Three reasons New Zealand lost the fourth one-day international against England by seven wickets to leave the series level at 2-2 ahead of Saturday's decider.
1. A sublime top four performance by England.
England's 350 is their highest ODI chase, hauled in with six overs to spare. Alex Hales (67 from
38 balls), Jason Roy (38 from 35), Eoin Morgan (113 from 82) and Joe Root (106 from 97) tore into New Zealand's bowlers as if afraid of missing last orders at the adjacent Larwood and Voce Tavern.
The Morgan-Root 198-run stand was the best for any England wicket against New Zealand. Hales and Roy provided the catalyst opening with 100 runs, seizing on a lack of swing and a flat wicket.
Conversely, New Zealand's 349 for seven is the most runs they had scored in losing an ODI. The series has now yielded 2676 runs with an average team score of 334.50 and run rate of 7.23.
SERIES SO FAR:
GAME 1: England win by 210 runs
GAME 2: New Zealand win by 13 runs (D/L)
GAME 3: New Zealand win by 3 wickets
GAME 4: England win by 7 wickets
2. No swing, a flat wicket and inadequate variations
There are no correct answers here. Bigger bats, shorter boundaries, stable pitches, powerplay fields and a cache of Twenty20 knowledge all contributed to England's unrestrained self-belief.
The brutality was palpable once swing and turn had been discounted. None of the New Zealand's bowlers went at less than seven runs per over, regardless of how they adjusted their pace or length. Ben Wheeler in particular was dealt a dose of reality with none for 75 from eight overs after taking three for 63 on debut. That included a maiden to start.
The absence of Trent Boult has impacted on their ranks but, on this occasion, it's hard to argue he would have made a definitive impact. Given the territory, New Zealand needed Robin Hood to remove England's wealth in batting ability.
3. Not making enough of the batting powerplay
New Zealand's assault suffered a hiccup from overs 35-39. Ross Taylor was out on the third ball for 42 off 55 balls, leaving Mark Wood and Steve Finn to restrict Grant Elliott and Kane Williamson to 23 runs, including 20 dot balls.
The pair's performance reflected in strong figures by modern standards. Wood had one for 49 and Finn one for 51 from their allotment.
Still, in the overall summary, even 20 extra runs would not have restricted England, who were tracking at 400 pace. Each of their top five batted at a strike rate better than 100. By comparison Martin Guptill struck at a rate of 80 and Ross Taylor 76.
