New Zealand continued England’s touring woes with a 58-run win in the limited-overs tri-series International today.With Australia already assured of a spot in the finals, New Zealand and England are vying for the other place. And the New Zealanders dominated, posting 318 for seven and then restricting England to 260 for eight.The New Zealand batsmen set up the win, with Lou Vincent (76) and Ross Taylor (71) sharing a 137-run stand for the third wicket and Jacob Oram slamming 54 not out from 33 balls near the end.Oram smashed 22 off the penultimate over and 35 off his last ten balls and helped lift New Zealand to their highest ever total against England in an ODI.Ed Joyce anchored the top of the England order, hitting 66 from 82 balls and sharing a 72-run second-wicket stand with Ian Bell (31). He continued with Strauss (12) and Paul Collingwood (17) before being run out with the total at 136.Andrew Flintoff failed again with the bat, clean bowled by Daniel Vettori when he tried to hit across the line. But Paul Nixon’s chancy 49 ensured New Zealand would not gain a bonus point when England surpassed 255 runs in the last over.Nixon was caught in the deep when he swiped Shane Bond to Jacob Oram on the last ball. Vettori returned 2-40 in 10 overs and Craig McMillan had 2-38. Monty Panesar was the pick of the England bowlers, taking 2-35 from 10 overs, bemusing New Zealand’s middle order batsmen with spin, flight and changes of pace.But Oram, who now has two fast half-centuries and a century from 72 balls in three innings in this series, saw Panesar out of the attack then smased three fours and four sixes.Vincent reached his second half-century in successive innings, in his second turn since joining New Zealand as a replacement for the retired Nathan Astle. He took his 50 from 73 balls then went on to 76 from 111 deliveries with seven boundaries.Of the nine New Zealand batsmen who went to the wicket, eight reached double figures but, after the three half centuries, the next best contribution was Brendon McCullum’s 19. Extras provided 36 runs, among them 22 wides. Liam Plunkett took two early wickets and finished with 3-54.England must win both of its last two matches — one against Australia on Friday, and the other against New Zealand to have any chance of reaching the finals.Brief scores: New Zealand 318/7 (Lou Vincent 76, R Taylor 71, Jacob Oram 54 no; L Plunkett 3/54, Monty Panesar 2/35) defeated England 260/8 (Ed Joyce 66, P Nixon 49 ; D Vettori 2/40, C McMillan 2/38).
