England v New Zealand: Graeme Swann praises hosts after win
- Published
England face New Zealand in a series decider on Saturday
England's chase of 350 to beat New Zealand is the one-day side's greatest accomplishment in a long time, says former spinner Graeme Swann.
England's highest ever run chase came via centuries from Eoin Morgan and Joe Root and levelled the series at 2-2.
"I don't believe I've just seen that. Even the staunchest England fans wouldn't have given them much hope there," Swann told Test Match Special.
"It's the greatest thing they have done in a long time and a pleasure to see."
Reaching their target in only 44 overs at Trent Bridge was the continuation of a vast improvement from England, who hit their highest ever score of 408-9, external in the first ODI at Edgbaston.
Record-breaking England |
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England passed 300 for the fourth successive ODI. They had not done it before in more than two games in a row |
England's previous highest aggregate number of runs scored in a five-match series was 1,399. They already have 1,425 with a game to come |
Root and Morgan's 198 was England's second highest ODI stand for the third wicket, behind Neil Fairbrother and Graeme Hick's 213 versus West Indies in 1991 |
It was also their highest ODI stand against New Zealand for any wicket |
A revamped, aggressive attitude comes after a dismal World Cup campaign, where England lost to Bangladesh on the way to a first-round exit.
"What I love is that they are willing to learn from other teams," said 36-year-old Swann, who took 104 wickets in 79 ODIs for England before retiring in 2013.
"There has always been an arrogance about the English game, that we know what we're doing, we're ahead of the game. We haven't been ahead of the game for a long time in ODI cricket, that was exposed brutally at the World Cup.
"They have sat back, taken stock and said we need to play the aggressive game. They have aped New Zealand completely."
Captain Morgan, who shared a stand of 198 with Root, said England will continue with the same approach in the series decider at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, but must still strive for consistency.
"We'll have to play with the same mentality," said the 28-year-old. "We would be getting carried away if we said we were now playing consistent cricket.
"We've done it for four games in a row, and that's great, but we can't look too far ahead."
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said the World Cup finalists must improve for the trip to Durham.
"It was incredible," he added. "At halfway, with 350 on the board we knew they would have to play well to beat us but they blew us off the park.
"We need to be better than that but credit where it's due, they were better than us today. It sets it up beautifully for us at Durham on Saturday."
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