Vince Half-Century Helps England Secure Opening IT20 Victory

Hampshire captain James Vince struck his maiden IT20 half-century to help England secure victory over New Zealand in the first fixture of the five-match series.

Vince ensured it was a successful start for Eoin Morgan's side, striking 59 off just 38 balls to steer them to a seven-wicket win at Christchurch.

His impressive knock, which included 7 fours and 2 sixes, saw England reach their taget of 154 with nine balls to spare after New Zealand had been asked to bat first.  Ross Taylor had earlier top-scored for the hosts with 44 out of their 153-5 with Chris Jordan picking up figures of 2-28 with the ball.

Vince then came to the crease at 37-1 in the visitors' reply following the loss of David Malan, partnering with Jonny Bairstow (35) and Morgan (34*) who also made valuable contributions.

Both sides will face off in four further T20 fixtures over the next 10 days, with matches to be played at Wellington, Nelson, Napier before the series' final clash at Auckland on Sunday 10th November.