KEY POINTS:
Jacob Oram returned from injury to throw his team a tri-series final lifeline last night, as New Zealand pushed aside a horrific run of results to beat England by 90 runs at the Adelaide Oval.
Fresh from a period of rehabilitation, Oram first rescued New Zealand with the bat and then turned in a solid spell with the ball, along the way claiming his 100th ODI dismissal - one of two Black Caps to achieve the feat on the night.
Faced with defending 210 to post their first win of the competition, the New Zealanders not only made the early breakthroughs, but this time managed to sustain their momentum throughout the innings.
They dismissed England for 120 with 12.1 overs remaining.
While Oram was New Zealand's saviour when they batted, the bowling attack worked seamlessly as a unit and won the day for their side, and none more so than under-fire left-arm paceman James Franklin.
Derided for dropping a potentially match-winning catch on Sunday against Australia, Franklin bounced back with a compelling opening spell. He sent back Mal Loye, Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell to reduce England to 31 for three.
New Zealand never looked back from that moment. Shane Bond picked up his 100th wicket and Daniel Vettori claimed his first four-wicket bag in two years as England lost their last seven wickets for just 44 runs.
Not only did New Zealand bowl well but they erased the memory of last weekend's awful fielding with a near-faultless catching effort, highlighted by an acrobatic take by Mark Gillespie to send back England's only batting threat, Ed Joyce, who made 47.
The bonus-point win, the first for New Zealand since the third ODI against Sri Lanka at Christchurch, means they now head England by a point at the halfway stage of the competition, with four games remaining.
Having included Bond and Oram at the expense of Michael Mason and Hamish Marshall, the New Zealanders made their usual chaotic start to the innings, losing the out-of-form Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle inside the first 12 overs.
England then enjoyed their best period in the field, removing Peter Fulton, Craig McMillan and Ross Taylor in the space of five overs, to raise fears of another tame New Zealand batting surrender.
The difference on this occasion was Oram. He responded to his return from injury by blasting 86 off 89 balls - his highest ODI score since his 81 against Australia in 2003, and his fourth half-century in 88 appearances.
The towering New Zealand all-rounder joined the fray in the 24th over and steadily repaired the innings, bringing up his 50 off 66 balls and sharing in a 120-run sixth-wicket partnership with Brendon McCullum.
Together the pair breathed life back into the New Zealand innings and ensured that England would at least be faced with a competitive total on a pitch that was sluggish in pace and horribly inconsistent in bounce.
New Zealand fly to Perth this morning for a double-header at the WACA - against Australia on Sunday and England on Tuesday.
Fleming hailed Oram's comeback. "He's been out of the team for a while, and with bat and ball he was outstanding. It was touch and go at halfway, but we were always confident. We felt it was a tough wicket for England to bat on and that proved to be the case."
* New Zealand pace bowler Andre Adams will return to Auckland today after being dropped from the one-day squad for the remainder of the tri-series. Adams, not involved in his team's first four games, was jettisoned to make room for Kyle Mills, who met up with the squad at the weekend.
