england vs new zealand

Finn leads England to series win

England 186 for 5 (Cook 46, Morgan 39) beat New Zealand 185 (McCullum 79, Finn 3-27) by five wickets
Scorecard

	Steven Finn was unplayable and lead England to a resounding win in the final ODI ©

If occasionally knocking over the bowler's end bails can be deemed a weakness, it is the only blemish against Steven Finn at the moment. His new, shorter, run up is designed to address that issue and it has taken none of the pace and aggression away from him, qualities which were too good for New Zealand as England comfortably won the deciding ODI.

The win secured their first ODI series in New Zealand since 1992 and was the result of a fine bowling display led by Finn. His excellence included three wickets that laid a platform for England to dominate in the field. He and James Anderson conceded just 18 in the opening 10 overs and New Zealand never recovered, being bowled out for a total nowhere near competitive on a dry, hard, flat surface.

England should have completed a rout but stuttered slightly towards the end of the chase. For the most part they played with the fluency expected on an excellent drop-in pitch. Brendon McCullum also did justice to the conditions with another fine captain's innings, his third consecutive half-century, but the rest of New Zealand's batsman were undone by England's dangerous, disciplined attack, the best of whom was Finn.

The wicket was tailor-made for him and he was often unplayable. His opening spell went for just five and created a crawl through the Powerplay. A regular fall of wickets stymied the recovery and Brendon McCullum's 79 in 68 balls was a lone hand.

England could have asked for no better after Alastair Cook decided to bowl. On a tiny ground - boundaries so short the venue would not be ratified by the ICC if it were a new ground - it was a remarkable performance with the ball. Finn and Anderson produced another opening 10 overs where New Zealand went nowhere and the mood remained throughout the innings.

Only when McCullum opened up in the second Powerplay did New Zealand ever look like making the progress demanded of them to be competitive. But when he was superbly taken by Anderson at deep midwicket to be last man out, New Zealand had wasted seven overs of their innings and were looking down the barrel of defeat.

Chasing such a small target against an attack with few threats, England encountered few problems. New Zealand's seamers are at least five-miles-an-hour slower than England's and provided none of the control that saw the first innings so stifled. England went at five an over in the Powerplay.

They allowed the chase to descend from overwhelming to workmanlike with some lazy strokes - Cook and Jonathan Trott both caught behind driving outside off - but it was beneficial that Eoin Morgan was able to enjoy time at the crease. He drove well off Tim Southee before lifting him over midwicket for six and striking Nathan McCullum over long-on: 39 from 24 balls was a strong reminder of Morgan's ability at a time when everyone's place is under scrutiny because of Joe Root's emergence. Root again led England home with a composed, mature innings.