The Empire strikes back

Well, it appears that England is not down and out yet down under, and that our one-day XI is still a force to be reckoned with. After heavy and embarrassing defeats in the first two matches, the third - played earlier today in Auckland (and followed ball by ball via TMS by many England fans) - had the (British) Empire striking back. Captain Paul Collingwood (right) led England to a six-wicket win, to keep the one-day series against New Zealand alive.

Collingwood won the toss and - having obviously learned from recent experience - opted to field first. With Dimitri Mascarenhas and Luke Wright recalled at the expense of Graeme Swann and Ravi Bopara, the tourists looked a different team altogether during the day-night match in Auckland.

England had the Kiwis at 95-6 - thanks to Anderson, Broad and Collingwood, who took two wickets each (with Mascarenhas taking two catches off Anderson and Broad) - but Jacob Oram smashed 88 off 91 balls to help the home side survive their 50 overs and end on 234-9.

Chasing a revised target of 229 in 47 overs (adjusted from the original 235, using the Duckworth-Lewis method) after a short interruption by rain, Ian Bell (73) and Kevin Pietersen (41) shared 107, but fell in three overs to an economical Daniel Vettori.
Paul Collingwood hit three sixes in 70 (from 50 balls) to secure victory with three overs left. He was joined by Owais Shah, and the pair played sensibly to keep the rate around a run a ball, recording a fifty stand in 51 balls.

It was an important win for England, who were comprehensively beaten after making low scores batting first in the two opening matches of the five-game series. The two remaining matches will still be challenging for England, and the Kiwis are no easy opposition. But at least the one-day series is kept alive, with the Test matches still to come.

Third One-Day International (Auckland)
New Zealand: 234-9 (50 overs) <> England: 229-4 (44 overs)
(Duckworth-Lewis method was applied, reducing England's target to 229)