Allen scores 83 from 53 balls and Phillips adds 69 off 34 deliveries as New Zealand beat England by 74 runs to stay in T20 series
After their two walkovers against New Zealand, England got to feel the other side of a thumping in their thirdSparky batting by Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips reinvigorated the Kiwi cause as New Zealand posted a total of 202 for five; England, the great chasers, stumbled at the first fence and never got back up. Having wasted the power play to the tune of 25 for one, they were 67 for four at the halfway point and, for all their famed batting depth, never looked like recovering.
Allen survived his own run-out scare, not to mention a skied catch to Will Jacks, who covered a heroic distance from deep midwicket and got outstretched hands to the ball only to drop it within touching distance of Chris Jordan, who had made his own run from long leg. But as a big six off Adil Rashid proved, Allen was simply going to keep hitting til something came off.
And this time it did. After Tim Seifert was stumped off Liam Livingstone, the engine of New Zealand’s batting finally began to purr. Phillips looked confident from the off, unleashing a mighty pull off Livingstone, and the pair went on to add 88 in 46 balls in increasingly stylish fashion.Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
Phillips kept things motoring after Allen was bowled by Luke Wood, and had 69 off 34 when Gus Atkinson reinforced his usefulness at the death, removing him with a perfect yorker and skimming Daryl Mitchell’s glove four balls later.Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images Southee had replaced Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne with Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry, a decision that paid off as England’s top order struggled to get either man off the square. Jacks was out in Jamieson’s first over, attempting a massive hit and merely slicing to cover; his 11 off eight represents a downward trend in these games so far, following previous scores of 22 and 19. Dawid Malan scored two runs from an innings that lasted 11 balls but felt far longer.