Collingwood disappointed with defeat

Paul Collingwood's plucky 34 could not save his side from defeat in the third one-dayer

England captain Paul Collingwood admitted his side’s batting let them down after surrendering what had seemed a winning position to lose the third one-day international by 22 runs to New Zealand at Bristol.

The tourists were 49 for five and 75 for six after being put in to bat first as England established early dominance, however Kyle Mills smashed 47 vital runs in 40 balls to bump their total up to 182.

It still left England in a great position but the home side were guilty of some poor decision-making as a number of batsman were guilty of giving their wickets away as they eventually crumbled to just 160 all out.

Collingwood top-scored with a gutsy 34 but revealed his disappointment at losing his wicket with the score on 152 and a job still to do.

New Zealand quickly picked up the last two wickets needed to wrap up the tail and level the series at 1-1 with two to play.

“We’re very disappointed, at 1-0 up we were in a position to be pretty ruthless and go 2-0 up,” he said.

“But I’m not putting it down to the bowlers today, they were fantastic. Reducing them to around 180, we’d have taken that at the start of the day.

“As batsmen we should have knocked it off. We edged a few, hit some straight to fielders and it didn’t go our way.”

Looking ahead to the remaining fixtures, at the Brit Oval on Wednesday and Lord’s on Saturday, Collingwood was upbeat about his England’s prospects for the remainder of the NatWest Series.

He added: “The lads are disappointed in the dressing room but we need to get over that and come through with our heads held high. We’ve played some good cricket in this series.

“We knew New Zealand would fight back and we’re now in a great one-day series.”

Tim Southee was all smiles after his haul of four wickets helped New Zealand to a 22-run victory

Black Caps skipper Daniel Vettori was delighted with the way his side rescued victory from the jaws of a potentially heavy defeat, praising the never-say-die attitude of his players.

“This keeps us in the series and gives us the chance of winning it,” he said. “We’ll go on with a lot more confidence and to defend 180 was an outstanding effort.

“It was difficult out there and defending 180 doesn’t happen that often. After the situation we’ve been in for the last few weeks and it feels great.

“All the talk was of getting two quick wickets – obviously Pietersen and one of Bell and Wright, who are in great form. Once we did that we knew we were in with a chance.”

He added: “Our performance was one of our better ones. It was a really good win."

Vettori conceded his side have endured a mixed tour so far but insisted the Black Caps are now relishing the chance make amends after their poor run of form.

“It has been a tough tour and this gives us a chance to win the series. If we had lost here and been 2-0 down, it would have been tough to get everyone up for the last two games in London.

“I’m really happy. We stole a victory from 79 for six. To defend a total of 180, is one of those games you really remember. It keeps us in the series.

“It is a really good feeling in the dressing room. Having your backs against the wall has been a trait of New Zealand cricket teams for a long, long time.

"To deliver today, particularly with some young guys doing so well, is amazing."

“Kyle Mills had a great all-round game, Tim Southee’s spell was superb and Grant Elliott has just been amazing in his first two games.”