When Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first – a fairly common decision by captains in this tournament, but one he has rarely come to – it was an indication that he was approaching this game with a fresh perspective. And after guiding his team to a total of 179 with an innings of 73 off 47 – although he fell twice, on eight and 40 – he led them onto the field and produced a display of leadership that gave the destroyer a role model he has often followed to the letter. Moeen Ali didn’t just bowl – for the first time in the tournament – he got the opener. Mark Wood didn’t touch the ball until the last over of the powerplay, by which time Sam Curran and Adil Rashid had also chipped in. Moeen and Liam Livingstone, who Buttler had acknowledged did not get enough of an opportunity to impact the games with the bat, came in at three and four respectively. This was the night the Elton John tribute band did a surprise jazz-funk set. “To score a couple of runs for the team and then sometimes you get a decision and it goes right away, it’s always nice when that happens,” he said. “You can see the numbers until the cows come home, but I think the feel is very important. My own journey as a captain is still fairly new, and as it develops I think I’ll get an even better feel for what I like. I went out batting and thought Moeen should bowl first – I didn’t think he was going to lead the game, but it’s important to see what’s in front of you, trust your instincts and your experience.” In the end, even the decisions forced upon him paid off: Livingston felt pain in his ankle and spent the final overs on the sidelines, allowing Chris Jordan to come in and take a position at long-on. Darryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips duly sent the ball soaring straight to him, and the resulting catches effectively settled the match. “I told CJ, I think whenever the ball comes up he would be my No. 1 choice in the world to be under it,” Buttler said. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson had a few surprises of his own. There was, for example, great care in building up the ability of England’s left-armers to punish their spinners, so Mitchell Sandner came in early, Ish Sodhi joined him shortly after, and from the first six overs all but two balls they headed to Buttler and Alex Hales, the right-handed openers. Josh Buttler plays a ramp shot during his innings of 73 at the Gabba. Photo: Chris Hyde-ICC/ICC/Getty Images During this period, England’s innings lost their way a bit and scored 37 runs, and only three boundaries, off those first 36 balls. Meanwhile, Moeen, whose reputation against spin is unparalleled in this England team, watched from the sidelines, full but seated. Halfway through their innings England had not lost a wicket but had scored only 76, and at the drinks break they clearly discussed changing the line. It was go big or go home, and Hales went with option two. He reached his half-century off his next ball, topped for four, and was out on one after that, run out after leaping down the pitch to Santner. For all that England never really accelerated, the feeling as their innings ended was that having put themselves in a position to set a truly daunting target, they were never quite able to achieve it. Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On the eve of the game Buttler may have been a little daunted at the prospect of getting past Devon Conway, hero of Australia’s thrashing by the Kiwis. Finn Allen, their powerplay whirlwind. Phillips, whose century anchored them to victory over Sri Lanka, and the twin terrors of last year’s semi-final, Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham. But of them only Phillips really fired, conceding 62 off 36 after being inexplicably dropped by Moeen when he was on 15. The match eventually opened up a run of four wickets in as many overs by as many bowlers, between the 15th and 18th, of which Phillips he was the last. His departure marked the end for New Zealand and perhaps a new beginning for England. For them this was a night where all that mattered was victory, but they came away with renewed confidence in their abilities, their approach – and their captain.
