Pitch and weather: Chester-le-Street last hosted a T20 international in 2017, and is not known as a batter-friendly venue – in this year’s Vitality Blast, it was the third-lowest scoring of the major grounds, with runs coming at 8.27 an over. There is a chance of some rain to freshen conditions further on Wednesday, although the forecast for the evening is clear.
England vs New Zealand 1st T20I Highlights 2023, Wednesday 30-8-2023, New Zealand tour of England 2023, Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street.
Jos Buttler says he “fancies a chase”. “World Cup coming up, the ODI series the main priority but T20s not far behind.” No Atkinson for England today, but Brydon Care and Luke Wood to play. Buttler is carded to bat in the middle order, with Will Jacks opening alongside Jonny Bairstow.
Tim Southee is in charge of a group pulled together from all corners, several of whom have been in action in the Hundred. “We haven’t been together as a team for a while but having guys playing here in these conditions is a good thing,” he says. Two of the Hundred contingent, Devon Conway and Finn Allen, will open the batting here – as they did for Southern Brave. No Kyle Jamieson on this occasion, Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson both picked in the seam attack.
Toss: England chose to field.
England team: 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Will Jacks, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Luke Wood
New Zealand team: 1 Devon Conway, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Tim Seifert (wk), 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Mark Chapman, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Lockie Ferguson
Head to Head In T20I’s: 23
England Won: 14
New Zealand Won: 8
England T20I Rankings: 2nd
New Zealand T20I Rankings: 3rd
Form guide
(last five completed T20I’s, most recent first)
England LLLWW
New Zealand WLWWW
Match Timings: 5:00 PM GMT | 6:00 PM Local
Umpires – Martin Saggers, Mike Burns
TV Umpire – Alex Wharf
Match Referee – Chris Broad
Reserve Umpire – David Millns
Match number – T20I no. 2225
Tim Southee:
“Not our best effort, two days to turn it around. The way they took wickets stalled our momentum. Our assessment of the wicket was probably a bit off. We look to assess conditions, we stick to our style and it’s worked over a period of time. Glenn Phillips has been phenomenal, especially in sticky situations he finds a way to get us through to a score. Great to see him still in form, like I say, couple of days to turn things around in Manchester.”
Jos Buttler: “Delighted, really good performance. Our powerplay, after Finn Allen hitting three sixes, to come back and take the wickets was brilliant, and the spinners really put a strangle on. [Carse] Fantastic start, here on his home ground. Thought he bowled with great skill and pace. We’ve given guys opportunity, he’s taken his and Luke Wood as well. [Malan] He’s a class player. Been very consistent at No. 3 in T20s and great form in ODIs when he’s got the chance. [Livingstone] He bowled brilliantly. Nice to see a guy who can contribute with bat, ball and in the field, they’re gold dust. I thought Moeen bowled brilliantly and we know how good Rashid is. Nice to have them to call on.”
Brydon Carse is Player of the Match: “Obviously a great start to my T20 career, awesome to play in front of a home crowd and put in a good performance. Tried to keep to my strengths, hit the top of the stumps and it paid off with a crucial wicket. Sometimes it can be two-paced [here], especially through the middle. Some skidded through and held up a bit, so I tried to bash a length. I had friends here tonight, I’ve played here for 10 years and to perform was a special feeling.”
