Craig Overton has welcomed the addition of twin brother Jamie to the England squad, but admitted he won’t relish batting against his sibling in the nets.

Jamie, the younger of the duo by three minutes, has been called into the squad ahead of Wednesday’s fourth Royal London One-Day International at Trent Bridge as a replacement for the injured Liam Plunkett, just a few days after his brother’s selection in place of Chris Jordan.

The Somerset duo could become the first ever twins to play together for England – and Craig admits he’s looking forward to family time, albeit after ripping into each other in the nets.

“Jamie has been bowling quick,” Craig said.

“None of the boys have been looking forward to facing him in the nets, put it that way – especially me, because he always gives me a bit of extra brotherly love!

“Most of the time with Somerset it’s seemed like only one of us has been picked, or one or other of us has been injured.

“But we’ve been playing together since we were about five, so we still know each other’s games pretty well.

“We’re both pretty happy. We’ve only spoken briefly, but I’m looking forward to meeting up with him.”

Although both men have excelled with the ball during their short careers to date, Nottinghamshire were on the receiving end of Craig’s ability with the bat in the LV= County Championship in May as the 21-year-old swiped his way to a game changing 55 off 31 deliveries, the most recent of his five first-class half-centuries to date.

And Jamie, who himself has three red ball fifties, has backed his brother to become a genuine all-rounder.

“It’s been an interesting week for all of us,” Jamie said.

“I gave Craig a ring and said I’d see him in Nottingham. Then I spoke to our parents and obviously they are very happy as well.

“Craig’s been bowling fantastically and his call-up was rightly deserved.

“I saw a stat the other day that he’s the only player in the country who’s taken 20 wickets at less than 20, as well as scoring 200 runs, which shows he’s one of the best all-rounders.”

Third Royal London One-Day International centurion Kane Williamson believes the partnerships the Black Caps have managed to forge will go a long way to winning the series at Trent Bridge on Wednesday.

Alongside Ross Taylor, who scored his second consecutive century, the pair put on a record third wicket stand of 206 in ODIs for the New Zealanders.

Man-of-the-match Williamson believes that partnership, along with others in the chase, were the key to moving 2-1 ahead in the series.

“I think that partnership in the middle was key as it is certainly harder to score 300 in the second innings than the first,” he said.

“It requires a complete batting performance to follow the calculations with chasing such a big total down and that chase will give us great confidence.

“First of all it was important to actually bowl England out today short of their 50 overs. They were on target for a big score and they’ve played really well again so it was nice to be able to do that and get a total that you could probably break down.

“England have been playing really well throughout the series and so it was pleasing that we managed to come out on top and I am sure the crowd will be loving the brand of cricket both teams are playing.”

After an emphatic win in the first game of the series, England have lost their way in the previous two ODIs with the World Cup finalists once again taking charge.

All-rounder Williamson is still wary of the talent England possess though and won’t be taking the challenged of winning the series lightly when they line up at Trent Bridge.

“They have a number of players that bat aggressively whether it be Jos Buttler or Eoin Morgan, they are full of talented players at the moment,” he said.

“Ben Stokes is also extremely talented, another one of the guys in their side who can bat, bowl, field and is a really good athlete.

“Adil Rashid is improving all the time and as I have said before he offers something in all three facets of the game so is he is a great player to have in your side.

“All the cricketers on show for their side and the others waiting in the wings show the depth of quality that England have at the moment.”

Despite England scoring over 300 for the third Royal London One-Day International on the trot, Eoin Morgan finds his side 2-1 down heading into the fourth match at Trent Bridge.

Centuries from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor guided the Black Caps to a three-wicket win in the third ODI at The Ageas Bowl, chasing down England’s 302 with seven balls to spare.

However, captain Morgan is remaining upbeat after another positive batting performance and has backed his team to respond in Nottingham.

“I think 300 was a pretty good score, it probably wasn’t a match-winning score but I’m proud of the guys and the way they came out and played again in a positive mindset,” he said.

“I think for a while now we’ve always played within ourselves and always batted up before the end but for a long time we were looking like getting 350 plus and that’s exciting to see, particularly when we’re trying to change our mentality with the bat.

