New Zealand v England: Broad left to rue toss decision after 55-run loss

Stuart Broad admitted it was a mistake to put the hosts in to bat after New Zealand beat England by an emphatic 55-run margin in the second Twenty20 international in Hamilton to level the series at 1-1.

Broad’s decision backfired spectacularly as Brendon McCullum top-scored with 74 runs from 38 balls, with the hosts posting a big target of 192-6.

England managed a record 214-7 in their opening T20 win in the series, but despite Jos Buttler’s best efforts, the tourists were bowled out for a tame 137.

“We made the wrong decision at the toss, the theory being that on a small ground you can chase virtually anything with wickets in hand,” said Broad.

“We will learn from this, it was a poor performance all round.”

New Zealand made a strong start to their innings, with Hamish Rutherford and Martin Guptill both falling just short of half centuries before McCullum punished the opposition bowlers.

England’s chase failed to pick up momentum as Alex Hales was dismissed early in the innings, and he was shortly followed by Jonny Bairstow. Even Eoin Morgan, who starred in Auckland, could only manage a paltry 13.

Buttler offered resistance with a gritty 54 but England were soon ousted, and Broad admitted McCullum’s knock was decisive.

“It was one knock which took the game away from us – when Brendon McCullum produced some really good hitting on another very small ground,” said Broad.

“You saw with Jos Buttler that, on these grounds when a good batsman gets in, it’s pretty hard to stop them. It has made us realise that if you have wickets in hand at the end you can set or chase pretty much anything.

“192-6 is a big score but, with 50-yard boundaries, you are always in the game. However, the stats also say that if you lose three wickets in the first six overs you have a 95% chance of losing.”