England submitted a contender for the worst review of all time, with Jos Buttler sending an lbw appeal upstairs, only for replays to quickly reveal the ball had hit the middle of the bat, and not the pad.

The comical moment came during a comprehensive victory in the first T20I against New Zealand. Liam Livingstone was bowling with the Black Caps six down and less than 100 on the board, and when Glenn Phillips leaned forward in defence, Buttler went up in appeal from behind the stumps.

With no other close fielders in place, he and Livingstone had to make the decision over whether to review themselves, and chose to go upstairs, perhaps thinking the ball had flicked the boot before hitting bat. Buttler had a sheepish smile on his face from the start, perhaps suggesting he knew it was an optimistic shout.

How optimistic quickly became clear, with replays showing the ball had hit the middle of the toe of the bat, and was nowhere near the pad. “That is one of the all-time terrible reviews,” said Henry Moeran on BBC Test Match Special commentary, with laughter heard behind him.

“Do you think England should lose both of their reviews for that?” quipped TMS statistician Andy Zaltzman.

The moment mattered little in the final reckoning. England kept New Zealand to 139 and gunned down 140 with six overs to spare. There were welcome runs for Dawid Malan, rewarding England’s backing after being dropped by Trent Rockets during The Hundred, and also a notable score for Harry Brook, in his first international knock since being left out of England’s 2023 World Cup squad.

The second T20I of the series takes place in Manchester on Friday, September 1.