England heading for defeat

England are on course for a series defeat after some aggressive batting and several dropped catches put New Zealand in sight of victory in the final one-day international.

Needing victory to level the five-match series despite being comprehensively outplayed in the first two games, England reached what they thought was a competitive 242 for seven in Christchurch thanks to a quickfire 47 off 40 balls from Luke Wright.

But England's total was soon put into perspective by another aggressive 103-run opening partnership between Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, which helped the Kiwis to 182 for three after 30 overs of their reply.

The tourists did not help themselves during the early stages with a succession of short and wide deliveries which McCullum in particular seized on in ruthless manner while catches were also put down.

Ryder was first to receive a reprieve before he had scored when he was dropped by Ian Bell off Ryan Sidebottom and McCullum was missed twice on 30 and 31, which enabled him to bring up his half-century off only 27 balls.

He was finally out for a superb 77 off 43 balls when he mistimed a pull and was bowled by England captain Paul Collingwood, but by then the mood was set and New Zealand could afford to coast towards victory.

The tourists had earlier been restricted by a slow pitch and New Zealand's accurate bowling and were only propelled to a respectable score by a late onslaught.

Sussex all-rounder Wright hit two fours and four sixes in his innings and helped add 65 off the final five overs with Dimitri Mascarenhas, who hit 22 off the final over of the innings from Ryder.

Seamer Kyle Mills set the tone with an opening spell of 8-23-16-2 before finishing with four for 36 while New Zealand's decision to introduce Jeetan Patel ahead of seamer Iain O'Brien seemed a masterstroke as England struggled to accelerate during the middle period.

Captain Daniel Vettori claimed two for 28 from his 10 overs, including the key wickets of Alastair Cook and Collingwood, who was stumped after being beaten by a turning delivery as he advanced down the wicket.