By Matt Hardy
England recovered from a sloppy start with the bat yesterday to beat New Zealand by 79 runs in Southampton as Liam Livingstone starred at the crease.
Jos Buttler’s side fell to 8-3 and 55-5 inside 13 overs with Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes dispatched for six, two, zero and one respectively.
Buttler added 30 runs but Livingstone’s unbeaten 95 rescued England alongside Sam Curran’s 42 runs – Moeen Ali added 33 and David Willey scored seven.
England rescue
England had set a target of 227 for New Zealand to take a 2-0 series lead but the visitors saw Finn Allen fall in the second ball.
Daryl Mitchell put up the most resistance in the reduced 34-over per side match with a respectable 57 but his departure was the first of four inside just 10 balls as England romped home to a 79-run win.
Player of the match Liam Livingstone said: “I wouldn’t quite say it was a rescue mission.
“We pride ourselves on depth in our batting and getting out of situations like today. I thought Sammy [Curran] batted really well. We needed that depth today.”
Clear plan
England captain Jos Buttler said: “I am delighted. From the position we found ourselves in to post a score was credit to the way we wanted to play. The partnership between Livingstone and Curran was fantastic.
“We needed to find ways to get them off their lengths. It has been one of the hallmarks of this team to play positively. We’re trying to get back into an ODI mindset because guys haven’t played it for a while.
“Everyone is pretty clear on the options they have in the team. Today we had good batting depth and it was vital. Livingstone and Curran are well within their rights to be batting higher up the order. We’re delighted to level the series.
“Willey and [Reece] Topley were impressive. We spoke about improving our powerplay bowling from the other day. We were very good throughout the innings with the ball.”
