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MANCHESTER - A pained coach John Bracewell and his New Zealand cricket side were still licking their physical and mental wounds today after the six-wicket loss to England in the second test.
The team were given the day off on a grim, cold Tuesday in Manchester as they digested their Old Trafford defeat and endured the label of "chokers" from former England captain Nasser Hussain.
"Dan (Vettori) and I and guys who have gone through that we're pretty gut-wrenched, as you would imagine, sort of heart ripped out of your chest kind of stuff," Bracewell said.
But he insisted his young side would learn a lesson for the third test in Nottingham starting on Thursday next week as they look to square the series.
Bracewell said not only the second innings collapse for 114 cost them, also the needless run outs of Daniel Vettori and Jacob Oram in the first innings; the batting of Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan and some "unacceptable" ground fielding as England chased 294 for victory.
"We lost a half-session and lost the match," he said.
"Probably (a target of) 290 could have been enough but we should have set 400, we should have buried them.
"We look back and say we should have got 400 in the first innings as well when the pitch was at its best.
"We made two really bad mistakes with run-outs, they were poor mistakes when we were on top of them, two wickets in an over which was bad cricket.
"The loss of Daniel Flynn cost us the chance of getting that 400 and then you've got to give credit to Strauss and Vaughan, I thought they batted magnificently well and taught us a good lesson in how to bat in difficult conditions, under pressure."
Opener Jamie How was nursing a broken finger, but still expecting to play the third test, while Flynn faced a fitness test to play Friday's three-day tour match against Northamptonshire after his head knock from a James Anderson bouncer.
Some English media reports claimed the decision not to bat Flynn in the second innings cost New Zealand the match as they collapsed for 114, but Bracewell insisted he was in no condition to play.
"I don't think he'll lack in confidence, he's a tough character and I predict a long future for his style of cricketer within our game," Bracewell said.
"There was many a time he rang up from the hotel saying 'I'm getting in the taxi, I'm coming down to bat'.
"But it's a game of cricket and we were never going to put his health at risk. Every time he moved around to any great degree it followed a pattern the doctor warned us about, that he would probably feel nauseous for quite some time.
"The first thing we've got to do is throw him on a bike for 30-odd minutes to see if he doesn't throw up after that."
Flynn was scheduled to visit a Manchester dentist today to replace the two teeth he lost.
Bracewell said if he were ruled out of the Northamptonshire match, captain Daniel Vettori would play as a batsman only.
Bracewell said Vettori, How, Oram, Chris Martin and Iain O'Brien were pencilled in to rest at Northampton.
Peter Fulton, confirmed today in the one-day squad after Jesse Ryder was ruled out, would open with Aaron Redmond while paceman Tim Southee had a chance to push for a third test spot.
Bracewell said How suffered a crack to his left index finger during fielding drills early in the test.
"It's broken and he's just got to deal with it. It won't really heal until the end of the tour and we're just protecting it as much as we can."
- NZPA
