England produced an all-round performance to level the Test series with New Zealand on Monday, winning the second match by 126 runs early on the fifth and final day at the Basin Reserve.

Left-arm pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom, who captured 10 wickets in the first Test in Hamilton, provided the impetus for the visitors with five wickets in New Zealand’s second innings to help dismiss them for 311.
Wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum had a swashbuckling 85 and Ross Taylor 55 in an effort to help chase down the record 438 needed for victory, but too often New Zealand’s batsmen got starts but then fell just as they needed to push on.

“The plan was to try to make sure they were chasing 400. We did that yesterday and we bowled exceptionally well, as we have throughout the whole match,” England captain Michael Vaughan told reporters.
“I spoke after Hamilton, saying playing a game so soon after a poor performance is the best thing. We’ve answered that in a positive fashion.”

England, with a new pace attack after Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard were dropped, dominated from the outset and James Anderson’s five-wicket haul on the second day ensured New Zealand were played out of the match early.

Resuming on 242 for six, New Zealand’s hopes of pulling off an improbable victory rested squarely on the shoulders of McCullum and captain Daniel Vettori.

The aggressive McCullum had two large swishes at Stuart Broad deliveries in the first over before he hooked him to the backward square boundary to open the day’s scoring.

However, Vettori was unable to reproduce the form that had given him two half-centuries and he nicked a Sidebottom delivery to Alastair Cook at third slip in the second over of the day.

Vettori’s dismissal effectively ended New Zealand’s slim hopes of fashioning victory, and first Test series win against England since 1999.

“If we reflect back on the Test match it was a pretty even one expect for the third session on the first day when we let Tim Ambrose get away through some poor bowling and by feeding his strengths,” said Vettori.
“If you analyse the rest of it, it was a pretty even contest and because of that (first day) we left ourselves too much to do on the last day.”

Fast bowler Kyle Mills became Sidebottom’s fifth victim when he was trapped leg before for 13. It was the left hander’s third five-wicket Test haul and he ended with figures of five for 105.

He also completed the victory when he caught McCullum at long on, off Monty Panesar, for 85 about 35 minutes before lunch.

New Zealand won the first Test in Hamilton by 189 runs. The final match begins in Napier on March 22.