New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt & wk), 6 Grant Elliott, 7 James Franklin, 8 Andrew Ellis, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan
England: 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Ian Bell, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven Finn
New Zealand 259 for 7 (Williamson 74, B McCullum 69*) beat England 258 (Trott 68, Bell 64, Root 56, McClenaghan 4-56) by three wickets
Martin Guptill, batting on one leg after a hamstring injury, helped his captain Brendon McCullum seal a tight chase in the opening ODI in Hamilton as New Zealand squeezed home by three wickets with seven balls to spare. McCullum, who pushed himself down to No.6, played a wonderfully paced innings but kept losing partners to leave England with their noses in front until the final stages when Guptill contributed the telling boundaries to help limit his running.
There were three crucial mini passages of play in the final 12 overs after England had seemingly taken control at 155 for 5. James Anderson, who sent down eight world-class overs, was taken for 17 in his ninth when he started dropping short at McCullum to kickstart him. Then Guptill picked up 10 runs off his first two deliveries back at the crease - including a ramp over third man for six - which was followed by the decisive over, when Chris Woakes was taken for 13 off his last, with Guptill taking two further boundaries. Such was the adrenalin he sprinted off for runs in the seconds it took for the pain to register.
That left 13 needed off 12 balls and New Zealand only required five more deliveries with McCullum clearing the midwicket boundary off Broad - all England's bowlers bowled too short to him - before the limping Guptill hit the winning runs. New Zealanders talk of the 'Kiwi Spirit' and you will not see a better example as to what it actually means.
Guptill had retired hurt in sixth over after pulling up on completing a tight single to mid-off. He tried to carry on - without a runner as per the new regulations - but soon signalled he would have to leave the field. It was announced he would bat if required and with Kyle Mills - a capable lower-order player - still to come he shuffled back out to the middle for what may, depending on the seriousness of the injury, be his last contribution of the series.
McCullum's decision to hold himself back at the fall of Ross Taylor's wicket reignited the debate about where he should bat. There was already disquiet about him being as low as No. 5, but he is keen to be able to exploit the batting Powerplay and final 10 overs much in the way England try to use Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler. With a steely glint in his eye, and a never-say-die focus, he showed his judgement to be spot on. However, England will need a debrief over their tactics.
25 overs New Zealand 99 for 2 (Williamson 52*, Elliott 15*) need 160 more runs to beat England 258
Kane Williamson was shaping as the vital element in New Zealand's chase in the first ODI by holding together a jittery top order that suffered the loss of Martin Guptill to a hamstring injury. James Anderson took an early wicket before Williamson and Ross Taylor started the recovery only for Taylor to fall to Chris Woakes after playing himself in.
The innings was off to a lively start when Anderson, in his first competitive bowl since the Nagpur Test, produced a lovely inswinger to dismantle BJ Watling's stumps. Not only was it a classy piece of bowling, a trademark of Anderson, but it was also a record-breaking wicket as it took him to 529 international scalps, the most by an England bowler ahead of Ian Botham.
Anderson's wickets are a more even spread between Tests and ODIs than Botham, but he will also have the chance to pass 300 Test victims as he needs 12 during the forthcoming series to achieve that.
New Zealand's problem, leaving aside Anderson's superb skill, was when Guptill pulled up lame with a hamstring strain after going for a quick single to mid-off. He tried to bat on, but an over later signalled to the dressing that he couldn't continue although a NZC spokesman said he would bat again later if required.
The chase could easily have been permanently destabilised by the loss of a key batsman to injury, however Williamson and Taylor set about creating a more secure footing. Williamson, especially strong off the back foot, dominated the scoring as Taylor struggled to get flowing.
Steven Finn had spells from both ends and produced a couple of unplayable deliveries although he also drifted onto the pads. Broad was lively, as he was during the Twenty20s, and found Williamson's top edge with a well-directed bouncer.
A key part of this series for England is finding out whether Woakes can fill the fourth-seamer role, so his spell was a telling period. He offered some width to Taylor who gained his first boundary with a sweet square cut and that got him going as he added further boundaries off Graeme Swann.
