England fall short as rain dampens chase despite Eoin Morgan heroics after bowlers had suffered in carnage of second ODI

Ross Taylor smashes 119 not out as New Zealand post massive 398-5
Kane Williamson contributes 93 in highest ever score against England
Alex Hales makes maiden ODI half century, before falling for 54
Captain Eoin Morgan ignites chase, reaching 50 off just 28 balls
Morgan eventually falls for 88 off just 47 balls, caught in the deep
England post highest ever score batting second but rain mars finish
New Zealand level the series at 1-1 after two matches

Published:
20:20 GMT, 12 June 2015

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Updated:
11:20 GMT, 13 June 2015

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These two teams just don’t know when they’re beaten.

After Eoin Morgan’s side got the ball rolling with a ridiculous 408 for nine at Edgbaston on Tuesday, the tourists hit back with 398 for five to square this impossibly high-octane series. And – deep breath – there are still three games to go.

Yet even that monstrous total – the highest ever conceded by England – looked under threat as Morgan and Jos Buttler took a spirited reply to 259 for four in the 33rd over.

Eoin Morgan smashes the ball to the boundary as the England one-day captain produced a sensational innings

The England captain used a combination of big hitting and classical strokeplay in his remarkable innings

Morgan, as ever, was innovative with his shot-making, as he struck a superb innings to keep England in touch

When rain interrupted proceedings England needed nine runs an over – that rocketed to 15 at the restart

Liam Plunkett had kept up a valiant chase, smashing two fours and two sixes before the rain came

At that point, with Brendon McCullum seemingly powerless to stop the torrent of fours and sixes, England might even have been slight favourites.

But Buttler was caught behind off Trent Boult for 41, and Morgan fell within sight of England’s fastest one-day century, carving Mitchell McClenaghan to deep cover to depart for a quite brilliant 88 from 47 balls.

When Sam Billings cut Boult to backward point in the next over, England were 275 for seven with only 13.5 overs to go. The game seemed up.

Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett, though, had other ideas. As rain moved in from the south-east, the Yorkshire team-mates – roared on by a capacity crowd of 24,500 – began to run New Zealand ragged once more. By the time the weather intervened, they had taken the total to 345.

England – 10 behind on Duckworth/Lewis – needed 54 off 37 balls with three wickets in hand. That was adjusted to 34 off 13, which felt a tougher equation.

Plunkett bunted Nathan McCullum for six but fell two deliveries later, before Rashid was superbly caught by Boult after Tim Southee intercepted a lofted straight-drive and threw the ball back into play as he skipped over the boundary.

Twenty-four off Grant Elliott’s last over was beyond England’s last pair, but they can travel to Southampton for the third match of this five-game series on Sunday with their pride intact – even if their bowlers may disagree as they nurse a set of figures that should not be broadcast before the watershed.

Each member of their frontline attack endured his costliest analysis in one-day internationals, while Chris Jordan went for 97 in nine overs before walking off clutching his side. That equalled Steve Harmison’s record for the most runs conceded by an England bowler.

And New Zealand, inspired by Ross Taylor’s beefy 119 not out from 96 balls, ended up with their highest one-day score against a Test nation. The record books are being rewritten so regularly at the moment that they may as well not exist at all.

England had gone into this game brimming with smiles and self-belief after shattering one landmark after another on that heady afternoon in Birmingham.

But Morgan lost a crucial toss, before watching helplessly as New Zealand inflicted unprecedented damage on England’s attack, surpassing India’s 387 for five in November 2008.

That, though, was at Rajkot – one of the least forgiving surfaces in the world game and one of its driest regions.

This was in England, in the first half of the summer, with grey clouds producing a muggy atmosphere that might once have been thought to aid swing. The times they are a’changing. If you’re a batsman, cash in while you can.

Brendan McCullum hits out as New Zealand got off to a flying start in the second ODI against England

McCullum was eventually caught by Ben Stokes off the bowling of Liam Plunkett for a 22-ball score of 39

Kane Williamson comes down the ground to strike a four as the Black Caps batsman made an impressive 93

The main damage was inflicted by Taylor. Three of his four sixes ended up in the second tier of the OCS Stand beyond cow corner, where spectators had to be just as vigiliant as England’s fielders. It was not a day for nodding off.

He had plenty of assistance. Kane Williamson hammered a classy 93 from 88 balls and Martin Guptill – the leading runscorer at the recent World Cup – 50 off 54, though anything less than a run a ball felt positively 20th century in the circumstances.

Cameos from McCullum, Elliott and Luke Ronchi totalled 104 runs from 53 deliveries. Respite came only through non-selection: for Mark Wood and David Willey, omitted once more from an unchanged England side, it was a good day not to be bowling.

The batting was relentless and merciless. After England smashed 14 sixes on Tuesday, New Zealand responded with 13 here, sailing past their previous best in this country: 359 for three at Southampton two years ago.

Liam Plunkett, who took one wicket for 71, sends down a delivery as England’s bowlers were smashed around

Ben Stokes celebrates after removing Martin Guptill, once the Kiwi opener had reached his half century

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor looks to the heavens after completing a century to take control of the game

Morgan talks to young spinner Adil Rashid, who bowled reasonably well but still went for 72 runs off his overs

Well though New Zealand batted, and flat though the pitch was, England’s bowlers had a hand in their own downfall, too often dropping short and wide when the hint of bounce offered by the new ball cried out for a full length.

It didn’t help that they didn’t take their half-chances. A diving Jason Roy failed to pouch Taylor at backward point on seven, and Joe Root missed him in the covers on 40. Run-out chances were regularly spurned.

For Rashid, who followed four wickets at Edgbaston with none for 72 here, it was a reminder of the international game’s demands.

Steven Finn went at almost seven an over in his 10 overs, as all of England’s bowlers struggled at the Oval

Jason Roy, who was out for a duck in his first game, got the England chase off to a decent start

Needing 399 to win – 93 more than they had ever chased for victory – England were given a lively start by Roy and Alex Hales, who reached his maiden one-day international fifty in 43 balls.

But Roy, playing on his home ground, reverse-swept Nathan McCullum to backward point for 39 to end a stand of 85 in the 13th over, and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner got rid of Root and Hales, both slog-sweeping, in the space of three balls.

England, though, were always up with the rate. And, true to their pre-series pledge, they kept playing their shots. Ignore Sunday’s game in Southampton at your peril.