Michael Atherton, in his column, had urged Jos Buttler to lead by example in their crunch T20 World Cup game against New Zealand. The England captain obliged, smashing a stroke-filled 73, as his team beat the Black Caps by 20 runs to boost their semi-final hopes.

New Zealand threatened to rob England of a win with a late onslaught by Glenn Phillips, but Buttler’s boys survived.

Besides Buttler, Alex Hales made 52 to power the 2010 champions to 179/6 after electing to bat in Brisbane. Phillips slammed 62 off 36 balls to give New Zealand hope, but had little support from the other end, barring captain Kane Williamson’s run-a-ball 40.

New Zealand are still top of Group 1 on superior net run rate, followed by England and Australia with all three level on five points.

New Zealand face Ireland and Australia play Afghanistan in their final group games on Friday. With England set to play Sri Lanka the next day, Buttler’s team will know exactly what they require to qualify. Buttler would not complain though.

“There is a little bit of a benefit obviously playing that last game to know exactly what is required of us,” Buttler, who during the course of his innings on Tuesday overtook Eoin Morgan as England’s most prolific scorer in T20Is, said after the game.

Point made

The England skipper said that the win came as a relief, but also added that the loss against Ireland did not really make them a poor team.

“You don’t become a bad team overnight. We had a poor performance, but we’ve got some great players in our lineup, some really dangerous players and a lot of confidence still in the group.

“I think it’s a big relief to be heading to that last game knowing we have a chance at progressing.

“So, yeah, we go there really excited. We’ll head to Sydney full of confidence and expecting a really tough game against Sri Lanka,” Buttler said.

Good at death

While Black Caps’ skipper Williamson rued the dropped chances, all-rounder Mitchell Santner praised England’s death bowling.

“I think credit goes to the way England bowled there at the end. Woakesy (Chris Woakes) and Sam Curran made it tough to score, and if you can chip wickets out at the end, it kind of dents the momentum,” Santner said.

Brief scores: England 179/6 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 73, Alex Hales 52; Lockie Ferguson 2/45). New Zealand 159/6 in 20 overs (Glenn Phillips 62, Kane Williamson 40; Sam Curran 2/26, Chris Woakes 2/33). England won by 20 runs.

Pitch report

■ Best strike rate (30 or more runs): 172.22 Glenn Phillips (NZ)

■ Most fours: 7 Jos Buttler, Alex Hales (ENG)

■ Most sixes: 3 Glenn Phillips (NZ)

■ Best partnership: 91 Kane Williamson/Glenn Phillips (NZ)

■ Most dot balls: 10 Ish Sodhi (NZ)

■ Most fours conceded: 4 Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson (NZ)

■ Most sixes conceded: 3 Tim Southee (NZ)

■ MoM: 73 off 47 balls Jos Buttler (ENG)