McCullum sets up series win

Phil Mustard and Brendon McCullum watch as the ball goes aerial for another six

View photo story

A blistering innings of 77 from Brendon McCullum set up a Duckworth-Lewis four-wicket victory for New Zealand over England in the fifth and final one-day international to hand them an overall 3-1 series triumph.

Rain stopped play with the score on 213 for six and the hosts chasing 243 to win. When the weather cleared, their target was readjusted, but having already acquired the required total before the break, the game was officially declared over.

It was McCullum who provided the initial impetus when he smashed James Anderson for two fours and a six in the fifth over and welcomed his second spell with three consecutive sixes - reaching his half-century off just 27 balls.

By the time he had faced 31 balls he had 67 runs to his name, while Jesse Ryder had a more circumspect 24 to the same number of deliveries.

Ryder just faced one more ball before he was the victim of a direct hit by Kevin Pietersen after getting his bat stuck in the pitch and failing to make his ground.

It was left to the England captain to make the breakthrough they really needed, Paul Collingwood bowling McCullum with a ball that clipped the top of off stump as the batsman made room to try to cut it.

His highly entertaining knock of 77 came off just 43 balls and contained five fours and six sixes as he laid a substantial platform for the hosts.

Jamie How carried on from where he left off in Napier, making 24 before toe-ending the ball behind to Phil Mustard off the bowling of Ryan Sidebottom.

Some sensible accumulating of runs by Ross Taylor and Scott Styris edged New Zealand closer to their target, before the latter chipped Anderson straight to Stuart Broad at mid-off with the score on 196.

That brought Daniel Flynn - making his debut - to the crease, but he shuffled across his stumps to be trapped leg before by Sidebottom, who followed it up by bowling the dangerous Jacob Oram first ball, giving him three wickets for 51 runs.

However Taylor (41 not out) and Daniel Vettori ensured there were no further mishaps before the rain came and ended the game.

New Zealand had kept up the pressure with the ball earlier in the day, but a late flurry of 22 runs in the last over - all scored by Dimitri Mascarenhas - took the visitors to a competitive 242 for seven.

A late blast of 29 from Dimitri Mascarenhas gives England a total to defend © Getty Images

Mascarenhas was almost run out to the penultimate ball of the innings as he scrambled back for the second run, but just made his ground, ending on an unbeaten 29 from 12 balls. Broad was left on 11 not out from eight deliveries.

It did not start as well for England's batsmen, as Mustard made just two before hitting Kyle Mills into the wind and seeing the ball swirl in the air for How to take the catch.

Mills got his second when Ian Bell attempted a straight lofted drive, but picked out Flynn at long on.

Alastair Cook and Pietersen began to repair the damage, with a 48-run partnership, bringing up the team hundred in the 25th over.

But Cook, who had worked hard in reaching 42, was deceived by a Vettori quicker ball which skidded on to his pads and trapped him in front of leg stump.

Spinner Jeetan Patel, in for seamer Iain O'Brien, got a wicket with his second ball of the day when he tempted Pietersen with a slower delivery as he advanced down the track, giving Ryder a catch at long on.

Collingwood was flummoxed by a flighted delivery from Vettori which bounced more than expected - wicketkeeper McCullum taking it cleanly and completing a stumping, with the batsman too far forward to get back in time.

Luke Wright got off the mark with a boundary - which was England's first for 12 overs - as he and Owais Shah looked to make the most of their opportunity to bat for as many of the 16 overs remaining as possible.

He lasted just over 12 overs, hitting 47 off 40 balls, before holing out to Ross Taylor going for one shot too many down the ground. His innings contained four sixes and two fours.

Three balls later, Shah (29) also departed, caught behind off a thin edge by McCullum, who was standing up to the stumps to Mills - the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-36.