NZ thrash England by 58 runs

PERTH: New Zealand all but sealed a berth in the triangular series finals with a comfortable 58-run win over England in Tuesday’s ODI here. After the Black Caps made the third-highest limited-overs score at the WACA with 318 for seven, England made 260 for eight in reply.

The result means New Zealand are five points ahead of England on the tri-series table, with four points available for a win, and both sides having two games left. The English, with one win all tour and just eight in their last 33 ODIs, need to win their last two games to have any realistic hope of reaching the finals.

They started well enough in their long chase, with Ed Joyce promoted to open the batting and making an impressive 66. However, spinners Jeetan Patel and Daniel Vettori (2-40) broke the English resistance. Andrew Strauss’ horror tour continued when the left-hander, dropped to number four, charged down the pitch at Vettori, miscued an attempt to kick the ball away and was stumped by Brendon McCullum for 12. The departure of skipper Andrew Flintoff, bowled around the legs by Vettori, ended their hopes as they slumped to 162 for six. The final winning margin flattered the English greatly, with Paul Nixon (49) and Liam Plunkett (25) scoring cheap runs as New Zealand dropped their intensity.

Earlier, both Lou Vincent and Ross Taylor made half-centuries in the New Zealand innings, while Jacob Oram again weighed in with some more late fireworks. Vincent (76) and Taylor (71) shared a 137-run stand for the third wicket while Oram slammed an unbeaten 54 off 33 balls near the end with three fours and four sixes, smashing 22 off the penultimate over and 35 off his last 10 balls to help lift New Zealand to their highest-ever ODI total against England. Oram then gave his side a scare in the field, landing heavily and leaving the field after taking a fine diving catch on the boundary — which didn’t stand as it came off a no-ball. But the New Zealander returned later in the innings.

It was another calamitous display in the field from the embattled English with their series on the line. They conceded a staggering 37 sundries, including 22 wides and three no-balls, which also gave the Black Caps plenty of extra deliveries to face.

England’s fielding was sub-standard, with two dropped catches and several boundaries coming as a result of fielding blunders, the main culprit being Liam Plunkett. As well as his poor fielding, the pace bowler also went for 72 runs from his 10 overs, including three no-balls and five wides, to complete a terrible day at the office.

One of the few England players to impress was spinner Monty Panesar, who helped rein in a flying start by the Kiwis with just 15 runs coming from his first six overs, finishing with 2-35 from his quota of 10.

Scorecard

New Zealand: L Vincent c Dalrymple b Plunkett 76, S Fleming lbw Plunkett 15, P Fulton c Nixon b Plunkett 15, R Taylor c Panesar b Collingwood 71, C McMillan st Nixon b Panesar 11, J Oram (not out) 54, B McCullum c Strauss b Panesar 19, J Franklin c Plunkett b Tremlett 9, D Vettori (not out) 11

Extras (lb-12, w-22, 3-nb) 37
Total (for 7 wickets, 50 overs) 318

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-53, 3-190, 4-213, 5-219, 6-246, 7-268

Bowling: Plunkett 9-0-54-3, Tremlett 10-0-72-1, Flintoff 10-0-66-0, Panesar 10-2-35-2, Dalrymple 5-0-43-0, Collingwood 6-0-36-1

England: E Joyce (run out) 66, M Loye c Fleming b Franklin 15, I Bell c Fleming b Patel 31, A Strauss st McCullum b Vettori 12, P Collingwood c Fleming b McMillan 18, A Flintoff b Vettori 13, J Dalrymple c Franklin b McMillan 14, P Nixon c Oram b Bond 49, L Plunkett (not out) 25
 
Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-8, nb-6) 17
Total (for 8 wickets, 50 overs) 260

Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-99, 3-123, 4-136, 5-156, 6-162,  7-184, 8-260

Bowling: Franklin 8-1-45-1, Bond 10-0-58-1, Oram 5-0-23-0, Patel 10-0-53-1, Vettori 10-0-40-2, McMillan 7-1-38-2