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BIRMINGHAM - New Zealand batting star Brendon McCullum was left fuming as the weather and the umpires conspired to leave the tourists an agonising one over short of a breakthrough victory over England in the second one-day cricket international here today.
With McCullum protesting vehemently, umpires Steve Davis and Ian Gould led the players from the field in near darkness at 7.25pm (local time) with the tourists needing seven runs off the 20th over to complete an eight-wicket victory at Edgbaston.
With 20 overs needed to constitute a result, and their target 134 under the Duckworth-Lewis method, New Zealand were 127 for two after 19 to leave it a no-result.
McCullum was unbeaten on 60 and pleaded with the umpires to bowl one more over with rain falling, but they conferred and decided the weather was unfit for play.
"For consistency with our rulings earlier in the day we had to come off. There were two teams out there struggling to stand up in the slippery conditions," Davis told Sky Sports.
"The number of balls left shouldn't come into it, if that's the way the conditions are. As it turned out it rained even heavier as we came off."
England's over rate was also questionable, with just 13 overs completed in the first hour of New Zealand's innings and 83 minutes taken to bowl the full 19.
Black Caps captain Daniel Vettori said his team felt robbed of victory.
"Yeah I think so, it's a game we would have won if we'd been able to play the allotted overs or even get through that 20th over," he said.
"There's a sense of disappointment within the dressing room, it's almost like a loss. It's been a tough tour so far so to pick up a win here would have been fantastic."
The start was already delayed more than four hours, meaning a 29-over contest, which was further shortened to 24 overs as England made 162 after being sent in to bat.
New Zealand's target was re-calculated again to 160 off 23 overs.
McCullum controlled the innings, facing 51 balls and hitting five fours as he looked poised to lead New Zealand to victory alongside Scott Styris who was unbeaten on 19.
New Zealand were always on target in their chase despite losing Jamie How for 16 in the fourth over.
Taylor, promoted to No 3, helped McCullum add 54 off 43 balls for the second wicket before Taylor hit a full toss straight to deep mid-wicket on 25.
McCullum cruised to his 13th ODI half-century off 42 balls and added an unbroken 48 with Styris.
Debutant Grant Elliott was the unlikely star of New Zealand's bowling effort, taking three for 23 off three overs after removing England's two topscorers Luke Wright and Paul Collingwood and the free-hitting Owais Shah.
The medium-pacer used good variation, changes of pace and the occasional off-cutter, in an impressive first spell at the top level.
Opener Wright plundered 52 off 38 balls, his second ODI half-century, after taking 20 off a Michael Mason over. Mason had earlier removed dangerman Pietersen, caught at mid-off for a relatively sedate 13.
With England well set at 77 for two in the 13th over and rain starting to fall, Elliott enticed Wright into a false stroke and Styris held the catch at long-off.
After a 45-minute rain delay, New Zealand claimed the upper hand when Ross Taylor ran out Ravi Bopara after an awful mix-up with Collingwood.
The only blemish in an otherwise impressive fielding effort was wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins missing a low stumping chance off Vettori with Collingwood on two.
Collingwood then steadied the innings, continuing his form revival with 37 off 24 balls including a straight six off Vettori.
Elliott stepped up again for his captain when Collingwood lofted a shot to deep cover and Daniel Flynn held a sharp running catch.
Then Shah, after hitting Styris for a huge six over mid-wicket, tried to repeat the shot against Elliott but was trapped leg before wicket for 18.
Vettori said his team felt robbed of victory.
"Yeah I think so, it's a game we would have won if we'd been able to play the allotted overs or even get through that 20th over," he said.
"There's a sense of disappointment within the dressing room, it's almost like a loss. It's been a tough tour so far so to pick up a win here would have been fantastic."
- NZPA
SCOREBOARD
England
I Bell c Vettori b Mills 0
L Wright c Styris b Elliott 52
K Pietersen c Vettori b Mason 13
R Bopara run out 10
P Collingwood c Flynn b Elliott 37
O Shah lbw b Elliott 18
D Mascarenhas c Hopkins b Southee 23
T Ambrose c Taylor b Mills 1
G Swann c Hopkins b Southee 1
S Broad run out 1
J Anderson not out 0
Extras (1b, 2lb, 2w, 1nb) 6
Total (24 overs) 162
Fall: 0 (Bell), 40 (Pietersen), 77 (Wright), 80 (Bopara), 126 (Shah), 137 (Collingwood), 147 (Ambrose), 161 (Mascarenhas), 161 (Swann), 162 (Broad).
Bowling: K Mills 5-1-24-2, T Southee 5-0-35-2 (1w), M Mason 2-0-24-1 (1nb), G Elliott 5-0-23-3 (1w), D Vettori 5-0-27-0, S Styris 2-0-26-0.
New Zealand (adjusted target 160 off 23 overs)
J How c Shah b Broad 16
B McCullum not out 60
R Taylor c Wright b Collingwood 25
S Styris not out 19
Extras (4lb, 3w) 7
Total (for 2 wkts, 19 overs) 127
Fall: 25 (How), 79 (Taylor).
Bowling: J Anderson 3-0-16-0 (2w), S Broad 3-0-28-1, P Collingwood 4-0-23-1, L Wright 3-0-20-0 (1w), G Swann 5-0-26-0, D Mascarenhas 1-0-10-0.
Result: no result. England lead five-match series 1-0.
- NZPA
