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England beat New Zealand to prevent whitewash

England beat New Zealand to prevent whitewash
© PA Photos
Ian Bell scores 82 as England beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the final one-day international ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

England have beaten New Zealand by 34 runs to prevent a whitewash, although the Kiwis have won the series 2-1 following wins at Lord's and the Aegas Bowl.

England lost captain Alastair Cook to a duck in the opening minutes of the match, but Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell steadied the ship as England passed the 50 mark before Mitchell McClenaghan dismissed Trott for 37 with his second wicket of the day

With England approaching 150, Joe Root was run out before Ian Bell was caught by Kiwis skipper Brendon McCullum at mid-off.

England lost the further wickets of Ravi Bopara and Eoin Morgan, but declared on 287-6 thanks in small part to an unbeaten 47 off just 16 balls from Somerset batsman Joseph Buttler.

New Zealand started well, with Morgan dropping a difficult catch at slip from Luke Ronchi's drive from Stuart Broad's ball. The fast bowler only had to wait until the sixth over to dismiss Ronchi though, as the batsman shovelled a short ball into the hands of Jonathan Trott and mid-on.

Martin Guptill was finally dismissed by James Tredwell after scoring 357 unbeaten runs in one-day internationals against England to leave the visitors at 70-1 after 10 overs.

England took the quick wickets of Kane Williamson and Colin Munro to seize the initiative, and Tredwell dismissed McCullum to put the hosts firmly in the driving seat.

New Zealand batted resolutely, which included a hard-fought 50 from Ross Taylor, but it became a matter of when, not if, England were to seal to the win.

In the 46th over, McClenaghan smashed a Steve Finn delivery straight down the throat of Joe Root to hand England a victory ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.

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Kristian Johnson
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New Zealand's Martin Guptill hits a shot during a first one-day international cricket match against England on May 31, 2013
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