Kiwis whip England
in second ODI

England were bowled out for 89, their second lowest one-day total, as New Zealand powered to a 155-run victory on Saturday to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.

Set 245 to win after Nasser Hussain won the toss and asked New Zealand to bat, England folded in spectacular fashion. Andy Flintoff top-scored with 26 after England lost their first six wickets for just 40.

England, who recently came from 3-1 down in India to draw 3-3, must now stage a similar recovery to avoid further embarrassment in the remaining three matches at Napier, Dunedin and Auckland.

England's total, shading the 86 they scored at Old Trafford against Australia last year, was a record low against New Zealand, comfortably beating the 127 they mustered in Christchurch in 1983.

Hussain asked New Zealand to bat in the hope that the pitch, prepared under a marquee after days of rain, would provide movement for fast bowlers Darren Gough, Flintoff and the recalled Matthew Hoggard.

Gough did take two early wickets, trapping Nathan Astle (7) leg before and having the cavalier Chris Nevin (21) caught and bowled.

Flintoff removed Brendon McCullum (9) via a catch behind by stand-in wicketkeeper Marcus Trescothick to leave New Zealand wobbling on 52 for three.

Captain Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan (69) steadied the Kiwis with a 58-run partnership before Fleming was neatly caught by Owais Shah at square leg off Hoggard for 40.

Lou Vincent, who was out for a first-ball duck in Christchurch in midweek, hit 36 and put on 84 for the fifth wicket with McMillan.

MINI-COLLAPSE

There was a mini-collapse as wickets fell at 194, 198 and 206, but Andre Adams and all-rounder Chris Harris, playing his 200th one-day international, put on a brisk 37 for the eighth wicket.

England dropped three catches -- two difficult ones by Nick Knight and an easy one by Hoggard at long-on. The Yorkshire fast bowler knelt to take a skier off Adams but spilled the ball as he over-balanced.

New Zealand made 244 for eight from their 50 overs before Adams was handed the new ball and quickly removed Trescothick, England's most dangerous batsman in recent matches, for no score.

In his first six overs, he also dismissed Knight (9) and Thorpe (10), who was given out leg before even though television replays showed the England left-hander had hit the ball.

Hussain (3) misjudged a hook off Daryl Tuffey and was caught by Fleming before Collingwood was removed for a 16-ball duck by Nathan Astle.

When Shah (7) followed shortly afterwards, caught in the gully off Chris Cairns, England's hopes of posting a reasonable score, let alone a winning one, had vanished.

Only Flintoff put up any kind of resistance as wickets continued to tumble around him.

Harris grabbed Craig White's wicket for 11 with a dubious lbw decision, but Ashley Giles (12) fell when he swiped at a widish ball from Harris and hit it straight to Daniel Vettori at mid-on.

Flintoff was ninth out, holing out to left-arm spinner Vettori, and Gough was bowled by a straight ball the very next delivery.

Mail Cricket Editor