Yahoo Sport 
Cricket World Cup: Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy again lead the way as England confirm their semi-final place with New Zealand victory
England sealed their World Cup semi-final berth with an emphatic 119-run win against New Zealand at the Riverside.
Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy once again showed their devastating capabilities with a century opening stand.
But Bairstow’s ton preceded a middle-order stutter by England in which a number of wickets slowed the hosts down en route to posting 305-8.
In the end, it proved plenty as Henry Nicholls departed for a golden duck in New Zealand’s opening over, before Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor departed for cheap run-outs to end the Black Caps’ realistic hopes of winning.
The pitch appeared unrelenting to bowlers while New Zealand entered the first innings hamstrung by an injury to star bowler Lockie Ferguson.
Bairstow and Roy continued where they left off against India, beginning in typically destructive fashion.
The partnership blossomed once more and propelled England to 123 off just 18.3 overs, before Roy fell chipping a shot to extra cover.
Joe Root, who came under fire for slowing down the run rate against India, then assisted Bairstow as the Yorkshireman reached consecutive tons.
But England’s Test captain then fell, edging Trent Boult behind and taking the hosts’ sole review with him.
His dismissal saw a revitalised New Zealand make a play for control; with Bairstow chopping on from Matt Henry the very next over.
Jos Buttler came out to assist the equally dangerous Eoin Morgan, only for a miscue off Boult to see him caught at mid off as England stuttered at 214-4, having been 194-1.
The New Zealand fightback continued, with a series of dot balls frustrating the hosts. And it culminated in the wicket of arguably England’s second-most in-inform player when Ben Stokes, born in Christchurch, holed out off Mitchell Santner’s bowling for just 11.
Henry then removed Morgan for 42 as Adil Rashid (16) and Chris Woakes (4) also fell as England eventually saw their way to 305-8.
In reply, the Black Caps were dealt a huge blow when Nicholls was trapped LBW by Woakes when facing his first ball of the innings.
That brought talisman - and captain - Williamson to the crease, although replays showed had Nicholls reviewed the decision, he would have received a second life.
Buttler’s batting may have faltered but the wicketkeeper took a difficult catch off Archer to dismiss Martin Guptill, who had gloved down leg.
It was up to Williamson and Taylor once again to steady the New Zealand ship - which has been disproportionately reliant on their captain to score big runs in recent times.
But the former was run out to strike a cruel blow through the hearts of the 2015 World Cup finalists, after Taylor’s straight drive was flicked onto the stumps by bowler Mark Wood’s glancing fingertips.
If their hopes hung by a thread when Williamson departed, they were truly cut adrift from reality the following over when Taylor ran himself out.
After a glance to Rashid at fine leg for a single, the stalwart returned for an unlikely second run and Rashid combined with Buttler to see the 35-year-old depart, leaving them 75-4.
Tom Latham and Jimmy Neesham put on a 50-run partnership before the latter chopped on from Wood to bring his time at the crease to an end.
And the end seemed nigh for New Zealand when Stokes removed Colin de Grandhomme with his first delivery of the innings after he holed out to Root to leave them 128-6.
Latham’s 50 kept their innings alive in name, though with an ever-increasing required rate to win it was more an effort to avoid a hit to their net run rate - with Pakistan hoping against hope to overturn a major deficit to pip the Black Caps to the top four.
But when Liam Plunkett - one of the heroes against India - deceived Latham with a slower ball, the set batsmen edged behind on 57.
Wood claimed his second wicket of the innings when he saw off Santner for 12, before clearing out Henry’s stumps to seal his third to finish with fine figures of 3-34 off nine overs.
Boult was stumped as England then confirmed their place in the semi-finals of a home World Cup with a 119-run margin of victory.
The result means that as things stand, England would play India in the semi-finals at Edgbaston - a repeat of last weekend’s match - while Australia could face their neighbours again, with Pakistan all-but certain to miss out on the final four.
Featured from our writers
