Rain finally proves decisive
England maintained their 1-0 lead in the NatWest series after a rain-affected day finished in a no result at Edgbaston.
The players were forced off at 7.25pm with New Zealand 127 for two in pursuit of 160 with four overs of their allotted 23 remaining.
Frustratingly for spectators, who had waited patiently for play to start at 3pm and sat through another 45-minute interruption, New Zealand’s innings was one over short of a Duckworth-Lewis result.
Had an extra over been played, the tourists would have needed seven to win providing they lost no further wickets.
Brendon McCullum had kept New Zealand in the hunt with 60 not out from 51 balls while Scott Styris was 19 not out. Ross Taylor (25) put on 54 with McCullum for the second wicket.
Luke Wright’s blistering fifty earlier helped England post 162 all out from 24 overs. Paul Collingwood with 32 from 24 balls and Dimitri Mascarenhas (23 from 13), who replaced the injured Ryan Sidebottom, also made telling contributions.
The tourists’ pacemen made good use of conditions that favoured seam bowling after Daniel Vettori had won the toss. Debutant Grant Elliott, who replaced out-of-touch batsman James Marshall, shone with 3-23 while Kyle Mills also impressed with 2-24.
Persistent rain earlier in the day reduced the game to 29 overs per side but another interruption shortened proceedings by five overs. Given England’s impediment and a slight delay between innings, New Zealand’s target was recalculated.
Ian Bell perished to the third ball of the innings to Mills for nought, looping a leading edge to Vettori running backwards at mid-off.
Kevin Pietersen, on the back of unbeaten scores of 110 and 42, looked assured at the crease with two fours in three balls off Tim Southee. Not to be outdone, Wright emulated Pietersen's feat off Mills the following over.
Pietersen fell to experienced seamer Michael Mason for 13 with a lofted drive to Vettori out at mid-off but Wright smashed Mason for a four and two sixes in consecutive deliveries as England took advantage of the fielding restrictions.
He passed 50 on his 33rd ball with a driven four through the covers off Elliott but perished to a more adventurous shot, holing out to Styris at long-on to give Elliott his first ODI wicket before play was held up on 77 for three.
England resumed their innings in disastrous fashion when Ravi Bopara was run out by cover fielder Taylor for 10 after a mix-up with Collingwood.
Collingwood and Owais Shah took a liking to Styris’ medium-pace, plundering 19 off his second over and bringing up England’s hundred in the process. However, Elliott replaced Styris and had Shah trapped in front for 18 from as many deliveries.
Collingwood and Mascarenhas rotated the strike intelligently but the former sliced Elliott’s slower ball to Daniel Flynn running in from the cover boundary. Tim Ambrose then found Taylor at midwicket for one to give Mills his second wicket.
Southee dismissed Mascarenhas and Graeme Swann (one) with consecutive balls in the last over, both top-edging the youngster to wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins.
Luke Wright, who hit 52 from 33 balls, smashes Scott Styris for six in an over that cost 19 runs
Stuart Broad survived Southee’s hat-trick ball but was run out for one from the final delivery of the innings, attempting a second run to Flynn at deep cover.
England’s opening bowlers James Anderson and Broad began tightly. Jamie How twice inside-edged Broad for four before he clipped the youngster into Shah’s hands at midwicket on 16.
Collingwood initially showed impressive discipline against New Zealand’s most dangerous pair but his second over went for 11 as Taylor flicked consecutive fours.
McCullum upped the ante with two more boundaries next over, off Broad, which also cost 11. Taylor repeated his earlier feat against Anderson immediately after in the final powerplay over.
Collingwood persisted with himself and struck to remove Taylor who holed out to Wright at deep midwicket for 25.
Swann slowed the scoring rate with his off-breaks as New Zealand only passed 100 in the 15th over, bowled by Mascarenhas, having been 76 for one after 10.
But McCullum kept going in increasingly gloomy conditions and he reached his 13th ODI fifty in Swann’s next over to keep his side in touch.
Styris picked up a streaky four off Wright in the 19th over but it proved to be in vain. The two sides meet again at Bristol on Saturday.
