England’s new ball pair of James Anderson and Steven Finn crashed through New Zealand’s top order as the hosts were bowled out for 185 on Saturday in the third and deciding one-day international.
Finn struck twice and Anderson once in their opening spells to leave New Zealand 11-3 after 7.2 overs and only a fighting 80 by captain Brendon McCullum saved the home team from total collapse.
Finn removed openers B.J. Watling for 1 and Hamish Rutherford for 2 while Anderson dismissed Kane Williamson for 7 to give England an outstanding start after captain Alastair Cook won the toss and chose to bowl. A hard, dry pitch and the short boundaries at Eden Park promised a high-scoring match but the damage wreaked by Finn and Anderson to the New Zealand top order was too great for it to fully recover.
Finn took 2-6 and Anderson 1-12 from their five-over opening spells which were both accurate and penetrative. After also claiming the wicket of Nathan McCullum, Finn had 3-12 in his ninth over before Brendon McCullum hit him for two fours and a six.
Finn ended with 3-27, while Anderson took 1-35. Spinner Graeme Swann took 2-49, including Brendon McCullum’s wicket to end the New Zealand innings after only 43.5 overs. Swann’s first wicket was his 100th in one-day internationals.
McCullum had smashed his 80 runs from 67 balls at a strike rate of 119, clubbing sixes over mid-wicket or straight down the ground. The only other contributions of note in the New Zealand innings came from Ross Taylor, who made 28, and Grant Elliott, who made 24, and who shared a 53-runs stand which lifted New Zealand from 11-3 to 64-4.
New Zealand was only 18-3 after 10 overs and was 67-5 at the midpoint of its innings. McCullum helped it score at almost 10 runs per over through the last 10 overs of its innings.
McCullum’s innings, which included six fours and five sixes, followed his scores of 69 in the first match of the series which New Zealand won by three wickets and 74 in the second, won by England by eight wickets.
