To reach the next round New Zealand now need: a) a win against the West Indies tomorrow night; b) Sri Lanka to beat England; and c) some benevolent calculators to ensure they are second in the group on run rate.
New Zealand's effort against England left a third consecutive hollow feeling. The team has competed against each opponent but lacks killer instinct. Think: a 13-run loss to Pakistan, a super over loss to Sri Lanka and now this. They have parity and even excel over sustained periods but, unlike the Brendon McCullum century against Bangladesh, no-one has taken control of a match.
England seized the initiative through steepling bounce generated by Steven Finn's short-of-a-length deliveries. He claimed Martin Guptill and McCullum in the powerplay which thwarted any momentum. New Zealand only righted the situation through late hitting from James Franklin and Nathan McCullum.
Captain Stuart Broad made the sensible decision to keep Finn on for three overs early. The move cramped New Zealand's style; shoulders could not be prised open and the scorecard ached for boundaries and strike rotation. New Zealand only scored off half the 36 powerplay deliveries. Finn returned to capture Ross Taylor slogging to deep mid-wicket for 22. He finished with three wickets for 16 runs.
The New Zealand total only gained respectability when Franklin joined Taylor in the 12th over at 67 for four. They put on 40 for the fifth wicket. Nathan McCullum assisted with 16 not out.
Franklin stood tall and waited for the ball onto the bat. His shot selection and placement were pinpoint to make 50 at a strike rate of 152.
To put his innings in context, New Zealand only eked out 34 for two at the end of the six-over powerplay. Compare that to the losses to Pakistan (they were 51 for one) and Sri Lanka (43 without loss). The start was ominous.
In an aside, Finn inadvertently nudged the stumps in his follow-through three times which induced a dead ball under International Cricket Council laws. McCullum was dismissed the ball after one of those. The stunt had become tiresome by the third occurrence when Franklin timed a ball through the covers for four, only to have it retracted. It begged the question: why does there need to be a replay? Surely the onus goes on the fielding side to remove and tap a stump with the ball (as per the laws) should there be a run out attempt. Otherwise it should be ruled "no ball" so the batting side is never penalised.
Left-arm orthodox spinner Danny Briggs worked as a wingman for Finn early, despite playing his first match at this tournament. Broad opened with him - a smart move to alleviate anxiety - and he responded with a spell of two overs, none for 16. Eight of those came from McCullum boundaries off his last two balls. The 21-year-old had previously played one one-day and one T20 international.
Andrew Alderson flew to the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka courtesy of Emirates Airline (www.emirates.com/nz).