“300 was certainly well within the game but I think what cost us was Kane and Ross’ partnership. They played really well today and all credit to them. We’ve got a young bowling line-up and we failed to come up with something to break them up.”

Trent Bridge marks a make or break situation for England with only a victory enough to take the series in to a fifth match.

And Morgan knows his team are only on the first step of their exciting new brand of cricket, with much improvement still to come.

“We’ve taken the overs out of the equation. Bottom line we got 300 on the board – we were aiming for a lot more, which is the important part,” he said.

“As long as we set the standards really high we’ll win more games than lose playing in this manner.

“It’s something we’re honing in on and it’s something we can only get better on. We’ve got a lot of talent in the field and like anything, we set the bar high and our skill level is just a bit down at the moment.”

In stark contrast to when New Zealand overcame England in the recent ICC Cricket World Cup, the first two games of the Royal London One-Day International series have been played to the highest quality by both sides.

The Black Caps levelled the series with a 13-run Duckworth Lewis Method win in the second ODI but all wasn’t straightforward for the visitors in their bid to defend 398-5.

Captain Brendon McCullum believes England are a completely different side to the one that won just two games a couple of months ago and relishes the challenge over the remaining three ODIs.

“It was terrifying at times thinking that we had got 400 and that it really should be plenty but this England side are playing a completely different brand of cricket than we have seen from them over a period of time,” he said.

“I thought it was an outstanding game and great credit has to go to England for taking us as close as they did. Neither team deserved to really lose the game.

“It is going to be a great series. I said after the last game that we would see some cliffhangers with how the teams are playing and it will be great viewing.

“I am sure the crowd will have loved the game and will be excited for the remaining three games to come with the series level at 1-1.”

An unbeaten 119 from Ross Taylor and 93 from Kane Williamson guided the visitors to the mammoth score on the back of a quickfire 39 from McCullum.

Taylor’s knock was to prove the difference between the two sides but McCullum praised the entire team for their performance in picking up the vital win.

“Kane was outstanding and we were looking at around 350 until Ross came in and stepped up the momentum through key partnerships with Grant Elliott and Luke Ronchi,” he said.

“When those guys can come in and have a player at the other end who is already 100 from 70 balls it gives them greater freedom to score quickly.

“The bowlers held their nerve at the end as it is not easy when you score 400 and the team still keep coming at you as hard as they can.

“We had to work hard to stay in front of England and it was a tough day for the bowlers but they stood up, took the attack and came out on top.”

England One-Day International captain Eoin Morgan praised the effort of his side as they fell just short in the second highest ODI chase of all time.

Chasing 399 to win, 88 from Morgan and a maiden half century from Alex Hales put England in touching distance of a remarkable run chase.

However, it wasn’t to be as rain and intervened and left England needing 34 off 13 late on, which proved one step too far, but Morgan praised the efforts of all his players.

“It is really exciting when you sit in the changing room and the guys are raring to take on 398, throw themselves at the chase and show that they have the ability to do so,” he said.

“It provides entertainment which is great to be involved in and I am always thriving to play in those sorts of cricket matches.

“They are the cricket matches that we want our youngsters to strive to play in and hopefully there is more to come in the remaining three games.

“Up until around the 35th or 36th over we were hovering around the eight or nine runs an over required mark so it really was a great effort from the lads.”

A number of bowlers once again returned expensive figures with England’s Chris Jordan, nine overs for 97 runs and one wicket, coming in for particular punishment.

And Morgan believes there are areas in which his side can improve ahead of the third Royal London One-Day International of the series at The Ageas Bowl on Sunday.

“Overall our performance felt like a continuation of Birmingham which I am very happy about but there are areas where we can improve,” he said.

“Our fielding was a bit disappointing at times and our execution with the ball needs to improve before Sunday but we were playing one of the top sides in the world.

“New Zealand went about their innings perfectly and took advantage of the shorter boundary but all credit to our guys for the way they went about the chase.

“It was good that we managed to get back out and finish the game properly as there is nothing more frustrating than losing the end of a game to rain.”

