T20 World Cup: England beat New Zealand by 13 runs in final warm-up match
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ICC Men's T20 World Cup warm-up, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi |
England 163-6 (20 overs): Butter 73, Sodhi 3-26 |
New Zealand 150 (19.2 overs): Guptill 41, Wood 4-13, Rashid 3-18 |
England won by 13 runs |
Mark Wood and Adil Rashid impressed as England beat New Zealand by 13 runs in their final Men's T20 World Cup warm-up game in Abu Dhabi.
Pace bowler Wood took 4-23 and leg-spinner Rashid 3-18 as New Zealand, chasing 164, were bowled out for 150.
Opener Jos Buttler hit 73 as England posted 163-6 from their 20 overs, but some of the top order struggled.
England begin their T20 World Cup campaign against defending champions West Indies on Saturday at 15:00 GMT.
"We are confident - it's a big game, but I'm sure we'll be relaxed and focused," Rashid said of England's first 'Super 12' group match.
"We are definitely confident if we stick to our strengths, stick to what we know, we'll do well."
Opener Jason Roy fell to the first ball of the match and Eoin Morgan, returning to captain the team after his stint at the Indian Premier League, looked patchy in making 10.
However, Buttler hit 11 fours and two sixes to get England's innings going, before Sam Billings' unbeaten 27 from just 17 balls propelled them forward in the final overs.
Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi impressed for New Zealand with 3-26, while Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson took a wicket apiece.
Martin Guptill smashed 40 from 20 balls at the top of the order but New Zealand struggled against Rashid as he stifled the run-rate.
All-rounder Liam Livingstone played after injuring his finger in Monday's warm-up match against India and took 1-29.
Elsewhere, India beat Australia by eight wickets, external in their warm-up match while Rassie van der Dussen made an unbeaten 101 as South Africa pulled off a six-wicket win, external against Pakistan.
West Indies were thrashed by Afghanistan,, external who posted a huge 189-5 from their 20 overs before dismantling the opposition top order to claim a 56-run win.
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