England Claim Series Victory After Final New Zealand T20 Rain-Out, Brook Left Disappointed

England's T20 series versus New Zealand ended just as it began, with a washout. Despite earlier sunny weather, the elements teased and taunted. Precipitation first appeared at evening, two minutes after play commenced. Following a short restart, it returned, paused, gave the ground staff a bit of time to dry the field, allowed the umpires to schedule a late restart, and then resumed pouring at just before 10. Only 25 deliveries occurred.

"You don’t want to come such a distance to New Zealand and only play one game," Harry Brook stated. "Very frustrating."

Officially, the English side called correctly and chose to bowl. The initial overs went for four, struck by Seifert—a brief preview of the scoring potential a combination of a flat pitch, a wild wind, and the small boundaries could have enabled.

Two of the last three deliveries went for six, the batters pulling into the stands. New Zealand stood at 38 for one, from 3.4 overs, as the match was called off.

For all his frustration, Brook at least has three ODIs to come, but a trio of this England squad won't continue when play shifts to the Bay Oval on Sunday. Zak Crawley (no balls faced) remains in NZ to continue his Ashes preparations while Salt and Cox head home.

This Friday is the one-year mark of Cox being ruled out from England’s Test series in New Zealand with a thumb fracture sustained in training. He must be wishing his fortune in New Zealand would be as unpredictable as local conditions.

This was the first time an international had been attempted in Auckland in this month and neatly illustrated why. "I suppose this time of year rain is always a potential," said skipper Santner. "It’s always nice to play England no matter what time of year. The problem was that they spent most of the time they were supposed to be playing England not playing England."

England at least squeezed in one victory, thus taking the series, and Harry's summary of it was equally positive as whoever scheduled it: "We’ve had great enjoyment," he remarked. "We’ve gained a lot. To be able to spend time together and build camaraderie can only help you on the field. We’ve had a lot of fun and smiles. It was truly valuable."