Trent Bridge hosts the fourth Royal London One-Day International between England and New Zealand on Wednesday 17 June. Don’t miss the chance to watch England’s rivalry against the Kiwis continue with explosive white ball action and secure your seat now.

New Zealand levelled the Royal London One-Day International series at The Oval after producing a sublime batting performance centred around a Ross Taylor century, eventually winning by 13 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis Method, despite some stern English resistance.

The Black Caps reached the second monumental score of this series, ending on 398-5, as Taylor’s 119* built on the early good work of the top order. However, England’s batsmen ran the totals close thanks to half-centuries from Captain Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales.

Man-of-the-match Taylor said: “It was nice to get out there and hit some balls in the middle and regain a little bit of form.

“These games have been brilliant so far and I am hoping for more of the same when it comes to going to the Rose (Ageas) Bowl on Sunday.”

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the visitors set out to hit their opponents out of the game.

Captain Brendon McCullum set the early tone; smashing a quickfire 39 from 22 balls before Liam Plunkett’s introduction brought his demise, caught by a back peddling midwicket when trying to pull.

Martin Guptill had played more sedately at the other end but came out of his shell after the departure of McCullum, going to 50 and pushing the Kiwis’ score past 100.

However, he couldn’t add to his half century, picking out Chris Jordan at midwicket off Ben Stokes when trying to flick off his hips.

That brought together the partnership that set up the mammoth total for the visitors, Kane Williamson being joined by Taylor. They put on 121 for the third wicket in less than 18 overs as all the England bowlers came under fire, Jordan in particular having his figures damaged, his nine overs going for 97 runs.

The hosts did make a breakthrough in the 36th over, Williamson dismissed by a full toss from Stokes that was originally called a no-ball before being overturned on review, for an 88-ball 93.

Taylor remained though and – alongside cameos from Grant Elliott (32 off 15) and Luke Ronchi (33 off 16) – he pushed the tourists up to 398-5, Taylor ending on 119 off just 96 balls.

Jason Roy and Hales came out swinging and got the hosts off to a flier, adding 85 inside the first 13 overs. However, the chase seemed to be derailed when Roy was dismissed by Nathan McCullum and Alex Hales, who scored his maiden ODI fifty, and Joe Root fell to the sweep in the same Mitchell Santner over, England finding themselves three down for 100.

But once again the match turned on its head as Ben Stokes scored 28 from 17 balls and shifted the momentum back to the hosts. Morgan and Jos Buttler continued that middle order push with the Captain leading the way, moving to a 28-ball half century. By the 30 over mark England had turned the equation into a gettable target of 158 from the last 20 overs with Morgan unbeaten on 77 from 37 balls.

However, England’s momentum was once again stalled, Jos Buttler caught behind off Trent Boult for 41 from 38 and Morgan’s innings finally coming to an end when he became Mitchell McClenaghan’s second wicket, out for 88 from 47 balls off the second ball of the batting powerplay.

The powerplay saw Sam Billings caught at point for 12, Boult’s second wicket of the innings before Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett put up a valiant late effort as England refused to give up their pursuit.

The pair put on 70 runs in 7.4 overs but were just behind the rate when the rain fell, seemingly ending the game with the hosts needing 54 runs off the final 37 balls.

The players did get a chance to get back to the field but by this time the equation for England to win had moved to  an unlikely 34 runs off 13 balls. Liam Plunkett (44) and Adil Rashid (34) both fell in that short period going for quick runs and England needed 24 off the final over, something they couldn’t manage with Chris Jordan and Steven Finn closing the innings at 365-9 from 46 overs.

The rain-affected win for New Zealand means the sides go to The Ageas Bowl on Sunday level in the series at 1-1 with three enthralling games of cricket to come.

Joe Root says England will continue to be aggressive in the second Royal London One-Day International against New Zealand as the scoreboards are zeroed following the host nation’s record breaking victory on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old scored 104 off 78 balls at Edgbaston, projecting England towards their record total of 408-9 and – although Root admits scores of 400 plus are a rarity – he insists the ultra-aggressive approach will not change when the second match of the series gets underway at the Kia Oval on Friday.

