Jonny Bairstow hit a 58-ball century as England cruised to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in Christchurch to take the ODI series 3-2.
England’s bowlers did the early damage, reducing the hosts to 93-6 before yet another good knock from Mitchell Santner (67) allowed the Black Caps to creep up to 223. Chris Woakes (3-32) and Mark Wood (1-26) made things tricky for New Zealand early on before the spin due of Adil Rashid (3-42) and Moeen Ali (1-39) turned the screw. Tom Curran later chipped in with 2-46.
England hardly broke sweat in chasing down the target inside 33 overs, Bairstow and Alex Hales – a late replacement for Jason Roy – putting on 155 for the first wicket. When Hales was out for 61 i the 21st over, Bairstow batted on to hit 104 from just 60 balls. Joe Root (23*) and Ben Stokes (26*) knocked off the remainder after Eoin Morgan was out for 8.
The victory gave England their sixth successive ODI series win as their preparation for next year’s World Cup on home soil continues to impress.
