There is less than a month to go before England’s men face their opening Ashes Test against Australia in Perth. In an ideal world, the players who aim to spearhead England’s quest to beat the Aussies on their own turf would be enjoying excellent preparations. But, with cricket, the weather often scuppers the best-laid plans. And so it has proved recently when two of the three T20 matches were wiped out by rain, with only 3.4 overs proving possible in Auckland on 23rd October.
So, where does this leave the England side with the Ashes so near? Could the lack of pre-Ashes action prove a blessing in disguise for players who’ve played plenty of cricket over the last six months? We’ll answer those questions shortly, but first, let’s take a suitably brief look back at the T20 series against New Zealand that never really got going.
Rain wins the day at Eden Park 🌧️
We take a 1️⃣-0️⃣ victory in a disrupted series pic.twitter.com/zP67WPURvL
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 23, 2025
First T20: Mixed Batting Performance Before Rain Stopped Play
In the first T20 in Christchurch on 18th October, England’s higher-order batters struggled before Sam Curran put in a decent knock to steady the ship. Opener Phil Salt was the first to fall in the second over, caught by Mark Chapman off a Jacob Duffy delivery after scoring just three runs. Jacob Bethell wasn’t far behind, but at least he made double figures (15) before Matt Henry caught him off his own delivery. Jos Buttler and Harry Brook then looked to be putting a respectable partnership together before the latter was bowled by Jimmy Neesham for 20 off 14 balls.
Buttler survived beyond his next partner, Tom Banton, and was eventually caught with 29 runs on the board. When Curran went into the middle, he rode his luck at times and was dropped twice, but made it to 49 runs off 35 balls when the 20 overs were up. It wasn’t a bad total (153-6), but we’ll never know if New Zealand would have chased it down as the heavens opened and the match was abandoned before the home side had a chance to bat.
Second T20: England’s Brilliant Batting Earns Victory
The only one of the three T20s to end with a result, England earned an emphatic victory in Christchurch. Phil Salt made amends for his poor showing in the previous match as he top-scored with 85 from 56 balls. He was joined in the middle for a large chunk of his innings by the equally impressive Harry Brook, who smashed 78 runs off just 35 balls, a knock that included six fours and five sixes. Bethell (24) and Banton (29) also chipped in as England reached an impressive total of 236-4, leaving the home side with a mountain to climb.
The Kiwis made a reasonable fist of the chase, as opener Tim Seifert scored 39 off 29 balls, and captain Mitch Santner struck 36 off 15. But with Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, and Michael Bracewell all failing to make it to double figures, there wasn’t much hope of them getting near the target. In the end, the home side were bowled out for 171 with two overs remaining. It was an easy win for the tourists in the end, and it proved enough to earn the series win.
Third T20: Not Much to Report
The players barely had time to get warmed up before action was called to a halt in this one by adverse weather. Indeed, the weather in NZ has been so bad that thousands of people have been left without power and several flights have been diverted, delayed or cancelled. But on the cricketing front, there’s not a whole lot to say about a game that saw fewer than four overs. On the plus side, England didn’t suffer any injuries, but other than that, it wasn’t the most productive use of the team’s time. Having said that, a series win is a series win, so they’ll take that.
At Least England Players Will Avoid Burnout
Defeat by 4 wickets in the first ODI. pic.twitter.com/kIamLKurk8
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) October 26, 2025
Of course, quite how relevant any of this is to the Ashes is open to debate, this being a T20 series. Even so, the likes of Brook, Bethell and Brydon Carse may have liked a bit more cricket and Zak Crawley was also in the squad.
That said, given the number of games some of England’s top players have to play these days, we would argue that the weather in New Zealand could well have done them a favour, especially Brook and Crawley. Preparations for an important series like the Ashes would ideally provide selectors with the insights they need to pick the right players for the right games. But on the flip side, sometimes England players have lacked a little energy at the end of a long season, particularly when Down Under. The added rest afforded as a result of the washouts could prove effective in helping the players remain fresh.
If the matches had been completed and England had suffered a series defeat, it could have knocked the camp’s confidence. As it was, the only result was a resounding victory for England, so that can only serve to maintain a positive vibe in the camp.
They still have the three-game ODI series against New Zealand to come (from 26th October to 1st November), and hopefully we’ll see a little more cricket take place. Jofra Archer, Joe Root and Jamie Smith add a stronger Test flavour to that squad. If the tourists can get a couple of good performances on the board in the ODIs, the lack of T20 action will soon be forgotten, and then it’s all about the Ashes.