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          A team of Joe Roots

          • Siddarth RavindranJun 16, 2013, 07:51 PM

          As has been the case in the last few days, there was more talk at the start of the game about the rain than about the cricket.

          Soon after the toss, it started pelting down and play was held up for more than five hours, and many thought there wouldn't be a ball bowled today.

          There were plenty of jokes about the weather.

          Once the game did get underway - a 24-over-a-side affair - Alastair Cook showed he could score at Twenty20 pace, and was helped by three drop catches from Nathan McCullum.

          But on the fourth time of asking, McCullum held on to a caught-and-bowled chance from Cook.

          After dismissing Cook for 64, McCullum went on to take three more catches making it a very eventful day for him in the field.

          While much of the concern was about whether England's top three could score quickly enough, it was the designated hitters that failed as seven wickets went down for 28 and England slid to 169 all out.

          Not often that you can wedge in a popular counter-terrorism drama in a cricket tweet.

          New Zealand's chase got off to a stuttering start as England's bowlers proved far too good for opener Luke Ronchi, who scratched around for a 12-ball 2.

          Things went from bad to worse as the big-hitting Ross Taylor also fell cheaply and New Zealand slipped to 27 for 3. Taylor also used up the review for what initially looked a plumb lbw decision.

          Joe Root, the current darling of England's cricket fans and pundits, backed up a brisk innings with a sharp, low catch to dismiss the dangerous Brendon McCullum

          Kane Williamson and Corey Anderson kept New Zealand hoping with a big partnership, but England were still ahead on the D/L method. In the 18th over, Jos Buttler appealed for a bowled, though the ball had clearly sailed over the stumps, hit his gloves and then struck the stumps.

          With a drizzle around, and the 20th over of the chase - the last one which needed to be completed to ensure we had a result - starting, Corey Anderson pulled up with a calf injury, getting treatment for several minutes, and prompting questions over gamesmanship.

          Corey Anderson didn't look too badly affected when taking singles and twos after getting treatment.

          There was a moment of big drama, when the man who was powering the chase - Kane Williamson - was given out caught after the third umpire deemed that the bowler Stuart Broad hadn't overstepped. It was a very tight decision, though probably the right one.

          Soon after, the game seemed over when Jimmy Anderson took the catch to get rid of the other set batsman Corey Anderson. Some tweeters had other things on their mind though.

          England ran out victors by 10 runs, booking their place in the final four, prompting more sarcasm on Twitter.