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Mitchell, Bracewell half-centuries seal four-wicket win in series opener in Mount Maunganui

Andrew Miller26-Oct-2025

New Zealand 224 for 6 (Mitchell 78*, Bracewell 51, Carse 3-45) beat England 223 (Brook 135, Overton 46, Foulkes 4-41, Duffy 3-66) by four wickets There was a strong westerly wind blowing across the Bay Oval on Sunday afternoon. If you happened to cock your ear to the breeze during the first hour of play, you would have heard – clear as day – the sound of mocking laughter, floating across the Tasman Sea and down through the shires of Hobbiton.In a contest billed as the official start of the Ashes phoney war, England’s Australia-bound top-order produced a stunning false start. Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell – Ashes bankers, bolters and, as the Aussies might now contend, bottlers – all found themselves caught up in a catastrophic collapse of 10 for 4 in 5.1 overs that was precisely as serious as the discourse that it will generate.Related

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Jos Buttler soon joined the procession at 33 for 5, and it was a measure of the nonsensical scenario that – when Sam Curran nicked off at 56 for 6, to become the fourth wicket of Zak Foulkes’ remarkable maiden spell in ODI cricket – the time back home in the UK, thanks to the peculiarities of daylight-saving, was 1.59am: in other words, one minute prior to the contest’s original start-time.New Zealand duly wrapped up victory with time to spare as well, by four wickets and with 80 balls left unused, thanks to Michael Bracewell’s run-a-ball 51 and a 91-ball 78 from Daryl Mitchell that had to surmount its own dicey circumstances at 24 for 3, courtesy of Luke Wood and Brydon Carse’s new-ball breakthroughs – including a first-baller on his return to action for the great Kane Williamson, his first in 15 years of ODIs.Harry Brook carried England’s innings on his shoulders•Getty Images

And yet, the game would scarcely have outlasted one of last week’s rained-off T20Is had it not been for Harry Brook – England’s white-ball captain, Test vice-captain-elect, and a man in no mood to let circumstance dictate his game-plan. His response to his team’s extreme adversity was a startling lone-wolf innings of 135 from 101 balls that turned an impending humiliation into an almost serviceable total of 223 in 35.2 overs.It was Brook’s fourth century in the country, following his three hundreds across two previous Test tours, and – given the circumstances – it was more extraordinary even than his 186 at Wellington in 2023 which, for those who witnessed that onslaught, is saying something.Brook scored each of his first 36 runs in boundaries, en route to a total of nine fours and 11 sixes. The latter included three in a row off Jacob Duffy to reach his hundred from 82 balls, and four more thereafter, as he juiced 80 runs from England’s final two wickets in an innings in which just one other batter scored more than 6.That man was Jamie Overton, who contributed 46 from 54 balls in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 that wrested the momentum back from New Zealand, after Foulkes and Matt Henry had rumbled their way through 15 new-ball overs in a row. His performance had distinct echoes of a previous tussle with New Zealand – on Test debut in 2022, when he had arrived at a near-identical 55 for 6 and partnered Jonny Bairstow with a career-best 97.Once again, Overton fell short of a milestone in this innings, as he chipped a Duffy slower ball to cover, whereupon Carse joined the procession of Ashes-bound players by cutting his first ball straight to the returning Williamson at point. Brook, by then, had had one key let-off on 63, when Rachin Ravindra dropped a fast-travelling slog-sweep at square leg, but the power and clarity of his subsequent onslaught took the breath away.And to think Mitchell Santner hadn’t even been sure whether bowling first was the sensible option. Henry’s first ball of the match immediately laid any doubts to rest as he wrecked Smith’s first outing of the winter with a perfect stump-rattling inducker, one that deserved to rouse a few memories of Rory Burns’ catastrophic start to the 2021-22 Ashes proper.Brydon Carse removed Kane Williamson for his first golden duck in ODIs•Getty Images

