Nottingham : New Zealand coach Mike Hesson believes Saturday’s deciding one-day international against England in Durham will provide a “fantastic finale” to an enthralling series.
England ensured a winner-takes-all clash at Chester-le-Street after levelling the five-match campaign at 2-2 with a stunning seven-wicket win at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.
New Zealand who thrashed England by eight wickets in Wellington in February en route to the World Cup final — appeared to be well-placed after making 349 for seven. But England romped to victory with six overs to spare following a third-wicket stand of 198 between Joe Root (106 not out) and skipper Eoin Morgan (113).
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‘Good lesson’
However, the coach was adamant his side should have made a better job of defending a “good” target of 350. “You’ve got to take wickets or create pressure — or ultimately you do both. We struggled to create a succession of dot balls. We struggled to create a succession of overs that didn’t go for boundaries,” Hesson said. “We were both full and short, it wasn’t just one. It’s quite a young bowling attack in many ways and it was a good lesson for us.” Wednesday’s match featured another big stand from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who put on 101 at Trent Bridge following a partnership of 206 during New Zealand’s three-wicket win in Southampton on Sunday, where they both made hundreds. Williamson almost scored back-to-back tons, his 90 in Nottingham coming after his superb 118 at the Rose Bowl. “It was selfless from Kane, he knew we needed impetus, so he wasn’t trying to get a hundred. He played for the team,” Hesson said.
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