Needing 174 to win, New Zealand were 97 for two wickets with captain Emily Drumm on 41 and Maia Lewis, a former New Zealand captain, on 13.

They came together at 52 for two wickets.

Leading the recovery were Drumm and Lewis, in much the same manner they did against India yesterday, although having to do their batting against medium-pacers as opposed to the Indian spinners.

They came together after Nicola Payne was given out leg before wicket to Clare Taylor for 26 runs when the score was 52 for two wickets.

They got their respective eyes in but Drumm especially began to open out. In the 23rd over she hit the first boundary in 10 overs when drop-kicking a ball from Laura Spragg to fine leg and then in the same over pulling a ball to the backward square leg boundary.

Lewis scored her first boundary when precise placement between the cover and extra cover fielders saw the ball speed on its way.

England did miss a key chance on 93 when Lewis, on nine, attempted a sweep which flew to fine leg fielder on the circle, Laura Spragg but she let it through her hands and Lewis survived.

Veteran England bowlers Lucy Pearson and Clare Taylor were again the best of the bowlers. Pearson, who opened with Nicki Shaw, bowled six overs for 12 runs while Taylor had one for 15 off six.

After 15 overs, New Zealand were 45 for one with Nicola Payne on 22 and Emily Drumm on 10.

New Zealand were required to score 174 to win. They started breezily with Rolls swinging two boundaries behind square leg from Nicki Shaw's bowling which tended to be too full.

However, the pain of the boundaries conceded was eased when Rolls clipped a ball straight to gully where Laura Newton took a sharp chance to set New Zealand back with 13 runs on the board.

It was left to Payne and Drumm to restore the innings and they set about that, with Drumm also finding runs with a boundary flung behind square leg. But her opening runs came from a classic Drumm shot for four runs through extra cover.

Payne also go into the act with a backfoot cover drive from Laura Spragg's bowling that fairly sizzled across the outfield.

Shaw had one wicket for 23 runs from her five overs.

England could score only 173 for nine wickets and the main reason why was an outstanding bowling display by 18-year-old Wellingtonian Amanda Green, a medium pacer in her maiden international series.

Coming in after an unsteady start made by the opening bowlers, Green brought a halt to the England scoring rate in a six over spell that conceded only five runs before returning later in the innings for her final four overs for a wicket and 14 runs, a fine effort.

The rot continued after the 30 over mark for England when Sarah Collyer's replacement at the wicket, captain Clare Connor hit a full-blooded return chance to left-arm spinner Rebecca Steele who accepted it with ease. England were 87 for four wickets.

Arran Thompson had looked to get on with things but when on 17 she was deceived by Steele's flight and was stumped by Rolls scored off 38 balls. That left England 98 for five wickets.

Steele continued to make life difficult for England and trapped Laura Newton leg before wicket for seven.

Unfortunately, for Steele, the true impact of her spell was lost when her last over went for 11 runs and she finished with three for 31 from her 10 overs.

No sooner had she finished than Laura Spragg was run out for seven, another suicidal run which was ended by Aimee Mason's throw to the wicket-keeper's end.

Dawn Holden and Nicki Shaw added some spice to the lower-order and the last overs of the innings.

The stand was broken when Sarah Burke had Shaw caught at the wicket by Rolls for 11. It was Burke's maiden wicket in international cricket, and Rolls' first catch of the tournament. Her five previous dismissals had been stumpings.

Burke ended her spell with one for 37 from her 10 overs with the only problem being the 10 wides conceded.

Holden carried on into the 48th over at which point she was trapped leg before wicket by Amanda Green for 26 off 42 balls.

Clare Taylor and Lucy Pearson had some lower-order fun when hitting out in the usual manner of batsmen of their lowly standing to put on 17 runs before the innings ended.

Having chosen to bat first, England struggled to make any headway against the New Zealand attack.

England's run-scoring almost came to a standstill between the 15th and 25th overs by comparison to the start they had.

Between the 10th and 20th overs they scored only 16 runs and in the process lost Claire Taylor when she made the mistake of taking on the throwing arm of Haidee Tiffen, arguably the best fielder in women's cricket and lost out badly to her Lancaster Park-Woolston club-mate who ran her out for eight off 20 balls.

By the 30th over they had reached 84 for three wickets with Thompson on 10, just having been dropped by wicket-keeper Rolls, and Clare Connor was still to score.

Amanda Green was outstanding and did a superb job of containment after the loose start New Zealand had suffered. She bowled six overs and had none for five.

Off-spinner Aimee Mason had already completed her 10 overs and had figures of one for 33.

Collyer, while having maintained her wicket until the 29th over, had been slow in her scoring and when run out, after being called through unnecessarily by Arran Thompson she had scored 39 off 89 balls. Kate Pulford completed the under-arm lob to Rolls. England were 83 for three.

Sarah Collyer was 17 not out and Claire Taylor six.

England's revised opening partnership of Sarah Collyer and Kathryn Leng were given a boost when their first seven runs came courtesy of seven wides conceded by New Zealand's opening bowlers, Sarah Burke and Kate Pulford.

Burke, who was called into the New Zealand side overnight as a replacement for the injured Louise Milliken, made her international debut and conceded five wides in her first over.

Burke's first four overs cost 14 runs with six wides while Pulford bowled three overs for 15 runs with two wides.

The introduction of off spinner Aimee Mason and right-arm medium pacer Amanda Green slowed the scoring rate down while Mason also gained Leng's wicket when she chipped up a ball which was easily taken by Haidee Tiffen at cover.

Green had a fine opening with two of her first three overs being maidens. Mason had one wicket for 15 runs from her four overs.

Leng had been especially effective with 16 runs off 33 balls in her innings, with some strong shots straight down the ground and off her legs through the leg-side.

Charlotte Edwards is not playing and Sarah Collyer and Kathryn Leng will open the innings. Claire Taylor is also set to wicket-keep in place of Mandie Godliman.

New Zealand have Nicola Payne fit to play again and she will return to opening the innings with Rebecca Rolls while Michelle Lynch has been rested. Kate Pulford has replaced Nicola Browne.

Into the side is Sarah Burke who has replaced the injured Louise Milliken who has a side strain. Burke is making her international debut.

Conditions for the match are once again outstanding with cloudless skies, warm conditions and the merest hint of a breeze.

England won the toss and decided to bat first.

The teams are:

New Zealand: Emily Drumm (captain), Rebecca Rolls, Nicola Payne, Haidee Tiffen, Maia Lewis, Aimee Mason, Sara McGlashan, Sarah Burke, Kate Pulford, Amanda Green, Rebecca Steele. (12th man - Frances King).

England: Clare Connor (captain), Kathryn Leng, Sarah Collyer, Claire Taylor, Arran Thompson, Laura Newton, Dawn Holden, Laura Spragg, Nicky Shaw, Clare Taylor, Lucy Pearson. (12th man - Charlotte Edwards).

The umpires are: Robert Anderson and Gary Baxter.