Splendid tons from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell saw New Zealand carry forward the impetus from the back end of the T20I series to register an emphatic eight-wicket win in the opening clash of the four-match ODI series against England in Cardiff on Friday. Chasing a par target of 292, New Zealand cruised home with 26 balls to spare as the left-right combo made light work of the chase.
David Willey’s finishing kick took England to 291/6 after New Zealand had pulled things back with a slew of slower balls into the pitch. The innings started well with Dawid Malan getting off to a flier, but the Kiwis clawed back into the contest as Rachin Ravindra’s left-arm spin made some inroads. England regathered steam through Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone and looked set to cross 300 after Kyle Jamieson was hammered for three consecutive sixes.
Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee, however, used the slower balls to good effect on a pitch where the ball is holding and gripping. New Zealand were guilty of bowling a bit full early on with the new ball when there wasn’t much movement on offer, but they did pull things back admirably towards the end, making England hit towards the longer square boundaries.
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