum, unusually, was not quite as belligerent as his partner but he top-scored with 68 from 48 balls in a manner reminiscent of his form against England when these two teams began their 16-round, bi-continental tussle back in February.
England had inserted New Zealand after winning the toss, and the captain Morgan's evening was further buoyed by Boyd Rankin taking a wicket with his fourth delivery in an England shirt. But the next hour and a half went almost as rapidly downhill as the ball seemed to go forever skyward, Rutherford and McCullum batting with giddy abandon on a true surface as England were forced into using seven bowlers.
Rutherford and McCullum had evidently not been told this was a glorified exhibition match, albeit a crowd-pulling one, and set about giving England's reservists a thorough caning. Rankin and Wright apart, the bowlers queued up like naughty schoolboys to be disciplined: Chris Woakes' only over cost 19, including a lazy flick over deep square leg from Rutherford; Tredwell was sized up for 15 in his first, as Rutherford clubbed him for consecutive, imperious sixes.
Tredwell was again smashed into the crowd at long-on in his second over, after Rutherford passed 50 off his 28th delivery. He had reason to rue Bopara's drop in the fourth over. Jade Dernbach was the bowler, the ball sliced towards point at just above head height, but Bopara seemed to have too much spring in his heels and a straightforward chance deflected away off his wrist.
Bopara later conceded 22 from an over and he and Tredwell, who had provided crucial spells with the ball in the Champions Trophy final, bowled four overs at a cost 64 runs here.
Rankin may find it a little harder to get served in The Greyhound, the nearby Irish pub in Kennington, after his inclusion confirmed an anticipated switch to England but there were plenty in the ground who would have willingly bought him a drink after he struck in his first over, to the delight of a capacity crowd.
His pace and back-of-a-length hostility around off stump made him appear like an imported Steven Finn knock-off and he soon exposed James Franklin, in for the hamstrung Martin Guptill, for the imitation opener that he is - at least at international level - with one that nipped back. With New Zealand 1 for 1 after four balls, England may have felt they had the luck of Irish but they had run out of it by the end.
20 overs NZ 201/4: Hamish Rutherford struck a belligerent maiden half-century in limited-overs cricket and Brendon McCullum produced a display of hitting for which he is famous the world over as New Zealand set England an imposing target of 202 after being inserted on a warm, clear evening at The Oval.
England made life difficult for themselves with a couple of missed catches, while McCullum top-edged one enormous six over the sightscreen behind the stumps. The boundary was only cleared eight times but it felt like a lot more, as New Zealand became the third team to pass 200 on the ground during a T20 international. On the previous two occasions, the chasing team lost.
After winning the toss for England, Eoin Morgan's evening was further buoyed by Boyd Rankin taking a wicket with his fourth delivery in an England shirt. But the next hour and a half went almost as rapidly downhill as the ball seemed to go skywards during a second-wicket partnership worth 114 runs in 67 balls, Rutherford and McCullum batting with giddy abandon on a true surface.
England were forced into using seven bowlers, with the last of them, Luke Wright, a T20 specialist, achieving respectable figures of 2 for 31 in winkling out both.
Two days after their Champions Trophy final defeat, England had to shake their heads clear for a genuine T20 contest - as opposed to the contrived one they lost against India at Edgbaston. This side, featuring four players in Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler and James Tredwell who played against India and several of England's T20 specialists is not especially wet behind the ears - despite missing a handful of regulars being protected for the Ashes - but the New Zealand innings suggested they were still feeling a little soggy after Sunday.
Rutherford and McCullum had evidently not been told this was a glorified exhibition match, albeit in front of a sellout crowd, and set about giving England's reservists a thorough caning. Rankin and Wright apart, the bowlers queued up like naughty schoolboys to be disciplined: Chris Woakes' only over cost 19, including a lazy flick over deep square leg from Rutherford; Tredwell was sized up for 15 in his first, as Rutherford clubbed him for consecutive, imperious sixes.
Tredwell was again smashed into the crowd at long-on in his second over, after Rutherford had passed 50 off his 28th delivery, and he in particular had reason to rue Bopara's drop in the fourth over when the opener had made 25. Jade Dernbach was the bowler, the ball sliced towards point at just above head height, but Bopara seemed to have too much spring in his heels and a straightforward chance deflected away off his wrist.
Bopara later conceded 22 from an over - including five wides down the leg side and a McCullum mow into the top tier of the OCS stand. He and Tredwell had provided crucial spells with the ball in the Champions Trophy final but their four overs here cost 64 runs.
An England debut for Rankin had been signposted since he was called into the ODI squad ahead of the Champions Trophy and his inclusion in the XI confirmed his switch of nationality. Rankin retired from Ireland duty last year in order to focus on a possible Test career with England and he would now have to go through the qualification process in order to appear for the Associate nation again.
He may find it a little harder to get served in The Greyhound, the nearby Irish pub in Kennington, after switching allegiance but there were plenty in the ground who would have willingly bought him a drink after he struck in his first over, to the delight of a capacity crowd.
His pace and back-of-a-length hostility around off stump made him appear like an imported Steven Finn knock-off and he soon exposed James Franklin, in for the hamstrung Martin Guptill, for the imitation opener that he is - at least at international level - with one that nipped back. With New Zealand 1 for 1 after four balls, England may have felt they had the luck of Irish but that notion was quickly dispelled.
Eng 196/5 (20 overs)
England: Hales Lumb Wright Morgan Bopara Buttler Stokes Woakes Tredwell Dernbach Rankin
NZ: Rutherford, Franklin, McCullum, Taylor, Latham, Munro, Buttler, Mccullum, Anderson, Mills, Hira
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