Kiwis edge last-ball thriller
New Zealand claimed a sweet one-wicket victory over England in the fourth NatWest Series clash at The Oval – as relations between the teams took a turn for the worse.
New Zealand claimed a sweet one-wicket victory over England in the fourth NatWest Series clash at The Oval – as relations between the teams took a turn for the worse.
England skipper Paul Collingwood was forced to apologise after the controversial run-out of Grant Elliott during a tense finale to the match, which left the tourists 2-1 up in the series with one to play.
With 26 runs required, Elliott was dismissed and left injured on the ground after being shoulder-charged by England paceman Ryan Sidebottom as he set off for a quick single.
Collingwood was offered the chance to withdraw England's appeal – as the rules allow – but after consulting Sidebottom he was satisfied the collision had been accidental.
However, New Zealand had the last laugh and, with two runs required, last man Mark Gillespie hit the ball to cover and set off for a run. Graeme Swann fielded but his throw missed the team-mates who had gathered to collect, and the Kiwis took advantage of the overthrow.
New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori said: "I was incensed with what happened – the whole group of players were. But Paul has come and spoken to us, apologised and acted in a contrite way. Paul said he had a split second to make the decision and I understand he's admitted it was the wrong one."
Earlier, England had earlier performed well below par with the bat, Ravi Bopara (58) and Owais Shah (63) making the most significant contributions to a modest total of 245. Despite dropping man of the match Scott Styris (69) three times, England almost scraped a victory – until their last-ball howler.
