short ball, plinked to mid-off! Game, set and match. Wood cleans up the tail, and England take a 1-0 lead in the series
New Zealand vs England, 2nd T20I at Christchurch, NZ vs ENG, Oct 20 2025 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
2nd T20I (N), Christchurch, October 20, 2025, England tour of New Zealand
New
NZ
Full commentary
end of over 187 runs • 2 wickets
NZ: 171/10CRR: 9.50 • RRR: 33.00 • Need 66 runs from 12b
Kyle Jamieson8 (6b 1x4)
Luke Wood 4-0-36-2
Adil Rashid 4-0-32-4
10.45pm: That's all folks, thanks for your company tonight. We'll be back on Thursday for the decider in Auckland.
Brook returns for some more team-focused thoughts: "It's exactly what we've been talking about. We've done well from the start of my captaincy at taking a lot of wickets, so to get 10 was awesome. [Spinners?] They're extremely experienced. For Daws to bowl four overs in a row, a lot of balls to left-handers with the wind howling, the odds weren't in his favour but he bowled phenomenally. [Fielders off the rope?] That's something we've spoken about. There's a lot of balls that get plinked into the outfield. That's another positive move towards taking wickets."
Mitchell Santner: "Some good batting by England. The pitch was definitely a little bit flatter. England were very smart with the way they played it, hit to the short side and hit a lot of twos to the big side. Whenever you get a 100-run partnership in a T20, it's tough to stop. You look at the quality of the batters as well: we threw different options at them, and they were able to keep going. We go to Eden Park where there won't be as many twos... [Chasing 237?] You need a lot of things to go well. You need a big Powerplay, and they were able to take wickets up top. We holed out a lot of times to the bigger side. [Auckland improvements?] Try to get Brooky and Salty out... Assess what Eden Park has got for us. We'll wait and see and try to come up with some plans."
Harry Brook is named player of the match. "It felt good. It's always nice to contribute, and to do it alongside Salty who has been very successful for us in this new era. [Chat?] Just keeping each other calm and composed, looking to manipulate the field and put them under as much pressure as possible. [Conditions?] The sun has probably helped us out and made the pitch a little bit flatter. It was just nice to hit a few out of the park. [Favourite shot?] The one off Mitch, off the back foot. Sorry Mitch!"
10.31pm: England win by 65 runs after a complete performance. Salt got them off to a fast start with the bat before handing the baton to Harry Brook, and their 236 for 4 was a ground-record total at Hagley Oval. Everything needed to go right for New Zealand with the bat but Brydon Carse struck twice in the second over of the run chase, before Dawson and Rashid put the squeeze on through the middle overs. A very disappointing night for the Black Caps, but England couldn't have asked for much more than that. Stick around for reaction from Brook and Santner.
All 10 dismissals in New Zealand's innings were to catches, which is relatively unusual. TVNZ say it's only the 13th time it has happened in men's T20Is.
17.6
W
Wood to Duffy, OUT
Jacob Duffy c Brook b Wood 1 (2b 0x4 0x6 2m) SR: 50
17.5
1
Wood to Jamieson, 1 run
back of a length, hauled out to long-on
17.4
1
Wood to Duffy, 1 run
low full toss, toe-ended to Brook at mid-off
Duffy is New Zealand's last man
17.3
W
Wood to Henry, OUT
smoked... straight to Bethell at deep midwicket! Back of a length, absolutely crunched out of the middle of Henry's bat, but he picks out Bethell five yards off the boundary, who clings onto a stinger. England are one wicket away...
Matt Henry c Bethell b Wood 0 (1b 0x4 0x6 2m) SR: 0
Matt Henry to face his first ball
17.2
1
Wood to Jamieson, 1 run
back of a length, worked out to deep backward square leg
17.1
4
Wood to Jamieson, FOUR runs
shovelled over the leg side, into the gap at midwicket. Full on the pads, bowling to his field, but Jamieson finds the gap
6 for 70 in 8 overs for England's spinners. They have both been ever-present in this format since the start of the English summer.
end of over 176 runs • 2 wickets
NZ: 164/8CRR: 9.64 • RRR: 24.33 • Need 73 runs from 18b
Kyle Jamieson2 (3b)
Adil Rashid 4-0-32-4
Sam Curran 3-0-37-0
16.6
W
Rashid to Santner, OUT
picks out deep backward square leg! Rashid snares a fourth, and that really is game over. Googly, down the leg side. Santner looks to swing it away with a flick of the wrists, but finds Curran in the deep who takes a lowish catch
Mitchell Santner c Curran b Rashid 36 (15b 3x4 3x6 21m) SR: 240
16.5
1
Rashid to Jamieson, 1 run
googly, chipped down to long-on
16.4
1
Rashid to Santner, 1 run
comes charging down, cloths it out to Curran at deep backward square leg
16.3
1
Rashid to Jamieson, 1 run
another wrong 'un, Jamieson has a huge swipe and the ball dribbles out to square leg via the inside edge
16.2
•
Rashid to Jamieson, no run
googly, not picked, and cuts him in half
Jamieson at No. 9.
16.1
W
Rashid to Neesham, OUT
googly, Neesham sets himself and gets a decent piece of it... but there's more elevation than distance, and Banton settles underneath it at wide long-on! Rashid strikes again. Sounded good off the bat, but Neesham trudges off
James Neesham c Banton b Rashid 17 (13b 2x4 0x6 22m) SR: 130.76
16.1
3w
Rashid to Neesham, 3 wide
sprayed a long, long way down the leg side. Might even have been a wide to a right-hander. Fumbled by Buttler for bonus runs
Rashid to bowl his final over. 79 off 24.
end of over 1614 runs
NZ: 158/6CRR: 9.87 • RRR: 19.75 • Need 79 runs from 24b
Mitchell Santner35 (13b 3x4 3x6)
James Neesham17 (12b 2x4)
Sam Curran 3-0-37-0
Brydon Carse 3-0-27-2
15.6
•
Sam Curran to Santner, no run
slower ball, Santner throws the kitchen sink at it but can only connect with thin air
15.6
1w
Sam Curran to Santner, 1 wide
hung wide outside off stump... too wide
15.5
4
Sam Curran to Santner, FOUR runs
misses his yorker, a touch too short. Santner steps across and flicks Curran away off his pads with a wristy whip. 50 partnership for the seventh wicket in just 21 balls, with Santner the dominant contributor
15.4
2
Sam Curran to Santner, 2 runs
width outside off, carved out to Carse at deep backward point
15.3
•
Sam Curran to Santner, no run
back-of-the-hand slower ball, Santner steps across looking to work leg-side but can only get a leading edge back
15.2
6
Sam Curran to Santner, SIX runs
launched over extra cover, Banton is chasing after it... but can only parry it over the rope! Short, wide slower ball. Santner extends his arms and gets a decent connection. Banton was looking to pat it back into play, but could only help it over the boundary
15.1
1
Sam Curran to Neesham, 1 run
wide yorker, squeezes it out to point and Brook's throw at the non-striker's end nearly catches Santner out. Would have been gone with a direct hit, but they sneak through for an overthrow
93 off 30 is the equation.
Language
English
Win Probability
ENGÂ 100%
ENGNZ100%50%100%
Over 18 • NZ 171/10
Matt Henry c Bethell b Wood 0 (1b 0x4 0x6 2m) SR: 0
W
Jacob Duffy c Brook b Wood 1 (2b 0x4 0x6 2m) SR: 50
England won by 65 runsW
Powered by Smart StatsInstant answers to T20 questions
New Zealand Innings
<1 / 3>