England 311 for 9 (Malan 127, Ravindra 4-60) vs New Zealand
For Malan, however, this was just another opportunity to live in the present – and in a peculiar era for English ODI cricket since the 2019 World Cup, few players have done so with more gusto than he. His fifth 50-over century in 21 innings also took him past 1000 runs in the format, equalling the England record set by Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, while his haul of 14 fours and three sixes was xx more than his team-mates combined. All told, it showcased a player flushed with form, focus and utter confidence.
With 54 and 96 to his name in this series already, Malan displayed his compact power from the get-go, smoking a brace of fours through the covers and point in Southee’s opening over, to reaffirm the sense that the “shirt is his”, as Stuart Broad once put it when his Test place was under threat. Roy, who was not considered match-fit after a series of back spasms, may yet be given a chance to prove himself against Ireland next week, but already it feels he’s fighting for a back-up role.
Roy’s habitual partner, Jonny Bairstow, fell in Matt Henry’s third over, flinching outside off for Daryl Mitchell to scoop up the chance low at slip. Bairstow initially stood his ground, doubting whether the ball had carried, but though the third umpire confirmed he had to go, the chance had not been entirely cleanly taken – Mitchell quickly followed him off the pitch nursing a dislocated finger, though he did return to bowl a useful spell with the ball.
Out came Joe Root – a lock in England’s World Cup plans, no doubt, but even a player of his indisputable class needs the reassurance of form ahead of such a marquee tournament. Instead, he arrived at the crease with scores of 6, 0 and 4 to his name, and proceeded to grind out his scratchiest display of the lot.
Root has form for this lack of form on this ground. In the World Cup final four years ago, he was hounded by Colin de Grandhomme’s lack of pace and limited to 7 from 30 balls. Today, he was dropped twice in the gully before he had reached double figures, and incredibly on both occasions it was the offending fielder who left the field instead – first Finn Allen, nursing a cut finger, and then, more ominously, Southee, who looked in some pain after a hard blow to his thumb, and was sent for “further assessment”. Ben Lister, himself a replacement for Adam Milne, later hobbled off the field with a hamstring strain, and likewise did not return thereafter.
As in the World Cup final, Root found his options limited by the presence of a deep third to deny him value for his trademark deflections down through the cordon, let alone his trademark scoop shot, and it wasn’t until his 24th ball that he finally got his first boundary away, a cathartic pull through wide long-on off Rachin Ravindra. The drinks break seemed to have settled him down as he took Ravindra for two more boundaries through midwicket in his next over, the latter a flat six, only for the shot to let him down soon afterwards, as he mowed across the line, again at Ravindra, to be bowled for an unconvincing 29 from 40.
Root wasn’t alone in finding the going tough, however. Harry Brook, recalled at his preferred No.4 berth with Ben Stokes understandably resting up after his record 182 on Wednesday, made a scratchy 10 from 15 – and 37 from 68 for the series all told, which is hardly the form he required to demand a rethink in England’s World Cup plans. His innings ended in grim fashion too, as he yanked a half-tracker from Ravindra straight to mid-on.
Even Jos Buttler, with 36 from 31 including a trademark wristy thump for six over long-off, was arguably a notch below his fluent best, as he attempted to launch Mitchell’s medium-pace in a similar direction only to pick out the substitute Trent Boult at mid-off.
Malan, by contrast, was unperturbed by the struggles around him. Having ignited England’s powerplay with three fours in a row off Southee, the best of them another crunching drive through the covers, he cruised through to his fifty from an even 50 balls, then reset his focus to complete the landmark that had eluded him twice before in the series.
He accelerated into the 80s with a vicious burst of speed – three fours in a row, including the reverse-sweep that he reserves for his most composed knocks, then a massive flat six over midwicket off Kyle Jamieson to reach his 1000th ODI run. He had a moment of alarm with his century looming, edging Henry inches past the keeper to move to 99, but after permitting himself three dots to recompose himself, he tucked a brace off his pads, before peeling off his helmet to salute an appreciative Lord’s.
And, having matched one Richards record, for a time it looked odds-on that Malan would surpass another – Viv’s 138 in the 1979 World Cup final, still the highest ODI score on this ground – and maybe even, with ten overs remaining, Stokes’ newly minted England record. Instead, on 127, he chased a wide one from Ravindra and slumped to the crease in self-admonishment after feathering a nick to Latham.
Not for the first time this series, however, Malan’s efforts were made to look even better once he’d left the field. Much as they had done in adversity at The Oval too, New Zealand turned the screw on England’s lower-order in the death overs. Moeen Ali chased an even wider one from Ravindra to hole out for 3, while Liam Livingstone was repeatedly guilty of losing his shape on the big wind-up, as he drifted along to 28 from 38 with a solitary six, before being nailed lbw by Jamieson.
Sam Curran connected lustily on three off-side boundaries in his 20 from 13, before Henry scrambled the seam to nip one down the slope, but not for the first time, David Willey applied some late humpty with 19 from 11, before Brydon Carse launched the final ball of the innings for a massive six over long-off, as England pushed their target well past 300.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
