New Zealand vs England, 1st T20I at Christchurch, NZ vs ENG, Oct 18 2025 - Match Result

10.23pm: Right, that's your lot for this series opener. Thanks for your company throughout the rain delays, and we'll be back on Monday with our fingers crossed that the weather is more favourable then. Cheers!

"There was a little bit in it, like we thought. The boys started off really well with the new ball," says Mitchell Santner. "A pretty good all-round performance. [How do you captain with so many bowling options?] It's easy, you just throw it around! It's handy having Neesh in the middle and the spin options as well. [Short-term vs long-term?] It's a building block for what we've got coming up. India can be slow, but it can also be very flat. [Fitness?] Yeah, good. It's nice to be back with the lads. [Monday?] We pride ourselves on adapting. We were pretty clinical there to keep chipping wickets away."

"It did a little bit to start with," Harry Brook says at the presentation. "Their bowlers are very experienced with the new ball and made the most of that surface. We obviously want to adapt to the situation and the surface, but with the depth we've got, we can go hard throughout. If we don't get off to the start we want, we can always accelerate at the end. [Learn anything for Monday?] Quicker to adapt to the surface, really. It was a little bit tough out there. [Captaincy?] It's been good fun. We've got a great bunch of lads. We've had a great time so far in New Zealand."

10.11pm: Match abandoned. There really was no guarantee! A damp squib to start the series, which stays at 0-0 heading into Monday's second T20I at the same venue. Stick around for what will likely be a fairly brief presentation. "That's 2-2 for result vs wash-out in New Zealand's October experiment," points out George Binoy.

10.07pm: "They're taking off the covers," reports Cameron Ponsonby from Hagley Oval. Wow. I didn't see that coming. Another rain-shortened "shambles" loading? "There's no guarantee, but we're working as hard as we can," says the voice on the tannoy system.

Tom: "Any idea about a 5 over target?" -- 50 would be the target, Sampath Bandarupalli from ESPNcricinfo's stats team tells me.

Zubair Islam: "Rain is helping Eng everywhere whether men or women cricket" -- Certainly a lucky escape in Colombo a few days ago. Big game in Indore tomorrow!

Daniel: "@Abrar baseball will also abandon games due to the weather, although they will usually replay them later in the season."

Abrar: "Other than cricket, Which other sports end with "No result" due to rain" -- Not many... we did have an unusual one in English football's second tier a month ago.

9.55pm: The umpires are out in the middle, with their grey umbrellas up. An update from Cameron Ponsonby at the ground: 10.33pm is the latest possible restart time, so we have already lost a good chunk of overs. I would suggest that is pretty unlikely to happen, but let's see if the groundstaff can pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat.

Srineet: "About two-thirds of the sell-out crowd have made their way out of the Hagley Oval. The intensity of the rain has reduced in the last couple of minutes."

chris: "Rain in October in NZ? Who would have thought"

9.51pm: Jimmy Neesham is having a chat to Shane Bond on TVNZ+ pitch-side, with an umbrella up. He says he's hoping to be involved in the next T20 (2026) and 50-over (2027) World Cups. A few reflections on his life on the franchise circuit, and becoming a senior pro in the New Zealand side at 35: "A few more ice baths, and fewer beers... The way the calendar works now, there's no off-season. There's no chance to go home and get chubby!"

Dan: "Was at the ground. Gone home about 5km from ground no rain here. It's one of those nights where different parts of the city will get heaps of rain and some parts will get none"

Andrew Evans: "What's the origin of the interesting surname Roller? The things to ponder during a rain break." -- I think it has German roots, but that is going back several centuries... nothing to do with cricket pitches, I'm afraid.

Conor: "I'm 5km west of Hagley Oval - haven't had one drop of rain at our place yet. The rain will definitely pass - let's just hope it's in time."

Still no official confirmation of this, but I can only imagine we're losing overs now given it's 9.45pm local time. Will let you know when we hear anything concrete.

Andrew: "on the embankment in tee shirt and shorts. it's not that bad. I didn't get free tickets to go home with no result" -- That's the spirit.

9.40pm: It's hammering down now. This could be terminal.

9.37pm: It looks like it's getting much heavier from the pictures I'm seeing on TV. "Yeah, we're in trouble," confirms Cam at Hagley Oval. "Run-ups covered up as well."

Dante: "England and rain, what a surprise." -- Not sure you can blame the tourists for this one.

9.33pm: The main sheet is back on again. Settle in.

9.31pm: The covers are starting to come off... but almost immediately, the rain starts coming down a touch heavier again. Still waiting for a word on the cut-off time, and when we start losing overs. The umpires are out there having a look, and chatting to the groundstaff.

9.22pm: Thanks Miller. Frustratingly, it sounds like we're in for a decent delay. "They've gone full sheet across the square, which doesn't bode well," reports Cameron Ponsonby, our man at Hagley Oval. Umbrellas up in the stands as Sam Fender rings out over the PA. A couple of fans on the grass banks are using 4/6 cards to shelter from the rain, which can't be doing a lot for them.