LUKE WRIGHT blasted 42 off 15 balls and James Anderson took five wickets as England enjoyed the perfect start to their New Zealand tour with a comfortable win against Canterbury.
In their opening match Ian Bell top-scored with 79 off 89 deliveries, including nine fours, while opener Alastair Cook made 51 from 66 balls in a 73-run opening stand with Phil Mustard (22). Kevin Pietersen (48) joined Bell in a 95-run partnership to lay the foundation for the competitive total before he was caught at midwicket after hitting six fours and a six as England posted 295 for six in the 50-over match in Christchurch.
Wright's performance will push his case for selection in the team for the opening Twenty20 international against New Zealand on Tuesday. The Sussex allrounder's innings included three fours and three sixes as he added an unbeaten 59 with Ravi Bopara (17 off nine deliveries).
"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to get in," said Wright. "But it all happened quite quickly and it was nice to get in for five overs."
Cook dominated the opening stand with Mustard, but is unlikely to feature in the Twenty20 fixtures. Nevertheless, a limited-overs 50 will give the Essex opener confidence. Mustard struggled to find his rhythm before being bowled, trying to guide a delivery through midwicket.
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Both teams used 13 players in the warm-up match, and after Anderson's impressive five for 47 had bowled Canterbury out for 244, play continued to allow the England bowlers to complete the full 50 overs, the home side finishing on 261 for 11.
"We wanted to get 50 overs in our legs because we've not done it for a while, so we wanted to stay out as long as we can," Wright explained.
Anderson was by far the pick of the bowlers, removing both openers to catches behind for Mustard, before returning to clean up the tail in his second spell. Dimitri Mascarenhas claimed the scalp of New Zealand international Peter Fulton - the only player in the Canterbury squad England are likely to see in international fixtures - for 31 to expose the lower order.
New Zealand's limited-overs squad was missing skipper Daniel Vettori for a light training session yesterday after he had tests on his damaged right ankle.
The Black Caps have drafted in Jeetan Patel as cover for the spinner, who damaged his ankle in a freak accident with his province, Northern Knights.
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New Zealand are expecting to discover today whether Vettori will be able to take his place in the squad for this week's two Twenty20 fixtures. An X-ray showed no fracture.
England v New Zealand, Twenty20, Sky Sports 1, Tuesday, 6am