Cricket: England collapse to Kiwi defeat

Mar 10 2008 Western Mail

ENGLAND held a dressing-room inquest after slumping to a 189-run defeat in the opening Test against New Zealand – maintaining their desperate record away from home.

No sooner had England completed their capitulation to 110 all out shortly after 3.30pm local time, before the squad began the inquiry into how they were outplayed and out-thought against a New Zealand side who have played only eight Test matches in two years.

Only two players – Ian Bell and Alastair Cook – even made double-figures as seamers Chris Martin and Kyle Mills tore apart England’s batting line-up to continue the tourists’ run of only one overseas Test triumph from their last 17 attempts.

England entered this series as favourites, having only recently slipped from their No 2 world ranking after series defeats to India and Sri Lanka.

“We have two games to put it right,” insisted defiant captain Michael Vaughan. “We know where our destiny lies in this series now – we have to win two games of cricket.

“You always try to win every game. But we know exactly what we have to do now to win the series, and that’s to play positive cricket and have a go and try and win the next two games.”

Yesterday’s dismal display follows a similarly inept performance in their last Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in December when England were dismissed for a lowly 81 – and comes just a day after Ryan Sidebottom’s hat-trick seemed to have given them a chance of victory.

Both sides began the final day at Seddon Park with hopes of winning, with New Zealand resuming 269 runs ahead on 147 for eight.

They declared on 177-9 to leave the tourists chasing 300 off a minimum 81 overs.

But their challenge was over before it began, Mills claiming four wickets for two runs in only 25 balls, and immediately after lunch England lost a further three wickets in nine balls as Martin found his reverse-swing.

Even an unbeaten 54 from Bell, which included five fours and two sixes, could not put a veneer of respectability on an innings which ended with 26 overs of the final day left

Bell shared a 33-run stand with last man Monty Panesar. But by then the game was lost – leaving England in danger of three successive series defeats for the first time since 1999.

The last time that happened, England changed a captain – Alec Stewart making way for Nasser Hussain – but Vaughan insists the only thing lacking in the camp is a bit of confidence.

“Of course, it affects the team – because we’ve lost a game of cricket – and it’s mine and (coach) Peter Moores’ job to make sure the players are in the right state of mind going into Thursday’s game now,” he said.

“I’m captaining differently now to when I started, because I’m more experienced, but I’m not captaining any different to the way I was in 2005.

“We’re just struggling a bit as a team, and that can happen. But there’s only one group of players that can put that right, and that’s the group that’s in the dressing room now.”

Vaughan is still optimistic.

“The good thing is we do start again in three days’ time,” he pointed out.

“We’re back on the horse and we can get back out there – but we have to make sure we go out and play and express ourselves in a better fashion than we have done in this game.

“Sometimes when you have had defeats like this and you’ve got two weeks, you can really dwell on it.

“We’ll arrive in Wellington and start the game on Thursday, so it can be a good thing – but we have to make it a good thing. We have to try and get on top of New Zealand on Thursday morning and stay on top.”

For New Zealand – who exceeded expectations by winning the one-day series, having been hammered in the two Twenty20 matches which preceded it – the victory was a major triumph and their first over meaningful opposition since Daniel Vettori took over as captain.

“It’s very satisfying, because they’re a good side,” said Vettori, who guided his side to a 2-0 home series win over Bangladesh last month. “They’ve been up to No 2 in the world; they won the Ashes series and have put in some pretty good performances on the sub-continent.

“Our history is not great against them, but I know certainly from the New Zealand public that winning Tests against England seems to mean a lot more to them than winning Tests against Bangladesh.”