The procession of batsmen into and out of the dressing rooms that started in the first 15 overs continued at a steady pace in the next 15.

By that stage England were 71/7 with Andrew Flintoff 20 not out and Ashley Giles two not out.

Paul Collingwood was the fifth victim when impatience got the better of him and he attempted to hit out against Nathan Astle. He had faced 11 balls without scoring when he tried to hit back over Astle's head but all he did was sky a catch which Daniel Vettori held at mid-off, although there was another fieldsman close enough to have also had a go at it.

It was a poor choice on Collingwood's part.

Andrew Flintoff joined Owais Shah and he tried to very quickly get into the scoring action. But he lost Shah at 40 when he was caught by his former Middlesex team-mate Stephen Fleming who positioned himself at gully to pick up the chance from Chris Cairns' bowling. Shah faced 39 balls but could only score seven.

Craig White battled through eight overs with Flintoff while 25 runs were added but he was given out, probably unluckily to a ball that looked legside-ish from Chris Harris. But umpire Dave Quested gave the decision.

Compared to the English bowlers, New Zealand's were positively frugal. Astle bowled only one over and had one for one, Harris had one for 11 off five, Daryl Tuffey one for 15 off six, Cairns one for 11 off four, Adams three for 13 off seven and Daniel Vettori none for 18 off seven.

Andre Adams was in sensational form and after bowling seven overs in succession he had outstanding figures of three for 13. He was regularly hitting around the 130km/h mark and even on the slow pitch here he was causing problems for the English batsmen.

After 15 overs England were 34/4 with Owais Shah on five and Paul Collingwood on seven. The required run rate is already up to 6.09 and there have been four maidens bowled.

New Zealand applied the pressure from the outset by denying the English a quick start and holding them to three runs off the first four overs. They also picked up the wicket of Marcus Trescothick for a duck from the second ball Andre Adams bowled when he opened the bowling with Daryl Tuffey.

Adams, a deceptively slippery bowler proved a more than useful asset on this pitch and he hurried up Nick Knight who played him onto his leg stump to depart for nine.

Earlier, Daryl Tuffey had induced a poor shot from Nasser Hussain and it skied high over the slips cordon but Fleming turned around and ran back and held a good catch.

In the eighth over England were 18/3.

Then in his sixth over, Adams who had conceded only 12 runs, trapped Graham Thorpe leg before wicket, a very similar dismissal given by the same umpire Steve Dunne when Nathan Astle was out.

The innings was moulded around a stand of 58 between Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan and 84 between McMillan and Lou Vincent while some smart hitting from Chris Cairns, Chris Harris and Andre Adams made full use of another lamentable display of both aerial and ground fielding from England.

Darren Gough bowled the final over and showed his experience by keeping the ball full and he gained Harris' wicket when the left-hander, playing his 200th ODI skied one and Nick Knight held his first catch, at third offering during the innings. Harris was out for 14 but Adams scored 25 off 18.

Gough was again the best performed bowler with three for 47 off his 10 overs.

McMillan and Vincent brought up their 50 partnership off 66 balls.

McMillan was at his impudent best, square on stance, reverse sweeping, and even quick singles. It lifted the game from the monotony it could have slipped into on such a slow surface.

McMillan brought up his 50 when running three off a hit into the deep off Ashley Giles. It came up off 76 balls and included only one four. Then he tempted fate by just beating the third umpire's call to make his ground off a quick single.

In the next over he flung a ball from Craig White into the crowd at backward square leg to bring up the 50 partnership off 66 balls.

It then became something of a run fest although Nick Knight could have brought an end to it but he put down a reasonable chance off Vincent at deep square leg. He had the ball in his hands but lost it as he rolled on the ground. Vincent was on 22 at the time.

From the second ball of the next over he was charging down the ground to Andrew Flintoff to send a magnificent off drive through for four runs.

But England struck back, breaking the stand when it had reached 84 as McMillan flicked a ball from White around the corner to find Flintoff taking a simple catch. He scored 69 off 91 balls.

Then next over, Vincent was bowled by a good ball from Matthew Hoggard for 36 off 57 balls. New Zealand were 198/6.

Chris Cairns came in and hit out, scoring one superb straight six off Craig White but then trying to repeat the shot was caught by that man Flintoff. England could do with 11 with his catching ability. Cairns scored his 11 off six balls.

White might have picked up two valuable batsmen but New Zealand had worked him over to take 53 runs from his 10 overs.

Giles did not complete his 10, bowling eight while taking none for 40 and Paul Collingwood bowled his four overs for 17 runs. Flintoff bowled out his 10 and had one for 46 while Matthew Hoggard had two for 36 from only eight overs.

Craig McMillan was 30 not out and Lou Vincent six not out as New Zealand reached 122/4.

After reaching 15 overs at 62/3 scoring remained difficult as Craig White and Andrew Flintoff put the pressure on Fleming and McMillan. At one stage 14 balls were bowled without a run scored and it wasn't until Fleming hit out against White in the 19th over that the situation improved.

A lofted straight drive went for four and then next ball Fleming flowed into a fuller ball from White that soared over the mid-wicket rope and into the stand for six.

