At Auckland, January 11. England won by seven wickets. Toss: New Zealand. Playing cricket of exceptional confidence and certainty, England stunned a young New Zealand team by winning with all of 16.1 overs to spare. In their first international match for more than ten months the home side could never break free from tight bowling and fielding and were 81 for five in the 31st over before Cairns gave the 15,000 crowd their only satisfaction with his 42 from 59 balls. Bowling far straighter than the New Zealanders did later, Reeve took three wickets in his second one-day international, varied his medium-pace with a slow leg-break and took the Man of the Match award, while Tufnell's analysis was the most economical recorded for England in one-day internationals against New Zealand.

Whereas New Zealand's batsmen hit only three boundaries in the first 15 overs, when all bar two fielders had to be inside the semi-circles, England hit 13 fours and reached 97 for one. Robin Smith took 13 off his first four balls, then 18 out of 19 off one over from Larsen. In both countries' first experience of a match referee, Peter Burge was not required to act, although Tufnell was abused and pelted with fruit by a section of the crowd.

Man of the Match: D. A. Reeve.

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