The China Mail - Brilliant Brook ton in vain as NZ beat England by four wickets

Brook struck 11 sixes on his way to 135 in England's modest score of 223, before New Zealand reached 224-6 in response with more than 13 overs remaining.

Daryl Mitchell hit the winning runs to be unbeaten on 78 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and put the Black Caps ahead 1-0 in the three-match series.

Victory was set up by a lethal early spell from New Zealand seamer Zakary Foulkes (4-41), who scythed through the top order, reducing England to 10-4 and then 56-6.

Brook led the recovery with a scintillating career-best ODI score.

He raised his ton with three successive sixes off Jacob Duffy before he was last man out in a rearguard 101-ball knock.

The 26-year-old surpassed his previous best score of 110 not out, against Australia in Chester-le-Street last year.

"I felt like I was in good touch. Obviously we didn't get off to a great start and I tried to take it upon myself to have a counterpunch," Brook said.

"I tried to get us to a decent total that we could defend. I thought we started really nicely with the ball but we just struggled to take wickets throughout the middle."

All-rounder Jamie Overton was the only other England batsman to reach double figures, posting a career-best 46 in a seventh-wicket stand of 87 with Brook.

Earlier, veteran seamer Matt Henry (2-53) clean-bowled Jamie Smith from the first ball of the innings after England were sent in.

Foulkes followed up with the prized wickets of Ben Duckett and Joe Root in his first over as England lost six wickets in seam-friendly conditions inside the first hour.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his new-ball pair, particularly Foulkes, who was playing only his second ODI.

"They were outstanding. We know Matt Henry can do that but I think Zak was outstanding the way he swung it," Santner said.

"We knew we had to keep taking wickets. Brooky's a little bit earlier would have been nice, he was outstanding today."

New Zealand's innings also began poorly, with seamer Brydon Carse (3-45) removing Will Young and Kane Williamson in his first over to leave them teetering at 24-3.

It was a first golden duck in 166 ODIs for New Zealand batting great Williamson, who was playing his first international match in nearly eight months.

Mitchell combined with Tom Latham (24) and Michael Bracewell (51) in solid middle-order stands.

Mitchell's 91-ball knock should have ended on 33 when he lobbed a simple chance but was dropped.

The remaining matches are in Hamilton on Wednesday and Wellington on Saturday.

England won the three-match T20 series 1-0 after two games were washed out by wet New Zealand weather.

X.Gu--ThChM