At Manchester, June 13. England won by nine wickets. Toss: England. Twenty20 international
debuts: T. R. Ambrose, R. S. Bopara.
The prospect of a huge financial windfall, beyond anything English cricketers had ever
contemplated, brought this fixture into sharp focus. Two days earlier, Sir Allen Stanford had
announced plans for a 20-over match between England and his West Indian Super Stars in Antigua,
with the winning team collecting $US1m (about £500,000) per player. To a man, England seemed
galvanised: places in the Twenty20 side were suddenly treasured possessions, and they dominated their opponents from the impressive opening spells by Broad and Anderson to the end. New Zealand had no answer. Influential all-rounder Oram had dropped out after injuring a hamstring in the warm-up session, and the normally destructive McCullum - who had smashed a Twenty20 world record 158 in 73 balls in the Indian Premier League - had to wait until the seventh over for his first run, as the bowlers pitched back of a length and straight. England lost only Wright
as they cantered to victory; Bell completed his maiden international fifty in this format.
Man of the Match: I. R. Bell.