Close New Zealand 223 for 5 (48.5 overs: Astle 122*, McMillan 44) beat England 218 for 8 (50 overs: Shah 57, Hussain 50, Cairns 3-32, Tuffey 3-42) by five wickets
scorecard

It was never going to be enough. England's below-par total of 218 for 8 was easily overhauled by Nathan Astle and Craig McMillan, as New Zealand overcame their mid-series jitters to complete a 3-2 victory. In a series that had largely belonged to the bowlers, Astle's 122 was the only century and by a long way the best individual innings.

New Zealand started at a canter, wobbled for a while as Craig White and Andrew Flintoff bowled incisive spells, then galloped home with seven balls to spare, capitalising on Nasser Hussain's do-or-die approach in the final overs. At 209 for 5 in the 48th over, England had crept back into contention, but two enormous sixes from Astle off Flintoff sealed their fate.

Astle was the difference between the sides, posting his 12th one-day century in his 150th match. His innings was distinctly two-paced. He took just 42 balls to thump his first 50 runs - spanking Darren Gough for consecutive boundaries in the third over, before launching Hoggard onto the roof of the cover stand in the fourth - but then he throttled back, as is his wont, and his next 50 took another 85 deliveries. He was reprieved by Nick Knight in the covers in the sixth over, and survived a huge appeal for lbw in the 39th, but in between he was unconquerable, crashing 12 fours and five sixes.

By the halfway mark New Zealand were stagnating at 111 for 3, after losing three wickets in five overs to White and Flintoff, whose uncomplicated up-and-down style suited the two-paced nature of the pitch. Chris Nevin edged an off-balance flash to wicketkeeper Marcus Trescothick for 15 (55 for 1), Brendon McCullum chopped the ball onto his off stump for 7 (77 for 2), and Stephen Fleming nicked a length delivery to Knight's right at second slip for 1 (80 for 3).

But Craig McMillan was a willing foil to Astle. Coming off a poor run of form, McMillan managed just nine runs in ten overs, but then he re-ignited the run-chase by smacking 14 from Ashley Giles's fourth over, including a vast slog-sweep for six over midwicket.

McMillan's next delivery somehow deflected off leg stump for two runs, but he didn't look back until Gough nipped one off the seam in the 41st over to trap him plumb in front for 44, from 69 deliveries (180 for 4). Gough struck again when Chris Cairns lobbed his third ball to Hussain at cover (180 for 5), but with wickets essential, Hussain was forced to take the economical Paul Collingwood out of the attack after a fine spell of five overs for 13 runs. Astle saw New Zealand home in partnership with Lou Vincent, who scampered the singles to finish 20 not out from 27 balls.

England were left to rue another missed opportunity with the bat. Trescothick's scratchy form continued when he was out for 5 (8 for 1), driving Daryl Tuffey to Chris Harris in the gully, and Nick Knight fell in exactly the same manner for 24 with the score on 42.

Owais Shah (57) and Nasser Hussain (50) both recorded half-centuries in a challenging fourth-wicket stand of 71, but after Hussain was caught by Cairns off Tuffey in the 32nd over (133 for 4), England managed just 85 runs in their final 18 overs.

Shah played well on his return to the side, but advanced down the wicket and was pinned leg-before by Cairns (170 for 5), who then accounted for Flintoff (1) with a slower ball (172 for 6). Ashley Giles nudged an unbeaten 21 to prevent a complete collapse, but Dunedin's short boundaries proved far too attractive to Astle and McMillan.

Teams
England 1 Marcus Trescothick (wk), 2 Nick Knight, 3 Nasser Hussain (capt), 4 Graham Thorpe, 5 Owais Shah, 6 Paul Collingwood, 7 Andrew Flintoff, 8 Craig White, 9 Ashley Giles, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Matthew Hoggard.

New Zealand 1 Chris Nevin (wk), 2 Nathan Astle, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Stephen Fleming (capt), 5 Craig McMillan, 6 Chris Cairns, 7 Lou Vincent, 8 Chris Harris, 9 Andre Adams, 10 Daniel Vettori, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

Andrew Miller is on the staff of Wisden.com.

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