England Romp To Massive Victory
Pietersen Savours His Ton.
Kevin Pietersen put forward a compelling case for the continued presence of 50-over cricket on the international calendar with a stunning century to secure an emphatic 114-run victory for England over New Zealand in the NatWest Series opener.
Just 24 hours after he predicted the astonishing rise of Twenty20 cricket would ultimately sound the death knell for the longer one-day format, Pietersen delivered the type of spectacular innings which may yet breathe new life into this form of the game.
His stunning, unbeaten 110 off only 112 balls included two shots which almost defied belief. His performance transformed England's innings which was stuttering at the halfway stage to reach a commanding 307 for five and in reply New Zealand were dismissed for a lowly 193 in another one-sided encounter at Chester-le-Street.
It was the type of performance which could only have been delivered in the longer format, where batsmen have the time to develop their innings, and may one day be used as evidence in defence of 50-over cricket.
Pietersen's brilliant knock, which included eight fours and three sixes, overshadowed a useful return to form from captain Paul Collingwood after his struggles during the Test series and another encouraging bowling display from Stuart Broad to complete another convincing victory over the struggling tourists.
Promoted to number three for only the second time in 70 one-day internationals for England after Alastair Cook was ruled out with a shoulder problem, Pietersen thrived on the situation and held the innings together after the loss of two quick wickets around the halfway point.
New Zealand's decision to bowl first was justified when Luke Wright fell early after driving straight to mid-off and Ian Bell's encouraging innings of 46 was ended when he attempted to take a quick single and was run out from short mid-wicket.
He was followed three overs later by Ravi Bopara providing a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to Scott Styris to leave England perhaps struggling to post a competitive total on 99 for three after 24 overs.
Joined by Collingwood, who was without a half-century in all forms of cricket this season, it was his struggling captain who initially spurred Pietersen on to his hitting spree by chipping his first boundary down the ground.
That inspired the first and most conventional of Pietersen's three sixes, coming down the wicket to hit New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori back over his head and bring up the 50 partnership off only 58 balls.
The first indication that this could be a special Pietersen innings came just as England were looking to accelerate with 11 overs remaining as the Hampshire batsman set his sights on his sixth one-day international century.
Spotting an opportunity with a full-length ball from Styris, Pietersen reversed his grip and hit a reverse sweep so powerfully it flew over the boundary rope for six.
Four overs later he attempted the same party trick off the same bowler only this time his reverse sweep flew over what would have been mid-off for another six, a shot which even made Styris smile with disbelief.
Pietersen's innovations helped add 136 in only 122 balls with Collingwood, whose own hopes of ending his run famine on his home ground ended when he chopped a quicker ball from Vettori onto his stumps for a determined 64.
With only 6.1 overs remaining Owais Shah had little time to make an impression but still succeeded, racing to a brilliant 49 off 25 balls including four fours and three sixes.
Young seamer Tim Southee suffered the most from Shah's hitting, conceding 30 off his final two overs to finish with unflattering figures of one for 68 from his 10 overs as England - and Pietersen in particular - plundered 109 runs in the final 10 overs.
Mindful of their recent series in New Zealand, when England were fortunate to tie a match in Napier despite posting an impressive total of 340 for six, there were a few jitters in the home dressing room when Brendon McCullum started brightly.
Signalling his intentions with a six over long-on in the second over from left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom, McCullum raced to 36 off 27 balls with five more boundaries to bring up a half-century opening partnership in only eight overs.
But the introduction of Broad in the ninth over effectively halted New Zealand's challenge when his first delivery bounced more than McCullum expected and he hit it straight to cover instead of over the top.
It halted the tourists in their tracks, who added only six runs in the next five overs and with no other member of their top order able to match McCullum's clean hitting, the result was almost inevitable from an early stage.
Broad followed that key scalp by also removing fellow opener Jamie How, caught at cover off a leading edge, to claim two for eight in his opening six overs while off-spinner Graeme Swann ended the determined innings of middle-order pair Styris and Daniel Flynn.
Collingwood, boosted by his earlier innings, ended New Zealand's resistance in swift fashion by claiming four for 15 in just 2.5 overs to seal the comfortable triumph with 7.1 overs remaining.