Then, however, Woakes made a significant mark when he slid a bouncer onto Taylor who went for the hook with the top edge sailing down to long leg. Surprisingly, Grant Elliott came in at No. 5 ahead of Brendon McCullum, who seemingly held himself back in the hope of making an impact later.
England 258 (Trott 68, Bell 64, Root 56, McClenaghan 4-56) v New Zealand
The first innings of this one-day series was a little like going back in time, as a careful start led to middle-order accumulation in an attempt to provide a base for a late charge. Two thirds of that plan worked for England, with half-centuries from Ian Bell, Jonathan Trott and Joe Root, but they faded badly when the middle-order power failed to show as Mitchell McClenaghan took four wickets before suffering a side injury.
England could not hold themselves together in the finish. Eoin Morgan fell to an excellent catch, Jos Buttler shone briefly - with two sixes - before finding cover and Root, a few moments later, lost his leg stump to leave the closing overs in the hands of the bowling allrounders. McClenaghan and Kyle Mills were excellent as the final 9.3 overs read 68 for 7.
England's top four were all having their first knocks of the tour. Bell and Alastair Cook arrived last week after not being part of the Twenty20 squad, Trott has been rested since the end of the India Test series and Root did not play the warm-ups on this trip and wasn't needed with the bat in Wellington two days ago. The lay-offs affected some more than others. Not much can be deduced from Cook's brief stay, Bell looked in decent touch, Trott struggled early before finding some rhythm and Root was the most impressive of the lot.
It was the latest stage in Root's seamless transition to the top level. Arriving shortly before the midway mark, after Bell edged behind for 64, he was busy and alert from his first delivery which he sent fine of short third-man. There was one moment of fortune. On 32 he was given out caught behind off Mills, as he dropped his hands to a short ball, and immediately called for a review that led to the decision being overturned when the TV umpire decided there was conclusive evidence it had come off his sleeve. Opinions from the ground were split. Still, it was a highly mature innings.
While Trott batted in his own bubble, Root worked the gaps and made sure he pushed the fielders. Those attributes made up for the slight lack of power in his game - he also produced the scoop past the keeper - as he went to 50 from 57 balls. Perhaps crucially, though, no one converted into three figures.
Despite what happened in the Twenty20, when England's T20 captain Stuart Broad admitted to making the wrong decision, Brendon McCullum decided to bowl first in Hamilton. McClenaghan struck in his second over, squeezing one past Cook's inside edge which then came off the pad, and it was a Test-style reconnaissance that followed.
Bell was the most fluent by far, driving nicely down the ground especially with the lofted six off Andrew Ellis that took him to 50 from 67 balls, and was starting to make New Zealand pay for dropping him on 26 when he top-edged a sweep off Nathan McCullum and was put down by BJ Watling running in from deep midwicket. It continued the theme of poor New Zealand catching from the Twenty20s, but they improved during the innings. Bell could also have been run out, on 23, if Ross Taylor had not fumbled at midwicket.
Trott, who had not batted since the Nagpur Test against India, had a more frustrating time at the crease. His first delivery, clipped wide of mid-on for four, was deceptive - after that the middle of the bat proved elusive. When he did time a shot it often found the fielders and after one such stroke he could be heard exclaiming his annoyance.
He was also involved in some interesting running incidents. There was nearly a mix-up with Bell that appeared to come from a lack of calling and then, when stood at the non-striker's end, Trott was taken out by Nathan McCullum when the bowler dived across to field off his own delivery and knocked the batsman down in a manner an All Black would be proud off. No fault at all, though, was attached to the bowler.
Trott had the dubious distinctions of being struck on the helmet by a Franklin bouncer before, 61 balls after his first boundary, he collected his second four which sparked a marked increase in tempo. His last 38 runs came off 30 deliveries with an expanded range of strokes. Despite having two set batsmen, the batting Powerplay was not dynamic and Trott fell in that five-over period as he backed away to open up the off side.
Morgan was meant to start of the onslaught, but it was a brief stay that was ended by a cracking catch at backward point from Martin Guptill who dived to his left to take a well-struck cut low to the ground. It was the beginning of a period that brought New Zealand firmly back into contention.
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