New Zealand complete rout in second game and wrap up series.
New Zealand has wrapped up its one-day international (ODI) series against England after a comprehensive 86-run victory at Southampton.
It was the second away ODI series the Black Caps have won in a row, with Martin Guptill the star for the visitors with his second century in as many games.
With the Champions Trophy just about the start the thrashing could not come at a worse time for England, who have serious questions to ask about the balance of their side if they wish to have a chance of winning the tournament.
While the series win is a massive morale boost for the Kiwis were out were outclassed in their recent Test battle with England, who were been beaten at home for the first time since 2009 in ODI’s.
Set a massive 360 for victory, the England were up against it from the start as they needed more than seven runs an over from the first ball.
The only bright spot for the Three Lions was the unbeaten century by Jonathan Trott, who started slowly in his knock before accelerating once he was in and set, to finish on 109.
However, Trott did not have enough help down the other end, which has been the story of England’s summer in the limited overs games.
Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put on 50 for the first wicket before the skipper was dismissed by Kyle Mills with Bell going soon after to make the score 64-2.
Joe Root and Eoin Morgan came and went for 28 and 21 respectively as Trott continued to provide the backbone for the England innings.
But with every passing over where less than the run-rate required was scored, the pressure mounted on the home side as New Zealand tightened their grip on the contest.
Kane Williams grabbed two wickets and initiated a run-out through the England lower order, as the home side simply tried to save face with the total falling to 218-8.
Jimmy Anderson provided handy runs at number 10 and looked more comfortable at the crease than some of his top-order contemporaries, as he finished with 28 off 25 balls.
However, it was always the Kiwis game to lose as Mitchell McClenaghan wrapped up the innings to finish with the excellent figures of 3-35 on a day when bowlers did not have a happy time of it.
Highlights:
England v New Zealand
Played at Southampton
Toss won by New Zealand
New Zealand
L. Ronchi b Anderson 2
M. Guptill not out 189
K. Williamson b Swann 55
R. Taylor c Woakes b Anderson 60
B. McCullum not out 40
Extras (b4, lb4, w5) 13
Total (3 wkts, 50 overs) 359
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Ronchi), 2-132 (Williamson), 3-241 (Taylor)
Did not bat: G Elliott, J Franklin, N McCullum, D Bracewell, K Mills, M McClenaghan
Bowling: Anderson 10-0-65-2 (2w); Bresnan 10-1-73-0 (1w); Woakes 7-0-49-0 (1w); Dernbach 10-0-87-0 (1w); Root 3-0-16-0; Swann 10-0-61-1
England
A. Cook b Mills 34
I. Bell c Franklin b Bracewell 25
J. Trott not out 109
J. Root c Bracewell b N McCullum 28
E. Morgan c Ronchi b Elliott 21
J. Buttler c Guptill b McClenaghan 2
C. Woakes st Ronchi b Williamson 13
T. Bresnan run out (Williamson) 0
G. Swann b Williamson 1
J. Anderson b McClenaghan 28
J. Dernbach c Mills b McClenaghan 2
Extras (lb3, w6, nb1) 10
Total (all out, 44.1 overs) 273
Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Cook), 2-64 (Bell), 3-122 (Root), 4-166 (Morgan), 5-169 (Buttler), 6-212 (Woakes), 7-213 (Bresnan), 8-218 (Swann), 9-265 (Anderson), 10-273 (Dernbach)
Bowling: McClenaghan 8.1-0-35-3 (1nb, 3w); Mills 9-0-55-1 (1w); Bracewell 8-1-55-1 (1w); N McCullum 8-0-47-1; Franklin 5-0-40-0 (1w); Elliott 2-0-13-1; Williamson 4-0-25-2
Result: New Zealand won by 86 runs
Man-of-the-match: Martin Guptill (NZL)
Series: New Zealand lead three-match series 2-0
Remaining Fixture:
Jun 05: 3rd ODI, Nottingham
Previous Result:
May 31: 1st ODI, Lord’s: New Zealand won by 5 wkts
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