Champion Trophy: England maul New Zealand by 87 runs, enter semis

Englands Mark Wood C celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealands captain Kane Williamson during the ICC Champions Trophy match between England and New Zealand at Sophia Gardens cricket ground in Cardiff south Wales on June 6 2017 England sent in to bat in overcast conditions made a total of 310 all out PicAFPCardiff England defeated Zealand by 87 runs to become the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy match here todayVictory meant England had won both their opening Group A games following their eightwicket defeat of Bangladesh at the Oval last week New Zealand set 311 for victory were bowled out for 223 with 39 balls left in their innings Fast bowler Mark Wood took the key wicket of Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson to dismiss the star batsman for 87Earlier halfcenturies from Alex Hales Joe Root and Jos Buttler helped England to a respectable 310 all out in 493 overs against New Zealand in a Group A clash of the ongoing Champions Trophy at the Sophia Gardens here on TuesdayAfter being asked to bat first by New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson England rode on an 81run secondwicket partnership between Root 64 and Hales 56Both were guilty of not converting their fifties into hundreds despite looking goodButtler 61 not out produced a late flourish to help his side get past the 300run mark as the Kiwis applied the brakes at the right juncturesAllrounder Ben Stokes played well for his 48 before getting out as Corey Anderson returned best figures of 355 while Adam Milne also took three wickets for the cost of 79 runsJason Roy 13 23b 2x4 was sent back early by Milne as the opener tried to walk across his stumps to a quick delivery which knocked his stumps as he tried to flick the ball over the leg sideInform Root looked to continuing from where he had left off against Bangladesh The 26yearold showed no signs of ankle and calf injury which bothered him in the last game to milk Kiwi bowlers especially leftarm spinner Mitchell Santer whom he spanked for 29 runs in 22 ballsMilne however was in the thick of things again breaking the promising second wicket stand between Hales and Root with a delivery that squared up the former on the creaseHales departed just when he was looking good and timing the ball well His departure brought England skipper Eoin Morgan to the crease New Zealand badly needed the breakthrough to keep the hosts in checkMorgan 13 did not last long edging a wide Corey Anderson delivery to wicketkeeper Luke RonchiEnglands run rate though was always steady as after the first Powerplay they were 501 while after 30 overs when drinks was called for they had reached 1663 with Root looking good on 61 and Ben Stokes joining him at the crease on 19Shortly after drinks Root who was not getting a lot of the strike chopped the ball back onto the stumps while trying to cut through the offside handing Anderson his second scalpRoot and Stokes engineered Englands second fiftyrun stand with a 54run association for the fourth wicketAt the other end Stokes went from strength to strength but fell short of a half century by playing an unnecessary uppercut that fell to Milne at third man off Boults bowlingBoult took a superb catch at short fine leg off Anderosns bowling to dismiss Moeen Ali 12 who failed to support the explosive ButtlerAdil Rashid 12 fell lbw to Santner despite reviewing the umpires initial decision but thankfully for England Buttler found a steady partner at last in Liam PlunkettThe 26year old stumper brought up his fifty with a straight six over longoff helping his side to a par score alongiwth Lium Plunkett whose 10ball 15 added to the cause Together the duo added a vital 49run partnership for the eighth wicketBrief scoresEngland 310 all out in 493 overs Joe Root 64 JosButler 61 not out Alex Hales 56 Corey Anderson 355 AdamMilne 379New Zealand 223 all out in 443 overs Kane Williamson87 Ross Taylor 39 Liam Plunkett 455