Foulkes then ripped into the contest with the first-over wickets of Duckett, caught flinching outside off for 2, and Root, who stepped into a wild drive and was also bowled by lavish seam movement. Two Foulkes overs later, Bethell too had his off stump plucked out by a jaffa, and there seemed no earthly way for England’s innings to pull out of its death spiral.Brook, though, had other ideas. His 135 out of 223 comprised 60.53% of England’s innings, a new record that outdid Robin Smith’s legendary 167 not out against Australia in 1993 – which, coincidentally was another mighty knock that was unable to stave off ultimate defeat.England gave it a good crack, mind you. Carse, a star of last year’s Test-series win in New Zealand, matched Foulkes with two wickets in his opening over as Will Young was bowled by an inswinging yorker for 5 before Williamson snicked a first-ball snorter through to Buttler behind the stumps.Luke Wood then did for a free-flowing Ravindra, well caught by Overton at second slip as the bowler – remarkably – claimed his first List A wicket since 2019. And when Carse fired a wobble-seam delivery into Tom Latham’s shin for 24, New Zealand were 66 for 4 and in clear danger of frittering away their unbelievable start.Bracewell and Mitchell turned the tide in a fifth-wicket stand of 92, though they needed some luck along the way. Bracewell was dropped at slip on 2 by Root, in Overton’s opening over, while Mitchell had an even more glaring let-off on 33, when Wood at backward point dropped a sitter of a reverse-sweep off the legspin of Adil Rashid.With the requirement under control, however, New Zealand were able to play well within themselves – at least until Bracewell needlessly ran himself out with 66 still needed, whereupon Mitchell ramped New Zealand’s first six over fine leg to signal the final charge. Santner added two more in quick succession off Rashid before holing out to long-on for 27, but Mitchell launched the winning hit over backward square.The fireworks, and the talking points, however, had long since been and gone.

Neymar has been branded “washed”, with fans reacting to the “sad watch” of seeing the Brazilian icon botch two attempted rainbow flicks during Santos’ surprising win over Palmeiras. Neymar is considered to have performed admirably in that fixture, but questions are being asked of whether the 33-year-old still possesses the kind of magic in his boots that once allowed him to illuminate the world stage.

Neymar trying to drag Santos out of a relegation battle

Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer has been back in his homeland since January, having returned to his roots on the back of seeing a lucrative contract at Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal terminated. That deal was torn up after recovering from a knee ligament injury.

More fitness setbacks have been endured in South America, with the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain playmaker struggling to provide inspiration in Santos’ ongoing battle to avoid relegation in 2025.

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Fans urge Brazil legend Neymar to retire

He did help them to a shock victory over title-chasing Palmeiras, but was unable to produce a moment of match-altering brilliance in that contest. Neymar tried his best to deliver in that department, but two flicks close to the corner flag caught the eye of onlookers for all of the wrong reasons.

@PolymarketFC said when sharing a video of Neymar’s failed rainbow flicks: “SAD WATCH! Neymar just doesn’t have it anymore.” @Harisson_utd added “Brother is so washed”, with @TheLondonLad_ going on to say: “‘Leave the football before the football leave you.’ He Should just retire. No shame in that.”

On a similar theme, @DRealist009 said: “Just retire already bro.” @LincolnLumbe continued that theme when posting: “He needs to quit before he tarnishes his legacy.”

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Getty ImagesDoes Neymar still have it? Ex-Brazil internationals offer their take

While some fans were less than impressed with what they saw from Neymar, former Brazil international defender Luisao told Resenha da Rodada from : “Neymar played with his team-mates, unlike in the interview he gave last time, he was part of the team and that made it difficult for Palmeiras.”

Luis Fabiano added: “Neymar understood that he needs to be more supportive of his team-mates. Everything he did against Flamengo, he did the opposite of, and he held back. When he holds back, his football shines through a bit more. It's not the Neymar we usually see, but he stands out from the Santos team; when the ball is at his feet, something good comes out of it.”

With RR needing 18 from 12 balls, Hazlewood conceded only one in the penultimate over and also took two wickets

Ashish Pant25-Apr-20252:12

What makes Hazlewood a much-improved T20 bowler?

