Tim Bresnan does his bit with bat and ball

There have been several voices suggesting that the Twenty20 format diminishes the importance of allrounders, but Tim Bresnan made small and significant contributions in both disciplines against New Zealand to dispel the myth and give his side an all-win record in the Super Eights stage.

Bresnan began with a stifling first over that set the tone for the game - Brendon McCullum could only get a single off five balls as the bowler hit the right areas and got some movement away. The seeds of doubt were sown in McCullum's mind, and he was forced to come out of the crease to hit a couple of boundaries in Bresnan's second over, but the bowler responded by bringing in smart changes of pace. The variations almost earned him McCullum's wicket in his third over, as the batsman was hurried into a straight hit off a fast delivery, but Bresnan was unable to latch on to a sharp return chance. Still, he earned his reward two balls later, getting rid of the dangerous Jesse Ryder with a brilliantly disguised slow offcutter. England had struck a vital blow to drive home the advantage after keeping the batsmen quiet in the opening overs.

With the in-form Nathan McCullum and Daniel Vettori on strike, bowling the last over of the innings should have been a tough ask for a lesser bowler, but Bresnan kept his wits about him, serving a delightful mix of deliveries to concede just five runs, to restrict New Zealand to a sub-par total.

The game was still in the balance when Bresnan came out to bat in the 16th over, but he remained calm and picked off three crucial boundaries to take his side home. He first drilled Kyle Mills down the ground, before smashing a short-of-good-length offering from Shane Bond to wide long-on to bring England close. It was fitting that Bresnan hit the winning runs, pulling Mills comprehensive in the final over to put the ribbon on a victory that he played a major role in achieving.