- New Zealand dominates England in World Cup opener.
- Conway and Ravindra shine.
- England faces significant defeat.
Retrace these perimeters. For the record, England scored 27 runs and New Zealand 38, but tiebreakers were unnecessary because, after limiting their opponents to 282, the Black Caps annihilated the reigning 50- and 20-over champions with a response in which virtually every over was outstanding. The final match of the previous World Cup left England’s cricket fans with some of their most cherished memories; the opening match of this tournament will have left them with the most gruesome.
New Zealand will cherish those of Devon Conway, who smashed another boundary in the penultimate over as he raised his bat to celebrate reaching 150 runs. They crossed the finish line eventually with 82 balls to spare. In 2019, when the action moved to Ahmedabad, there was no repeat of that famous day at Lord’s: instead of shredded nerves, there were shredded records, and instead of an England victory by the narrowest of margins, there was an emphatic, unarguable, almost barbaric defeat.
Although many of the players from that dramatic final were present, it was the rookies from New Zealand who assumed control.
Conway and Rachin Ravindra, who made their ODI debuts in 2021 and March of this year, respectively, chased down their 283-run target. During the brief period in which the outcome of this match was uncertain, they were tied. Five balls after Ravindra lifted Moeen Ali over midwicket for six to reach a half-century off 36 deliveries, Conway hit Adil Rashid for four to reach his own off exactly the same number of deliveries, and they ultimately reached triple figures off 82 and 83 deliveries, respectively. Conway dominated the game’s final phases to finish with 152 off 121, compared to Ravindra’s 123 off 96.
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After five overs, New Zealand was 27 for one and England was 26 without loss, but it was at this point that the two teams’ trajectories diverged irrevocably.
In only his ninth ODI innings, at his first World Cup, playing only because of Kane Williamson’s knee injury and arriving at the crease with his side 10 for one, there had been every reason for Ravindra to feel nervous. Instead, he took the knife upon which the game had momentarily balanced and began slashing.
England’s fielders were rendered irrelevant by his succession of elegant, well-timed strokes. On the opposite end, Conway was superior. The 32-year-old set the tone in the opening over by striking Chris Woakes for two boundaries. England opening-overs specialist Woakes left after three balls and 27 runs. His replacement, Mark Wood, scored 38 runs in three overs.
Harry Brook was the only England batsman to exhibit anything resembling the combination of fluency and attacking intent subsequently displayed by Conway and Ravindra, and he did so for only three balls. While working in the afternoon heat, they had to mine their lineup’s hitting depth.
Jonny Bairstow launched the second delivery of the day over backward square leg for six, but this was hardly a precursor to an all-out batting assault, as there were only five more sixes in the remaining 20 overs.
Despite the injury-related absences of Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee, New Zealand never permitted any of England’s batters to consolidate. Due to these injuries, the Black Caps had to try all bowling alternatives, but all were trumps. The excellence of Matt Henry and Trent Boult was hardly surprising – each bowled 10 overs, with one maiden, for 48 runs but Henry triumphed 3-1 on wickets – though Glenn Phillips’s impact was less predictable. The part-time spinner contributed only three overs, but for the first time in his ODI career, he took two wickets, including that of Joe Root, who anchored the England innings for 33 overs and faced more than twice as many deliveries as any of his colleagues.
Root eventually scored 77 runs before missing a reverse sweep and losing his leg stump; the frequency with which he was losing batting partners tempered his aggressive inclinations. Root and Jos Buttler were the only partnership to score more than 40 runs as England focussed on building until they had to focus on surviving their 50 overs.
The highlight of England’s innings occurred in the 17th over, when Brook hit Ravindra for consecutive fours, fours, and sixes over mid-on. Having shifted into top gear, however, he immediately stalled, attempting the same shot again and this time lifting Ravindra straight to Conway in the deep – giving these two great friends and club teammates their first opportunity to suggest they were about to connect.
