Chris Jordan and Jimmy Neesham react after the game goes to a Super Over. Photo / Getty
Chris Jordan and Jimmy Neesham react after the game goes to a Super Over. Photo / Getty
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
Facing off in a winner-takes-all showdown, what looked a Black Caps victory over England quickly turned into a thrilling finish as England stormed home in their run-chase. Some late power hitting left the teams tied at the end of their allocated overs,with Jimmy Neesham heavily involved at the death, and Trent Boult unable to save a six on the boundary rope in the dying stages.
A Super Over was required to find a victor.
There, despite the best efforts of Martin Guptill and company, England came away with a thrilling triumph, and a trophy, while the Black Caps were left to rue what could have been, and reflect on where the trophy had slipped through their grasp.
No, this is not July. This is not the World Cup final. We were not at Lord's.
Someway, somehow, it happened again.
This time, the stakes were lower, the format shorter, and the boundaries closer, but the Black Caps and England produced another tie – with England triumphing in the Super Over to take a 3-2 win in their Twenty20 series.
The World Cup final will surely never be topped for astonishment and absurdity, but the two teams produced a decent sequel at Eden Park, in a match first reduced to 11 overs, then extended to 12 when the game went into re-runs.
Needing 13 to win from three balls, Chris Jordan smacked Neesham for a six - just clearing the despairing Boult - then a two, before swatting his final delivery away behind square leg for four to send the game to a Super Over, much to the amusement – and bemusement – of the players involved four months ago.
Jimmy Neesham reacts after the game goes to a Super Over. Photo / Getty
At least this time there were no overthrows, nor boundary countbacks, as Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan smoked Tim Southee for 17 runs, before Tim Seifert, Guptill and Colin de Grandhomme could only muster eight from their six balls, as Jordan added some bowling heroics to his earlier stint as batting saviour.
Super Over specialists England remain, and while this particular victory means little – England showed what they thought about the series' importance when they rested Dawid Malan despite him having just smashed a century in Napier – the cricket was certainly captivating.
It took a mighty effort from England to claim victory, after the Black Caps set them 147 to win in 11 overs. Having decided to bowl first after winning the toss, England's plans were promptly delayed by heavy rain, and once it eased, they then had to deal with a flood of runs flowing from the Black Caps batsmen.
Guptill and Colin Munro were at their belligerent best, peppering the invitingly short boundaries as they bashed an 83-run partnership from just 31 balls. Guptill sent one Jordan delivery into the top tier of the stands as he blasted to 50 from 19 deliveries, and while he was out the following ball, Munro's 21-ball 46 ensured there would be no let-up for the England bowlers.
Such was the demolition, overs which went merely for single figures drew appreciation, and while England pegged the Black Caps back ever so slightly, Seifert produced an impeccable Brendon McCullum impersonation. Seifert's 39 from 16 balls featured a sensational scoop for six off Sam Curran, immediately followed by a flat-batted screamer over mid-wicket, with the wicketkeeper looking remarkably similar to his predecessor as the Black Caps set England a daunting 13.4 runs per over to claim a series victory.
Incredibly, they managed it, and arguably should have done so without requiring a flashback to Lord's.
England celebrate after winning the Twenty20 International series. Photo / Getty
Bairstow led the way with 47 from 18 balls, and some brief bluster by Morgan, who smacked Boult for 16 from three balls, and Curran, who took 20 from four Scott Kuggeleijn deliveries, saw England shoot well ahead of the required run rate.
However, three wickets in four balls, including some clever bowling from Mitchell Santner, eventually left England needing 26 from two overs. A solid Tim Southee over reduced that equation to 16 from six – another uncanny reminder of that fateful day in London – but just as the Black Caps looked set for victory, Jordan turned back the clock to send the game into extras.
From there, Bairstow, Morgan and Jordan came up clutch, handing the Black Caps a series defeat, and, most brutally of all, a remarkably cruel reminder.
