England may have beaten New Zealand in a thriller in Hamilton earlier today, but it was of little consolation as they crashed out of the ongoing T20 tri-series.
Having lost their three previous clashes against the BlackCaps and Australia twice, they knew they could still qualify for Tuesday’s final against the Aussies in Auckland with a win. However, it came with a ‘but’. Having been inserted, they could only qualify with a 20-run margin of victory or more.
And they gave themselves a fighting chance by posting a useful 194-7 on a pitch which gripped.
In the end, the hosts cruised beyond the required 174 for final qualification before stumbling and finishing on 192-4.
Adil Rashid was excellent in returning 1-22 from four overs, while fellow spinner Liam Dawson proved a very useful back-up with 1-27 from his four.
