Christchurch, Nov 1 (IANS): Chasing New Zealand's score of 153 in the first game of the series, English batsman James Vince stole the show with his 38-ball 59 as England won the game with seven wickets in the bag. Speaking after the game, England skipper Eoin Morgan not only praised Vince, but also said that the bowlers did a great job to restrict the Kiwis.
"Very happy. The game is won and lost in the first innings and thought our bowlers bowled really well. Two debutants, Pat Brown and Sam Curran had a good game and really pleased for them. They took advantage of the two-paced wicket and we ended up chasing 20 less.
"Vince was outstanding with the bat. Had a great time so far and hopefully we can cash in the same way later on in the series. We feel that we actually need 16-17 guys to start in the playing eleven and then give them opportunities all along, trying to stick to their strengths and do what they do in international cricket. We are looking at seven guys and with couple of spots up for grabs, we are allowing guys to come in and grab opportunities. It's nice to start the series with a win," he said.
New Zealand stand-in skipper Tim Southee said that the guys were a bit off the radar and need to pull their socks up in the remainder of the series.
"Wicket didn't play as well as we would have liked but we were a little bit off in all three areas. We got to an okay score and we haven't been able to take the wickets, and eventually couldn't put pressure on the run rate. Vince came out and took the game away from us. We got a score on the board that we could defend, but we were little bit off with the ball and in the field which clearly didn't help," he pointed.
Speaking on his Man of the Match-winning performance, Vince said: "Nice to make a contribution with the bat and more importantly nice to get off to a winning start. The bowlers were outstanding in the first half and we were confident of chasing this at the half-way stage. Decent wicket, maybe lacks a little bit of pace but the outfield is really good. Always want to get more but pleased with the start."
