9.35pm: It was all about the Malan and Morgan show for England tonight - and who doesn't like a crunchy M&M? Hawke's Bay was the setting for some magnificent pongo, which has keep the fires of this five-match series burning. George's report is in the slot to be dispatched over deep midwicket, and we'll be back for more on Sunday. Thanks for your comments, from Valkerie and myself, it's cheerio for now. Bye!
9.25pm: A word from Man of the Match Dawid Malan: [Fun?] "Yeah, it was actually. Not every often you have days like that when every time you have a hack at one it lands safe or goes for six. It's as good as it gets. First game I felt rusty, didn't feel I had rhythm, every time I've hit balls I felt smoother and smoother. Felt like I had rhythm today, glad I clicked especially with these short boundaries. Helps batting with Morgs as well, he changed the momentum of the game and I piggybacked him a bit. To do it on the biggest stage is a fantastic experience. The message is always the same, the play aggressively and back yourself."
New Zealand captain Tim Southee: "That can happen in T20, the guys will learn from it and move on. Good thing is we go again in two days. More about guys learning from the experience of being put under pressure by Morgs and Malan, the only way is to take wickets. Got to go out and believe you can chase a score down, but when you start to lose wickets it stems the run flow as well. [Chance of a tie in Auckland?] We've been there, hopefully it doesn't come down to that."
England captain Eoin Morgan: "Over the moon, thought it was a clinical performance and given we had to win tonight and level the series, seeing young guys come through with the ball was impressive. Dawid Malan has been around the group a while, grabbing an opportunity and making the most of it, that's adding to our depth and what we want out of this tour. Myself and Dawid have played together a lot for Middlesex, so it was calm out there, lots of laughs and a beautiful wicket. [Decider?] We've got better, so have they, Sunday lines up to be an epic game."
9.15pm: Under that kind of scoreboard pressure, New Zealand always looked likely to crack. Dawid Malan's 48-ball hundred and an Eoin Morgan special turbo-charged the England innings, before the bowlers chipped away, with Matt Parkinson claiming a (slightly expensive) four-for in his second T20I. An impressive response from England, having lost the last two, and that leaves the series poised at 2-2 ahead of the final match, in Auckland on Sunday. There may have been some questions over Malan's place, but you would imagine he has just taken a giant leap up the pecking order. For New Zealand, it was a case of being caught napping in Napier, with only the openers and Tim Southee (briefly) threatening an upset.
TA Boult b Jordan 8 (15m 8b 1x4 0x6) SR: 100.00
Still four overs to go (theoretically). England will want to finish things asap
END OF OVER:16 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ: 160/9 (82 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 10.00, RRR: 20.50)
- Blair Tickner4 (3b)
- Trent Boult4 (6b)
- Sam Curran4-0-36-1
- Tom Curran3-0-26-1
"LOL - surely even 3% is being VERY optimistic!" Never rule out the statistically improbable, Chris