“Obviously the way we played there was pretty much the perfect performance,” he said.

“We got off to a great start and, although through the middle we lost a few wickets more than we’d have liked, the way the guys played at the back end was absolutely spectacular.

“I suppose our challenge now is to try and do that more consistently.

“We’ve shown we can do it, and it’s certainly something we’ll look to replicate on Friday. We’ll go out there with a similar frame of mind to take on New Zealand.

“We’ve now done that, we know we can do it – can we go and do it again on Friday? It’s about taking the same mindset, same approach and hope we can do the same thing.

“We’re not naive enough to think they won’t come back hard at us, because they’re a great side. They’ve proved that now for the last couple of years in one-day cricket, and we’re going to have to play extremely well to get another win under our belts.

“Obviously it’s not very likely [that we'll score 400 in each game]. The other day it was a very, very good wicket.

“The key thing is giving ourselves the best chance of making a big score – to make sure we read the situation of the games well and keep looking for the positive option without getting too carried away.

“We’re committed to being very aggressive and we’ll take that approach into every match and then see where we’re at.”

Root, who has now scored five ODI hundreds in 55 appearances, admitted everything went right for him with the bat on the day of the first ODI, but he was quick to deflect the attention away from himself and onto Jos Buttler, the Lancashire wicketkeeper who faced just 77 balls in his remarkable innings of 129.

“It was one of those days where everything fell into place for me,” Root said. “I didn’t find the fielders too much early on and it was a fantastic wicket.

“We built some good partnerships along the way then got to watch one of the best innings I’ve ever seen from Jos, so it was a fantastic day all round and something I’ll treasure for a long time.

“You see him practice and it’s almost effortless when he’s clearing the ropes, which is quite annoying sometimes from a fellow player’s point of view.

“It was very exciting, obviously a phenomenal partnership between Adil (Rashid) and Jos, and an absolute pleasure to watch from the dressing room.

“It was great fun and I’m sure all the crowd were just as excited as we were really.

“It was spectacular to watch. Jos almost made you feel like every ball was going out of the park.

“He’s one hell of a player and he’ll be desperate to be consistent as well during the rest of the series.”

After a much-maligned ICC Cricket World Cup campaign, which saw England draw the ire of fans across the world, it’s fair to say the build up to this Royal London Series came very much with a collective ‘raised eyebrow’ from the stands.

However, after twenty overs at Edgbaston, it wasn’t the eyebrows that were raised. It was arms and voices raised in celebration to a cacophony of boundaries from England’s batsmen.

Devastating centuries firstly from Joe Root then Jos Buttler, a fifty for Captain Morgan and some astonishing lower-order hitting from Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett lifted England to their highest-ever ODI total, and according to New Zealand seamer Trent Boult, the hosts look like a different side to the one seen in the World Cup.

“We could definitely tell just by the way they came out with the bat, there was intent and a desire to push on the score, it was totally different to what we witnessed in Wellington,” he said.

“It was actually surprising how well they came out and looked to score, set up by some key partnerships.

“We got hit from both sides of the wicket, we overpitched it and we need to work out our death plans for some of England’s batsmen, Jos being one of them. He batted tremendously well.

“On a very good wicket it’s hard to bowl to most batsmen who are in. Joe batted very well and the partnerships kept flowing from there.”

Boult claimed four England wickets in the first innings, including their top three batsmen, but it was Matt Henry, Nathan McCullum and debutant Mitchell Santner who bore the brunt of the punishment – one wicket between them at the cost of 203 runs.

England, rejuvenated, then excelled with the ball, bowling New Zealand out inside 34 overs for 198, four wickets for Rashid and Steven Finn sealing England’s highest-ever margin for an ODI victory.

“To get bowled out inside 34 overs is not good enough,” added Boult.

“We just need to continue the stuff that we’ve been doing so well over the past 12 or 15 months. It’s building partnerships, it’s batting for time and allowing us the chance to cash in at the end of the innings and give the bowlers.

“It’s a heavy defeat, that’s for sure. We just have to take the lessons from it and get on with the rest of the series. It’s a quick turnaround.”