England keep their Semi's hopes alive with win over New Zealand

Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)

• England 4-149 def. New Zealand 6-148 by 6 wickets with 7 balls remaining.

Summary:
New Zealand won the toss and chose to bat. Their batting order was inconsistent early falling to 4-67 off 11.4 overs. Ross Taylor (22) and James Franklin (50) came to the crease and restored some stability. Steve Finn was the deadliest bowler for the English with 3/16 off 4 overs. The Kiwi's were only able to achieve a modest target of 6 for 148.
England had an almost identical start. They reached 50 runs in 54 balls, the same as New Zealand but, had one more wicket in hand than the Kiwi's. Luke Wright (76) and Eoin Morgan (30) posted an 89-run partnership to steer England to victory with 7 balls remaining.

The key to victory:
Steve Finn with the ball was able to get the vital wickets of the devastating Brendon McCullum, Captain Ross Taylor and opener Martin Guptil. His bowling only came at an expense of 16 runs.
The key to victory with the bat was most certainly Luke Wright. His 76 runs came in 59 balls with a strike rate of 176.74. Five 6's and five 4's highlight his strike power with the bat.

Stats Watch:
-The battle of two of the games great spinners in Englishman Graeme Swan and Kiwi Daniel Vettori was a dead heat. Both finished with figures of 1/20 off their 4 overs.
-Nathan McCullum was only at the crease for 10 balls but was able to register two 6's in that time.
-Craig Kieswetter was not in form today just like his previous match against the West Indies. He faced 14 balls for a meagre 4 runs and a strike rate of 28.57.

What it means:
It means New Zealand's hopes of making the semi's are all over. On the other hand, England have resurrected their chances and have a must-win game against the Sri Lankan's who are in red-hot form at the moment after their convincing wins against the West Indies and New Zealand.

The Votes:
MVP
3 - Luke Wright (England) He was the backbone of the whole English batting line up.
2 - Steve Finn (England) Collected important wickets with the expense of few runs.
1 - James Franklin (New Zealand) A shining light in an otherwise lacklustre New Zealand performance.

Tucker Trophy
3 - Craig Kieswetter (England) Yet again he is a flop at the top order.
2 - Tim Southee (New Zealand) Meant to be the spearhead bowler but went for 32 off only 2 overs.
1 - Martin Guptil (New Zealand) Started the early batting order rot for the Kiwi's.