Buttler tops off strong batting effort as England posts 310

Jos Buttler hit 61 not out off 48 balls to lift England out of a mid-innings wobble and take it to 310 all out in 49.3 overs against New Zealand at the Cardiff Wales Stadium in Cardiff on Tuesday.

England, who was a pre-tournament favourite for the Champions Trophy 2017, showed why it had that status with its batting depth on display. Its start was powerful, with Alex Hales and Joe Root (64 off 65) hitting half-centuries, and Ben Stokes making a powerful 53-ball 48 in the middle, but with Adam Milne (3 for 79) and Corey Anderson (3 for 55) striking in the middle, England was in danger of being bowled out. However, Buttler’s big-hitting ensured it crossed the 300-mark after being put in to bat by Kane Williamson.

England’s start was handy rather than dominant, despite Hales finding the fence fairly regularly. That was because Jason Roy’s poor form continued, with the opener falling for 13 off 23, bowled while walking across the stumps to the pacy Milne. Roy’s ODI scores since May now read 0, 20, 1, 8, 4, 1, 13 – and there will be serious questions about his place in the side despite the management having backed him to the hilt.

However, with the rest of the top order in good touch, the flow of runs was more than steady. Williamson rotated his bowlers, trying to find a way to keep England quiet but that proved mostly impossible.

Hales was aggressive in the initial overs, taking Trent Boult and Tim Southee for boundaries, including a swivelled pull for six off Boult that flew into the midwicket stand, helped along by a strong breeze that stayed more or less constant through the innings. Roy fell in the eighth over, but Root was his usual classy self from the moment he came out.

Root never looked in a hurry but was still gathering runs at a run-a-ball, driving and flicking with ease, and showing exactly why he is among the foremost all-format batsmen in the world. Root’s tactical mastery was also on show, and he took the attack to Mitchell Santner, New Zealand’s only spinner. He hit a six and a four in the 18th over, targetting the shorter straight boundary for maximum and thus forced Williamson to alter his plans by replacing Santner earlier than he would have liked.

But while Root was free-flowing, Hales was tied down after a frenetic start. Hales was finally bowled by a cleverly disguised slower ball from Milne for 56 off 62, ending a partnership of 81 that took just 78 balls. At 118 for 2 in 21 overs with plenty of batting to come, England was very handily placed though. Even Eoin Morgan falling cheaply three overs later, edging Anderson behind after stepping out and reaching for the ball, didn’t rock the boat too much.

Stokes joined Root and showed that none of his IPL batting form had left him. After a few balls for sighters, Stokes latched on to a short one from Anderson to send it soaring over midwicket and was away. The feature of the fourth-wicket stand was the contrast between Stokes and Root. While the allrounder was happy to muscle the ball and found the fence regularly during his stay, England’s Test captain matched his strike-rate by rarely facing a dot ball. However, Stokes hogged a majority of the strike, facing 39 of the 54 balls the pair were together for, and that eventually led to Root chopping Anderson on to end a 54-run stand.

When Stokes upper-cut Boult straight to Milne at third man four overs later, New Zealand would have thought it had a sniff at keeping England in some check. The score was 210 for 5 in 37.3 overs, though England’s batting depth was not exhausted by any means. New Zealand’s chances brightened when Moeen Ali pulled Anderson well only for a leaping Boult to hold on to a stunner at short fine-leg.

England lost Adil Rashid, lbw to Santner soon after and at 260 for 7 with six overs to go, it all depended on Buttler to take England to the 320-plus it had seemed on course for. He was more than up to the challenge, unleashing an array of stunning shots, coupled with extremely smart running. That meant he had the lion’s share of the strike, and he made New Zealand pay. There was a ramp shot against a Boult bouncer outside off that almost went out of the ground, there was a flat-batted mow against Milne that was so flat you had to check twice that it had carried over long-off on the full.

Buttler and Liam Plunkett added 49 in five overs off which the fast bowler faced only 10, before Plunkett’s fall brought about a swift end to the innings. England couldn’t make the last over count, with Southee getting both Mark Wood and Jake Ball for golden ducks to leave Buttler stranded, but he had already done enough to drag England to a total that seemed out of reach when there was a mid-innings wobble.

Southee, who had 2 for 44 in 9.3 overs, was New Zealand’s most impressive bowler.