Tom Latham’s side demolished defending champions England by nine wickets, restricting a powerful English batting line-up to 282/9, before chasing down the target with 82 balls to spare thanks to Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra’s record stand.
“It was obviously a fantastic performance and we’ve seen a fantastic partnership between Rachin and Devon, but I think it was set up at the start by the bowlers, who did a fantastic job to restrict them to below par on that surface,” captain Latham said.
“The likes of the two seamers, Matt Henry and Trent Boult, did a fantastic job up top. With England you know they’re going to come hard and are going to keep coming hard throughout the whole innings.
“I thought the way we were able to take wickets at crucial times, with guys chipping in when we needed them to and bowled some tough overs and managed to get some rewards. To restrict them to that from the position they were in was outstanding.”
England’s first innings saw all 11 batters reach double figures for the first time in the history of ODI cricket.
But only Joe Root went beyond 50 in an under-par team effort, with New Zealand’s bowling performance being all-the-more impressive given the injury-hit nature of their team, with both Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee unavailable for this fixture, along with captain Kane Williamson.
And in reply it was one-way traffic after the early loss of Will Young to a strangle down the leg side, with Conway and Ravindra combining for an unbeaten stand of 273 runs, the highest New Zealand partnership on tournament history.
“The best thing was they played good cricket shots, which was the most pleasing thing. They just reacted to what was being bowled, but it certainly wasn’t a plan to come out and play that way,” Latham said.
“(Kane Williamson) just said that he’s happy parking up and watching that.”
Special praise was reserved for young Ravindra, who delivered in style after being named at No.3 for the first time in an ODI.
“He played a fantastic innings and we’re super proud of him and the way he’s come out,” Latham said. “It’s his first ODI in that position and we’re looking forward to getting around him tonight.”
