Wednesday 10 June 2015 15:13, UK
Sir Ian Botham hailed ‘a new England’ in the wake of their 210-run win over New Zealand in the first one-day international, at Edgbaston.
Jos Buttler (129 off 77 balls) and Joe Root (104 off 78) thrashed brilliant centuries to propel England to 408-9, their highest ODI score, before the Black Caps slumped to 198 all out.
The margin of victory – built in no small part on a world record seventh-wicket stand of 177 between Buttler and Adil Rashid (69) - was England's highest victory by runs in ODIs.
“It was magnificent,” reflected Botham. “I always felt this side would be exciting but what I really liked was their commitment and belief.
“To be honest with you it’s probably the best I’ve seen any England one-day side bat. This was a ‘new England’ – they came out with nothing but positive thoughts with the bat and the ball so it could be a really exciting time in a format that England have really under-performed in.
“They lost Jason Roy to the first ball of the match but that didn’t stop them; then they lost a couple of quick wickets, and that didn’t stop them. I heard people saying ‘maybe we should rein it in for 5-10 overs and bat it out’ but there was none of it.
“If you’re going to compete with the best in this format of cricket, these are the kind of scores you’ve got to be thinking of. You can’t do it every time and there will be times when you attack and it goes wrong.
“But if you have that attitude and belief all the way through the batting order, you can go far. This is something I haven’t seen from England in ODIs for a very long time.”
Root reached his century off 71 balls but was eclipsed by that of man-of-the-match Buttler, who reached three figures off 66 deliveries.
“It was a terrific knock,” said Botham. “He makes it looks so easy because of the speed of his hands through the ball.
“He hit all around the wicket which makes it very difficult to bowl to him. He’s powerful whether he’s pulling the ball or hitting it down the ground. He’s strong outside off stump and he has plenty of variations too, including the ramp shot. Where do you set the field when he’s in this sort of form?
“Joe Root and Jos Buttler looked totally at ease from the moment they got out there. Those were two fantastic knocks. The foundation was laid by Joe, who took the game to New Zealand early. For Buttler to come in and be as brutal as that and smash it around the ground was fantastic.
“Brendon McCullum, who will try most things, actually ran out of ideas – he didn’t know where to go – to stop Buttler.
“These were performances that took the game away from the opposition; New Zealand had to break all kinds of records to get anywhere near it.”
Rashid followed up his innings of 69 with figures of 4-55 – an all-round performance that Botham felt made England’s decision not to select him in the recent West Indies tour all the more strange.
“He bowled well today, I thought,” he said. “There were a lot of people expecting big things. We heard a lot of rumours saying that he didn’t bowl in the Caribbean because he couldn’t pitch the ball.
“But he looked fine and I’m sure England are wishing they did play him in the Caribbean on those wickets. He got his chance and he filled his boots.
“You always fancied England to win if they got off to a start with the ball and they did, Steven Finn getting Brendon McCullum early, which took the wind out of their sails early on.
“But believe me, this series has only just started; it can only get better. England have done themselves absolutely no harm. This is a great springboard for the summer.”
Watch the second one-day international between England and New Zealand live on Sky Sports 2 this Friday from 12.30pm.
