Guptill ton leads Kiwis to win at Lord's

Cricket365
May 31, 2013

New Zealand's one-day form continued to impress as they beat England by five wickets in the first ODI at Lord's on Friday, with Martin Guptill scoring 103 not out as they won with 19 balls to spare.

The hosts never managed to get going, the most interesting about their knock being the bright red kits they sported on their way to 227 for nine. Jonathan Trott top-scored with 37, as the Kiwi bowlers shared the spoils and Tim Southee took three wickets.

New Zealand then got off to a shaky start thanks to a double strike by James Anderson in the first over, but a 120-run stand between Ross Taylor and Guptill ensured they rebuilt well, and Guptill proved his worth after a run of poor form.

The Black Caps won the toss and chose to field first, and initially that seemed to be a mistake as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell did a good job early on. They went at a sedate pace, but managed to score 45 runs before being separated.

Bell was the first to fall, giving wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi his first catch for New Zealand. He became the seventh player to turn out for two countries in ODIs, having also competed for Australia. As it was, Bell fell for 18 to Southee.

The fast bowler then added Cook's wicket to his tally five runs later, as the England skipper was also caught behind but he had made 30 runs. This left Trott and Joe Root to settle the innings.

The pair put on a half century stand and seemed to be pushing towards a good, if slightly sedate score. Root was particularly daring, making 30 in 40 balls, but his luck ran out when he tried to switch hit Nathan McCullum and was instead bowled.

Trott departed with the score on 124, also to McCullum, but he was caught by Ross Taylor, trying to pull the spinner but not getting hold of it. Eoin Morgan fell two runs later, caught by Ronchi off Mitchell McClenaghan for six.

Chris Woakes showed his all-rounder potential with a decent knock of 36, joined for part of that by Jos Buttler, but the latter could only make 14. Once these two had been sent packing, Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann added a few boundaries before Southee struck again.

Bresnan made 25 before Southee bowled him in the 49th over, leaving Swann and Anderson to hoick a few more runs, which the managed to do until Swann was caught at long on off the final ball.

It was panic stations for the Kiwis in the first over, as both Ronchi and Kane Williamson were dismissed by Anderson for ducks. From there on out though, the back-ups to Stuart Broad and Steve Finn did not impress much.

Taylor and Guptill's partnership was steady yet up to pace, and they took few risks when hitting Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes in particular all over the Home of Cricket. Their stand was eventually broken when Taylor fell to Anderson for 54.

Guptill endured the loss of Grant Elliott and Brendon McCullum as partners, resolutely rebuilding his reputation and edging closer to the meagre target. James Franklin was with him at the end, when he struck a boundary to score the one run required for the win and his century.

<b>England:</b> Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, Chris Woakes, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Jade Dernbach.

<b>New Zealand:</b> Brendon McCullum, Luke Ronchi, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, James Franklin, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Kyle Mills, Mitchell McClenaghan.