Twelve runs came from the over, and badly affected White's figures when his five over spell ended having cost 19 runs.

Flintoff did better, having one for 19 from his six overs.

Ashley Giles and Paul Collingwood came on to continue the parsimony although Fleming flicked one effortless four to mid-wicket from the last ball of Giles' first over.

But the Kiwi pair kept working the ball, bringing up their 50 partnership in the 24th over.

England captain Nasser Hussain made a bowling change in the 27th over when taking Giles off after his first three overs cost 14 runs. He replaced him with Hoggard and the ploy worked as Fleming flicked a ball to mid-wicket where Owais Shah took the catch.

It was another disappointment for Fleming this year. He scored 40 off 61 balls and New Zealand were 110/3.

Darren Gough returned from the northern end and had Lou Vincent in his sights after getting him first ball in Christchurch on Wednesday. However, Vincent sighted his slower ball and sent it through the covers for two.

Hoggard's second over of the spell wasn't so fruitful as McMillan straight drove him for three, and then after a wide and a no ball, Vincent off drove him, setting off at a trot thinking he had hit it well enough for four, only to see the ball hold up a metre inside the rope.

Fortunately, he and McMillan were quick enough to compensate and picked up three runs.

New Zealand were 62/3 at that stage with Stephen Fleming on 14 and Craig McMillan on five. Darren Gough had two wickets for 25 from his first five overs of the game while Andrew Flintoff was the other wicket-taker with one for eight after three overs.

Damp conditions in Wellington leading up to the game seem likely to make anything approaching 200 a reasonable score.

When the ball was still hard, New Zealand found the runs easier to come by, although the loss of wickets meant full value was not taken from the bowling.

After Chris Nevin recovered from the shock of the ball rebounding so slowly off the pitch from Darren Gough's first delivery, he swung the next to mid-wicket for three.

It was immediately apparent just how slow the outfield was. Nevin's was the sort of shot that would have normally rattled the pickets very soon after cannoning off the bat.

However, Astle had home hearts in their mouths when he edged Gough to Nick Knight at second slip, and he dropped a catchable chance.

Matthew Hoggard had a nervous first over in the series when bowling the second over. A no ball and a wide helped contributed to eight runs off the over.

Nevin took on Gough in the third over, the first occasion cutting four behind point, and then next ball getting a shot just over the reach of a leaping Craig White at point. Both went for boundaries.

Gough had Astle out in his third over, leg before wicket for seven off 15 balls, the only doubt being whether it might have hit the leaping Astle too high. New Zealand's first wicket was down at 25.

Hoggard settled quickly into his line and length and it took Brendon McCullum to pull the ball behind square before New Zealand looked like getting on top of him again.

In the meantime, Gough was causing more problems at the city end when immediately after pulling a ball for four to square leg, Nevin was out, offering a simple return chance to Gough when the ball stopped on him.

New Zealand were 34 for two in the seventh over as captain Stephen Fleming strode to the middle to join McCullum.

They had some early problems with their running. But Fleming looked imperious when on driving a ball from Gough for four. He backed that up with a leg glance to the boundary from Andrew Flintoff's first ball of the game. That also brought up New Zealand's 50.

But it was Craig White who gave the most likely sign of things to come when coming on to relieve Gough, who had figures of two for 25 from his five overs, His slower pace made life more difficult for the batsmen looking to get him away and the only run off the over was a no ball.

Flintoff bowled two wider balls in his second over to tempt McCullum and off the second, he feathered a chhance to Marcus Trescothick at wicket-keeper to be out for nine and New Zealand were 52/3, the runs having dried up a little.

By the end of the 15th over, New Zealand had added only 11 runs in five overs.

Concerns over the pace of the pitch, which is expected to be slow, have resulted in Nasser Hussain asking New Zealand to bat first after he won the toss.

The weather in Wellington has improved, the clouds have parted and a watery sun is shining, with a southerly breeze. Blue skies to the south suggest the conditions will only get better.

Owais Shah and Matthew Hoggard have come into the England side, Shah for Foster and Hoggard for Andrew Caddick who battled throughout the first game in Christchurch on Wednesday.

New Zealand have rested new fast bowler Ian Butler and have brought in Brendon McCullum for his fifth ODI. He is likely to bat down the order.

The umpires today are Steve Dunne and Dave Quested, Tony Hill is the third umpire and the match referee is Denis Lindsay (South Africa).

The teams today are: New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Chris Nevin, Lou Vincent, Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Andre Adams, Daniel Vettori, Daryl Tuffey. Ian Butler (12th man).

England: Nasser Hussain, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard, Nick Knight, Owais Shah, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Craig White.

Wet conditions earlier in the week have hampered pitch production at the ground and a marquee has been used in an effort to dry the pitch.

The weather in Wellington has improved after rain drifted across the city at about 9am. Conditions are cool with a watery sun.

It is expected to relate in a slow pitch, the sort New Zealand Cricket have been trying to eliminate from the game in this country.

No start time has been set but it is expected to be between 2.30pm and 3pm, with a shortened lunch hour.