A sampling of British press reaction to last night's first ODI loss to New Zealand by England has highlighted the collapse crisis facing the side while also raising questions about Darren Gough's future role in the tour, especially the Test series for which he has not been selected, yet.

The Daily Telegraph: "From the Gothic cathedral to the punts on the River Avon, Christchurch is a city with a peculiarly English flavour. For the benefit of sports fans yesterday's match threw up another great English tradition - the catastrophic batting collapse.

"Over the last few months Nasser Hussain and Duncan Fletcher have begun to drag England's one-day team into the modern era. But the one fault they cannot seem to fix is the habit of batting like lemmings. After the first seven games of their tour, England have already lost six for 35 at Calcutta, six for 46 at Bombay and now seven for 26 here."

The Times: "No team, especially one as inexperienced as England's, can expect to keep throwing away good starts and still win games regularly. At 84 for one in the twelfth over and 170 for three in the 29th, they were well placed to make a total equivalent to 300 in a 50-over match, yet in one reduced because of overnight rain to 42 overs a side England in the end could neither reach 200 nor bat for their full quota.

"Even Darren Gough at his most resilient could not paper over that yawning crack and, despite some reckless batting of their own, New Zealand won the first of the five internationals by four wickets with 21 balls in hand. Officially their man-of-the-match was Nathan Astle for a cool, binding innings in his 146th one-day international, but the vote might even more deservedly have gone either to Daniel Vettori, whose spell of left-arm orthodox spin on a hard, true pitch sparked his side's recovery in the field, or to Andre Adams, who bowled well, fielded even better and provided the final thrust with a spunky innings after Gough had set the cat among the pigeons by taking four wickets in 11 balls.

"The difference lay mainly in New Zealand's brilliant fielding in the second half of England's innings. Adams and Lou Vincent got to the ball at square leg and backward point quicker than dogs to a bone. More influentially still, Vincent took one sensational catch and Chris Cairns another outstanding one, to erase the disappointment of missed chances offered from successive balls off Cairns by Nick Knight."

The Guardian: "Losing to New Zealand in the first one-day contest at Lancaster Park was no disgrace as the Kiwis have a nucleus of highly experienced players to wrap around the novices. Indeed, when Darren Gough puffed out his chest and roared in to take four big wickets in the space of 11 balls at a time when it looked like New Zealand were cruising home, England would even have nurtured hopes of snatching victory.

"It would not, however, have been a result they deserved. Apart from the first 25 overs of a match that had been reduced through rain to 42 overs a side, when Nick Knight, Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe were creating some mayhem, and much later when Gough produced his adrenalin-powered surge, they were outbowled, outbatted and comfortably outfielded as the Kiwis held catch after stunning catch.

"In pursuit of 197 to win, the bulk of the job had been completed with an opening stand of 99 between Chris Nevin and Nathan Astle. Astle went on to steer the side home with an unbeaten 67. And if they wanted to emphasise a point, the winning runs came when Andre Adams calmly stepped away to leg and drilled Andy Caddick flat over extra-cover for six."

The Independent: "Amid the clatter of middle-order wickets at Lancaster Park yesterday it was barely possible to hear the popular music which is so important a feature of the modern one-day game. The organisers, however, must consider as a matter of urgency adding to the repertoire that catchy little show number: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better".

"As the sides exchanged batting collapses in the first match of the National Bank Series it was eventually England who went out on the last 'yes I can'. Their loss of the last seven wickets for 26 runs in 12 overs narrowly outsmarted New Zealand's forfeiture of four for eight, all to an inspired Darren Gough, in three overs.

"The difference was that when England started on the road to ruin there was no turning back. Once they began to collapse it was as if they were determined to see it through. The Kiwis, on the other hand, were ready for salvation. Having gone to the brink - and survived a couple of chances which proved crucial - they turned back at a gallop and ultimately won the match by four wickets with 3.3 overs to spare."

The Daily Mirror: "England must be mad if they send Darren Gough home in a fortnight after his latest one-day heroics proved in vain.

"Gough's four wickets in 11 balls could not save England from an exasperating four-wicket defeat in their opening one-day international against New Zealand.

"But his brilliant spell, which nearly reprieved England after another shambolic batting fiasco, underlined Gough's value to the side.

"In his two previous internationals, Gough delivered a faultless final over in Delhi to secure a two-run win over India and paved the way for another photo-finish triumph in Bombay by removing Sachin Tendulkar with a jaffa.

"Here, he reduced the Kiwis from 136-2 to 144-6 in a devastating burst which removed Craig McMillan, Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent and Chris Harris."

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