England need to 'adapt quicker', claims Brook after New Zealand T20I washed out

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England’s busy winter campaign got off to a disappointing start when their opening T20I against New Zealand in Christchurch was washed out by continuous rain.

Before attention turns to next month’s Ashes, England face the challenge of completing a white-ball series across the Tasman Sea.

Batting first, Harry Brook’s team found it hard to settle on a difficult pitch. Only Sam Curran showed real composure, anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 49 from 35 balls to lift England from 81-5 to a respectable total of 153-6 in their 20 overs.

However, the weather ultimately decided the outcome at the Hagley Open. Heavy rain set in during the break, preventing any chance of a shortened run chase and the match was officially abandoned, leaving New Zealand without the opportunity to bat.

"The ball did a bit to start with and New Zealand are very experienced with the new ball - Matt Henry especially, who made the most of the pitch," England captain Harry Brook said.

"We obviously want to adapt to the situation and surface but with the depth, we have we think we can go hard throughout.

"We have some extremely talented and powerful batters so if we don't get the start we want, we can accelerate at the end.

"In the next game, we want to adapt quicker, all of us."

England will stay in Christchurch for the second T20I on Monday before moving on to Auckland for the third game on Thursday.

"We started off extremely well with the new ball – it looked pretty challenging – so it was a good all-round performance," New Zealand's Mitchell Santner said.

"We were pretty clinical, chipping away with wickets.

"This is a building block, a start, for what is coming ahead [with the T20 World Cup in February and March].

"You want a well-balanced squad for that - plus a win at home in front of your own fans."