Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach led a much-improved England attack
that restricted New Zealand to 139 for eight in the Twenty20 series
decider in Wellington on Friday.
With the three-match series at
1-1 after the Black Caps notched a crushing 55-run win in Hamilton on
Tuesday, captain Broad and Dernbach bagged three wickets apiece to give
their battling line-up a modest target of 140.
Opener Martin
Guptill (59) top-scored for New Zealand but the Black Caps could not
repeat the batting blitz that swept them to victory in their previous
match, managing just three sixes in the innings.
Despite admitting
he was wrong to make the Black Caps bat first in Hamilton, Broad again
elected to bowl after winning the toss, aware the chasing side has won
all four previous T20 internationals at Westpac Stadium.
The
gamble paid early dividends when he enticed Hamish Rutherford (11) into a
pull shot with a short-pitched delivery in the fourth over which sailed
to Dernbach in the field for an easy catch.
New Zealand captain
Brendon McCullum and Guptill steadied the innings. But they struggled
for runs before McCullum tried to break the shackles and was caught on
26 attempting to cart James Tredwell over the boundary.
Incoming
batsman Ross Taylor managed the first six of the innings in the next
over off the bowling of Joe Root before being caught out.
It
capped a disappointing T20 series for Taylor, who has averaged less than
eight in three innings since he returned to the international fold
after being dropped as captain late last year.
With Grant Elliott
(15) and Colin Munro (1) failing to produce, the pressure was on Guptill
to produce a big innings for the Black Caps.
He managed 59 off 55
balls and looked threatening in the latter stages of the innings before
Broad caught and bowled him for his third wicket.
Dernbach mopped
up in the last over, dismissing Nathan McCullum for a golden duck and
dismissing James Franklin for 15 with the final ball of the innings.
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