New Zealand holds England to a 2-2 draw in the T20I series: Player ratings for the Visitors

Tim Southee‘s New Zealand crafted a brilliant comeback against England in the four-match T20I series after they lost the two initial matches. Jonny Bairstow was crowned as the player of the tournament, however, brilliant performances from Ish Sodhi, Finn Allen, and Glenn Phillips also can’t go unnoticed. 

Hence, without further delay, let’s take a look at the performances of New Zealand players in the four-match T20I series against England. 

Top Order

Finn Allen (6/10): Finn Allen commenced his T20I series with a set of fours as he looked confident during the first match between New Zealand and England. However, the enthusiasm was for a short period as he was dismissed early by Brydon Carse in the powerplay and he only got to score 21 runs. 

Allen gave another disappointing performance in the second match after he only managed to score 3 runs off 6 balls before getting dismissed. The 24-year-old ignited the fire of a comeback in the Blackcaps with his astounding 83-run innings off 53 deliveries during the third match. Allen again looked confident in the series decider but he lost his wicket early in the match at 16. 

Devon Conway (1/10): Devon Conway was in great form recently, however, he failed to portray a similar momentum against England. The 32-year-old provided disheartening batting displays one after another for the New Zealand fans and could only score 14 runs in three matches before being dropped for the last match of the series. 

Tim Seifert (4/10): Tim Seifert also failed to get a favorable start at the Riverside Ground as he had to head back to the pavilion after accumulating only 9 runs in the first match. In the second match, it seemed like Seifert was slowly catching up with the pace as he scored 39 runs off 31 deliveries. Seifert played another struggling inning of 19 runs in the third game before he was stumped out by Jos Buttler. 

In the absence of Conway, the 28-year-old was asked to open the batting and scored 48 runs off 32 deliveries in the final game.

Middle Order

Glenn Phillips was the highest run-getter for New Zealand in the four-match T20I series

Glenn Phillips (8/10): In the absence of Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips has taken the change of play responsible knocks for the Blackcaps. In the first match, he was New Zealand’s top-scorer with 41 runs off 38 deliveries before he was caught by Sam Curran. Phillips failed to leave a significant impact in the second match but he still scored 22 runs for the Blackcaps. 

Phillips also completed his first half-century of the series as he scored 69 runs off 34 deliveries with a strike rate of 202 in the third fixture. The right-handed batter gave another reliable performance in the last match of the T20I series by scoring 42 runs off 25 balls for the Blackcaps.

Mark Chapman (4/10): Mark Chapman has emerged as the lone savior of the Blackcaps a number of times, however, the away series against England was not his best campaign. In the series opener, he was sent back to the stands by Moeen Ali in his first over of the match. Scoring 15 in the second game, Chapman was again sent back by a spinner, this time it was Liam Livingstone. 

Chapman scored a four for New Zealand in the last over to help his side score the 200-run mark against the Poms for the first time in the series. Interestingly, Chapman also became a part of the joint team effort accumulated by the Blackcaps in the series decider by scoring 40 runs off 25 balls and staying unbeaten until the end. 

Daryl Mitchell (1/10): In the last few years, Daryl Mitchell has emerged as a player of long-format cricket, and his selection in the T20I team seems to divide opinions. He started his campaign with a knock of 7 runs before getting dismissed on a golden duck by Brydon Carse in the second game. 

Mitchell was constantly failing to settle his feet in the T20I series, especially against fast bowlers and he scored only 8 runs for the Blackcaps in the third match. The 32-year-old was shifted above in the batting line-up for the last match of the series, but unfortunately, he got run by Luke Wood after contributing 14 runs from his bat. 

All-rounders 

Santner was named the Player of the Match helping NZ tie the series 2-2

Mitchell Santner (6/10): Mitchell Santner didn’t get a favorable start in the series after he scored only 8 runs and bowled three overs, conceding 30 runs without taking a wicket. Santner again failed to impress the spectators with the bat as well as the ball in the second game. 

The 31-year-old’s bowling eventually improved after the initial two matches as he took the important wickets of English skipper Jos Buttler in the third match, leaking only 20 runs in three overs. Santner’s best performance of the series came in the last game, where he took three crucial wickets in his four-over spell leaking 30 runs. 

Rachin Ravindra (5/10): Rachin Ravindra found a place in the squad for the last match at the place of Devon Conway. Ravindra bowled two overs and gave 17 runs, without taking a wicket. On the flip side, he also scored 17 runs for the Blackcaps, with the help of two fours. 

Bowlers

Ish Sodhi (7/10): Ish Sodhi was expected to be the most important factor in New Zealand’s bowling line-up, but he eventually failed to live up to the expectations. The Punjab-born spinner dismissed Dawid Malan in the first match but his economy rate was more than 11. In the second match, Sodhi took two wickets but leaked 44 runs in four overs. 

The right-arm leg-break bowler provided a much-improved performance in the third game, where he took three crucial wickets. Sodhi eventually portrayed the prowess he acquired by dismissing Brook and Jacks in the last match, conceding only 21 runs in his complete spell.

Tim Southee (6/10): Tim Southee was unarguably the most experienced player in the New Zealand line-up. The Blackcaps skipper also had the best figures in the first match as he dismissed Jonny Bairstow in the first over. After a decent performance in the first game, Southee quickly transitioned into the worst performer for the side in the second match, giving 48 runs in his spell. 

The 34-year-old took the wickets of Adil Rashid and Dawid Malan in order to guide his side towards their first win in the four-match series. However, the Blackcaps skipper’s series ended on a disappointing note as he failed to pick up a wicket in the last match despite leaking 39 runs. 

Adam Milne (3/10): Adam Milne managed to emerge as the most economical Blackcaps bowler in the second match conceding only 23 runs in his full quota of overs. Milne was later rested for the two remaining fixtures against England. 

Lockie Ferguson (2/10): Lockie Ferguson is famous for his menacing pace that leaves the batters bamboozled, however, he gave a below-par performance against the Poms in the first match as he took a wicket but leaked 34 runs in three overs. Ferguson was eminently targeted by the English batters as he conceded 43 runs during his spell in the second match. 

Kyle Jamieson (5/10): Kyle Jamieson was included in the squad in the place of Adam Milne and he quickly became the bowling star for the Blackcaps. In the match, he took three wickets and conceded only 23 runs in his four-over spell. Jamieson bowled two horrific overs in the last match and leaked 35 runs, as his economy rate was greater than 17. 

Matt Henry (5/10): As Lockie Ferguson was dropped for the last two matches, Matt Henry was called into the playing XI. Consequently, just like Jamieson, he also gave a blistering performance by bowling an extremely economical spell of 1/21 in the third match. In the last match, Henry dismissed Liam Livingstone, giving up 31 runs in four overs.