Ben Stokes' brilliant diving catch proved the catalyst for a spectacular middle-order collapse, while Chris Woakes bowled a superb final over as England beat New Zealand by four runs in their third one-day international on Saturday.
The hosts had looked comfortably placed to chase down England's 234 when Stokes turned the game as spinners Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid took five wickets for 23 runs between them in the space of 41 balls.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who scored his 11th ODI century, however, combined with Mitchell Santner to halt the slide and then gave the hosts hopes of achieving a remarkable win with a 96-run partnership.
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Santner was then unluckily run out for 41 when Woakes got his hand to a straight drive from Williamson and deflected the ball back onto the stumps, leaving the all-rounder stranded and New Zealand 199-7 with 4.4 overs remaining.
Tom Curran and Woakes then bowled brilliantly at the death, with the latter restricting Williamson from scoring the 15 runs needed to win in the last over.
Williamson, who needed a six off the final ball to win the game, or a four to secure a tie, failed to make contact and finished 112 not out with his side on 230-8 to leave England with a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
"Brilliant game of cricket," England captain Eoin Morgan said. "Our spin twins did a fantastic job. The pressure shifted a little bit with the Williamson-Santner partnership and it was a tight game that could have gone either way."
All of England's batsmen had got starts but only Morgan looked comfortable on the drop-in pitch that appeared to be two-paced and providing inconsistent bounce as he top-scored with 48 and shared a 71-run partnership with Stokes.
England's lower order, however, accelerated with Jos Buttler smashing 29 from 23 balls before he became leg-spinner Ish Sodhi's third wicket in the 43rd over and the bowlers then added another 50 runs in the final seven overs.
New Zealand had been comfortable at 80-1 in the 18th over with Colin Munro on 49 and Williamson on 28 before Stokes then produced his catch at cover to dismiss the opener off Rashid.
Moeen, who took wickets on successive deliveries, and Rashid then took three wickets for one run between them to leave New Zealand floundering at 98-5.
"We were in a position of strength at one stage but lost a lot of wickets that hurt us and we had to take the game even deeper," Williamson said. "Our plans kept changing as we lost wickets. They deserved to win, just a shame we got so close."
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
