An all round display by Jacob Oram saw New Zealand win their first match against England at Adelaide. Daneil Vettori was the main destroyer taking 4 wickets bundling out England for 120 in 37.5 overs.

England started off well by putting in the Kiwis first and restricting them to a modest 210 in their allotted 50 overs with Jacob Oram hitting a breezy 86 in 89 balls. 210 looked a gettable target but England collapsed in their modest chase of 211 giving the Kiwis a vital bonus point and second place on the CB Series table.

The strong New Zealand attack, led initially by James Franklin before Vettori continued the carnage, were on top from the time the first wicket fell and only Ed Joyce’s 47 gave Flintoff any hope of recording his first win as captain on Australian soil.

Oram was a last minute choice to the squad after recovering from his hamstring injury. Oram’s selection in the Tuesday match proved to be crucial but Vettori’s 4 for 24 destroyed the England middle order and when Joyce was spectacularly caught in the deep by Mark Gillespie the chase was all but over. Joyce tried to loft Vettori over long on and almost cleared Gillespie, who initially ran in before rapidly back pedaling and held the catch jumping at full stretch.

New Zealand 210 (Oram 86, Flintoff 4-21) beat England 120 (Joyce 47, Vettori 4-24, Franklin 3-17) by 90 runs. MoM- Jacob Oram.

In the 7th match Australia take on England on Friday.