England pummelled New Zealand by 181 runs in their third ODI at The Oval, thanks to a record-breaking innings by Ben Stokes and some solid bowling by the team. The result gave England a 2-1 lead in the series, with one more match to be played.
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Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field. Trent Boult struck early, dismissing Jonny Bairstow for a golden duck and Joe Root (4) during the powerplay. England were in trouble at 13/2 when Ben Stokes came to the crease. He teamed up with Dawid Malan, and together they guided England through the remainder of the powerplay, reaching 55/2 after 10 overs.
ODI 💯 #4 🙌
Just 76 balls! 😅@IGCom | @benstokes38 pic.twitter.com/FaVlwikMbB
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 13, 2023
England reached the 100-run mark in 16.2 overs, with Malan scoring his fifth ODI fifty in 52 balls, featuring eight fours. Stokes also reached his fifty in 44 balls, hammering nine fours. The duo formed a century partnership off just 91 balls. Stokes then accelerated, hitting sixes, and they reached a 150-run partnership off 119 balls. England reached 200 runs in 27 overs, and Stokes notched his fourth ODI century in 76 balls. However, Malan fell short of his fifth ODI hundred, dismissed by Boult for 96 from 95 balls with 12 fours and a six.
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Skipper Jos Buttler joined Stokes, and they continued to pile on the runs. Stokes reached his remarkable 150 in just 105 balls. Glenn Phillips ended their partnership, dismissing Buttler for 38 off 24 balls, including six fours and a six. England reached 300 runs in 39.4 overs. Stokes eventually departed after a record-breaking knock of 182 off 124 balls, featuring 15 fours and nine sixes, surpassing Jason Roy’s previous highest score for England in ODIs. A catch by Will Young at square leg reduced England to 348/6 in 44.3 overs.
212-3 off 30 overs 🏏💥
And then Buttler walks in 😅
Scorecard/clips: https://t.co/Pd380O21mn#ENGvNZ | #EnglandCricket pic.twitter.com/4z68jMFNXS
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 13, 2023
The lower-order batsmen, including Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, and Sam Curran, were dismissed quickly, and England were bowled out for 368 in 48.1 overs. Trent Boult was the standout bowler for New Zealand with figures of 5/51, while Ben Lister claimed 3/69. Lockie Ferguson and Glenn Phillips each took one wicket but went for runs.
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Chasing a mammoth 369, England’s pace trio of Woakes, Reece Topley, and Sam Curran rattled the New Zealand top-order. The Kiwis scrambled to 36/3 in the powerplay and further slumped to 70/5 in 17 overs, with none of the top five batsmen reaching 20 runs. Glenn Phillips stitched a useful 46-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra, taking New Zealand past the 100-run mark in 22.1 overs. However, spinner Moeen Ali dismissed Ravindra for 28, ending their partnership.
Another partnership of 57 runs followed between Phillips and Kyle Jamieson (14). Despite the former scoring 72 in 76 balls with five fours and two sixes, the target seemed too distant for New Zealand. They were eventually bowled out for 187 in 39 overs.
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Milestones achieved
During the match, Ben Stokes surpassed 3,000 runs in ODIs after coming out of retirement in the 50-over format for the ICC Cricket World Cup. Stokes also eclipsed the previous record for the highest individual score by an England player in ODIs, previously held by Jason Roy (180) against Australia in 2018.
A convincing win at the Kia Oval!
Watch highlights of our win in the 3rd Metro Bank ODI 👇 pic.twitter.com/tOKYNyW7ub
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 14, 2023
In his ODI career of 108 matches, the all-rounder has scored 3,159 runs, with an average of 40.50 and strike rate of 96.36. In 93 innings, he has four centuries and 22 half-centuries.
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Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Trent Boult surpassed legendary Kiwi all-rounder Richard Hadlee for the most number of five-wicket hauls in ODIs.
Boult now has an impressive six five-wicket hauls for the Black Caps in ODIs. He overtook Richard Hadlee, who had five five-wicket hauls during his illustrious One Day Internationals career.
Also, Kiwi batter Glenn Phillips completed 2,000 runs in international cricket in the same match. He has featured in 83 games so far and scored 2,036 runs at an average of 32.31 and a strike rate of 122.87. Phillips has hit two centuries and 12 half-centuries in his career so far.
