 than their previous two games combined (15). In response, New Zealand were unable to get off to a flier, with both Devon Conway and Finn Allen falling in the powerplay to Woakes and Curran respectively. However, Williamson and Glenn Phillips kept New Zealand in the game with a partnership worth 91 runs. Phillips benefitted from an inexplicable Moeen drop when he was on 15 and continued his excellent form with 62 off 36, having struck a century in his last innings against Sri Lanka. The 25-year-old regularly found the boundary and ran hard between the wickets, but was simply left with too much to do at the end. After Williamson fell to Ben Stokes for a run a ball 40, Mark Wood dismissed the d){kind=link}
England picked up a crucial 20-run victory over New Zealand at the T20 World Cup to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive
England have beaten New Zealand by 20 runs to keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive, with Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and substitute fielder Chris Jordan all starring.
After deciding to bat first after winning the toss, England got off to an absolute flier with Alex Hales leading the charge. The opener bludgeoned seven boundaries inside the powerplay as England reached 48-0, while captain Buttler cashed in after a more sedate start and two drops.
Having made just 10 off 11 inside the powerplay, Buttler finally got going with a magnificent scooped six off Lockie Ferguson and ended up scoring his 18th T20I half-century. Hales, meanwhile, was stumped off Mitchell Santner just one ball after bringing up his 11th T20I fifty, while England’s decision to promote Moeen Ali up the order failed to pay off as he holed out for five.
However, Buttler continued motoring as he struck an excellent 73 off 47, with Liam Livingstone playing a useful cameo with 20 of 14 as England posted 179-6. It was a much-improved batting performance, with England striking more boundaries in this innings (21) than their previous two games combined (15).