Being at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is an experience. When things are going the home side Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) way, one needs to strain his ear to listen to the person next to him inside a soundproof room. When it’s not, the silence can get disconcerting.On Thursday, at the end of the 18th over, the Chinnaswamy Stadium got really quiet. The 30,000-strong crowd had just witnessed their star bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar being thrashed for 22 runs by Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey. The RCB chants weren’t ringing around the ground anymore, there were no flags waving. With 18 needed off 12 balls, this was now RR’s game to lose. Were RCB about to go down at home for a fourth straight time? Surely nine an over at the Chinnaswamy is a cakewalk.Enter Josh Hazlewood. A solitary run off the 19th over, two wickets, and RR did not know what hit them. It was a classic case of sticking to the plan: hard lengths mixed with the occasional yorker and change of pace. And just like that, Hazlegod (that’s what the RCB faithful call him) had flipped the narrative again, and the crowd found its voice… big time.Related

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Hazlewood has always been a frugal powerplay bowler, and it’s no different in the IPL. His high release points, because of which he generates the extra bounce, coupled with the subtle movement off the deck have often been a nightmare for batters. In IPL 2025, he has also been a death-bowling sensation.Entering the tournament, Hazlewood had bowled 141 balls in the death since the first time he played in the league in 2020. Off those, he picked up 13 wickets at an economy of 10.00. This season, he’s already bowled 59 balls in the death and picked up six wickets. Only Matheesha Pathirana (seven) has more wickets than him, while his economy of 8.23 is the third-best for any bowler with a minimum of five overs in the death.What’s crucial is that Hazlewood seems to have gotten a hang of the Chinnaswamy surface. He had a tough beginning here, going for a combined 83 runs in 6.5 overs in the first two games against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals. But the rain-shortened game against Punjab Kings, where he almost broke open the game, helped him find a template.ESPNcricinfo LtdAgainst RR, 17 of the 24 deliveries that he bowled were short of a good length, which fetched him wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer and Jofra Archer. It wasn’t the easiest of starts for him here as well, with Jaiswal laying into him (26 off 11 balls), but Hazlewood stuck to that hard-length plan and hit the jackpot.”It’s just sticking to your strengths,” Hazlewood said after his four-wicket burst gave RCB their first win at home. “The bounce here has been quite steep throughout the whole tournament so far and that hard length was still hard to hit, so I was just about mixing it up with, you know, the odd yorker, the odd bouncer, change of pace, so the normal stuff, but it’s just the order in which you apply those balls.”I think for that six to eight metres [length], the strike rate was about 100. If you can hang around there more often than not, bring the batsman forward, without bowling the half-volley, I think that’s the way forward for us.”

“From 18 in the last two overs, it is very much in the batters’ favour and they should win the game from there. I think that almost relieves you a little bit”Josh Hazlewood

But what about the pressure when he is bowling to two set batters with the required rate only at nine an over? “I think it almost takes the pressure off to a degree,” Hazlewood said. “From 18 in the last two overs, it is very much in the batters’ favour and they should win the game from there. I think that almost relieves you a little bit.”[If] you have 25 or 27 to play with, then the pressure is on the bowling team. I felt that I could [be] nice and relaxed, stick to my strengths on this wicket. It was a hard ball to hit that back of a length and then mix it up with the odd yorker. So [I was] happy to execute that and sort of get monkey off the back of that first win at home.”While Hazlewood’s one-run 19th over will remain the talking point, his 17th over was equally important. With RR needing 46 off the last four overs, with six wickets in hand, he got the key wicket of Hetmyer and conceded just six. Those two overs, which went for just seven, softened the impact Bhuvneshwar’s 22-run over created.1:53

Are RCB looking good for the playoffs now?

“I think both those overs showed the class of the guy,” RCB head coach Andy Flower said after the game. “He’s a class operator and he’s a world-class bowler. He is great under pressure in any format of the game, he thinks clearly and he’s got great skill. I know he’s known for his heavy length bowling but he’s got some great all-round skills.”He mixes in those yorkers, wide yorkers, slower balls and he seems to know what type of ball to bowl at the right time. So it’s great having a guy like him in our side, in our squad and part of a very strong three-pronged attack.”Minutes after the dust had settled on the contest, and the players were congratulating each other, the cameras panned to Virat Kohli. There was a sheepish smile on his face as he jogged towards Hazlewood with childlike enthusiasm and then picked him up with the bowler breaking into a wide grin.Out of the 16 wickets Hazlewood has picked this season, 13 have come in the second innings with RCB defending a score. Not all these wickets have come in a winning cause, but in Hazlewood, RCB know they have a rare bowler who can be destructive in the powerplay and the death. Can he be the ticket to their maiden IPL trophy?