England advanced to the semi-finals of a tournament they have never won with an 87-run victory over New Zealand in the Champions Trophy at a wind-swept Sophia Gardens on Wednesday.
Jos Buttler hit an undefeated 61 off 48 balls as the hosts were put into bat and scored 310 all out in 49.3 overs in the Group A match.
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New Zealand was dismissed for 223 in 44.3 overs, led by captain Kane Williamson's 87, and can still qualify for the last four but now need a favour from England against Australia.
Joe Root scored 64 off 65, opener Alex Hales 56 off 62, while Ben Stokes smashed a morale-boosting 53-ball 48 for England. Tim Southee ended on 2-44 off 9.3 overs, Adam Milne took 3-79 and Corey Anderson 3-55.
"I thought we looked like we were getting about 340 at stages, but fell away towards the end, which is disappointing. But the fact that we're still trying to win games with the bat, regardless of the situation that we're in, I think is testament to the team," said England captain Eoin Morgan, who was out for 13.
Buttler reflected that belief by sending Trent Boult (1-56) for a sensational six in the 46th over after the wicketkeeper-batsman calmly stepped aside and tipped the ball backward over his shoulder.
The ball was going out of the entire ground until it hit the camera gantry. England scored a total of 10 sixes to just one for New Zealand from James Neesham.
Leading the chase, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hit a 98-ball 87, the top-score of the day. It wasn't enough as New Zealand slowed down and lost wickets, collapsing from 158-2 in the 31st over to all out only 65 runs later.
Man-of-the-match Jake Ball (2-31 off eight overs) gave England a great start by bowling power-hitter Luke Ronchi for 0 in the first over before Martin Guptill and Williamson stabilised the innings. A menacing Stokes forced Guptill to edge to lone slip Root for 27 off 33.
Williamson and Taylor shared a 95-run partnership for the third wicket and were on the brink of taking control of the game. But Mark Wood struck at a key time for England, with Williamson caught behind for a 98-ball knock which included eight fours.
It was Williamson's fifth straight ODI 50 against England and he appeared distinctly unhappy at the time of his dismissal with the state of the pitch.
"It's a bit frustrating, because we were getting a little bit of momentum with the bat. But, yeah, I guess those things happen and you let them go and move on."
On a day for the unusual, Mitchell Santner was stumped off a wide against Adil Rashid, who impressed on his return with 2-47 off 10 overs.
Earlier, Root hit four fours and two sixes before chopping the ball back onto his wicket against Anderson.
Stokes proved a key threat with a knock that included four fours and two sixes before he looped an uppercut almost straight to Milne at third man off Boult.
New Zealand was later fined for a slow-over rate, with the team judged to have been two overs short of its target.
New Zealand plays Bangladesh on Friday in Cardiff with both teams on one point. Australia has two points and faces rival England, which has four points, on Saturday at Edgbaston.
AAP
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