Matt Parkinson shone for England on a record-breaking day, as the visitors posted their highest ever T20I score to thrash New Zealand by 76 runs to tie the series at 2-2 with one left to play.
The Lancashire leg spinner (4-47) impressed in his second game for England, taking two wickets in as many balls in his first over, before adding another in his second. An expensive third over spoiled his figures, but Parkinson had the last laugh when he trapped Tim Southee for LBW in his fourth.
This came on a day when Dawid Malan smashed the record-fastest hundred for England in T20I cricket, bringing up his century in just 48-balls. His assault was backed up by Eoin Morgan (91 off 41 balls) as the visitors amassed a mammoth 241 runs for New Zealand to chase.
Tom Banton also showed signs of a lofty potential by scoring an attractive 31 runs off 20 balls at the top of the order before he was given out LBW by DRS, though Jonny Bairstow failed to make double figures for his second game running when he fell to Mitchell Santner.
These wickets brought Morgan and Malan’s destructive 182-run partnership to the crease for the final 12 overs – featuring 13 sixes and 16 fours between them – which included the England captain scoring the fastest half-century in T20I history (from 21 deliveries).
New Zealand truly had a mountain to climb, and started promisingly. Martin Guptill (27 off 14) and Colin Munro (30 off 21) kept abreast of the run rate early on, but Tom Curran made the breakthrough when the former picked out Malan at midwicket.
Despite a valiant attempt to keep the runs flowing, wickets fell as regular intervals for New Zealand. Parkinson quickly wrapped up the wickets of De Grandhomme and Munro with consecutive deliveries, before trapping Southee in front – but not before the New Zealand batsmen hit 39 off 15 balls.
Sam Curran (1-36) and Pat Brown (1-29) got in on the act as the home side finished on 165 all out, setting up a decisive final match on Sunday.
RECORD BREAKERS:
182 – Highest ever partnership for @englandcricket between @dmalan29 & @Eoin16.
48 balls Malan – Fastest 100 by an England player in T20s
241/3 – Highest innings score by @englandcricket in a T20 international. #bbccricket #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/y1tZPwW8uu
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) November 8, 2019
Image credited to Lancashire CCC
