England's Stuart Broad (R) celebrates with teammate Alex Hales (L) after taking the wicket of New Zealand XI's Hamish Rutherford. -Photo by AFP

England's Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad dispelled all doubts over his fitness with a hat-trick in a warm-up match against a New Zealand XI on Tuesday.

The lanky all-rounder, who returned from the tour of India in December with a bruised heel, took three wickets in the last over of his spell to lead the tourists to a comprehensive 46-run win at the Cobham Oval at Whangarei.

Put in to bat first, England reached 186 for three wickets in their 20 overs riding on some lusty hitting from Jos Buttler (57 not out off 24 balls) and useful contributions from Eoin Morgan (48 not out) and Luke Wright (44).

The New Zealand XI were bowled out for 140 in the last over with Broad, Chris Woakes and Jade Dernbach picking up three wickets apiece.

Broad removed Andrew Ellis, Ian Buttler and Matt Henry to complete his hat-trick before Dernbach claimed the final wicket of Michael Bates.

England will play three Twenty20 internationals and as many one-dayers and tests during their two-month tour of New Zealand.

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...