Cricket: A TEAM CRUSH KIWIS

ENGLAND A captain Mark Alleyne insists his team's standards will remain high for the remainder of their tour of New Zealand - even though they completed victory over New Zealand A in their one-day series at Eden Park.

The third one-day international takes place in Auckland today, and Alleyne said: "Although the series is won the next match is crucial for our original objective, so we will be fired up and ready.

"We were conscious of what happened at Napier and when I was batting I wanted to remain positive but I didn't want to give them a sniff of my wicket.

"It was important for Ronnie Irani to keep the impetus going when he came in. I think Rob Turner was unfortunate to be out but I always like to do it with an over to spare in case of any dramas and it went exactly to plan.

"I think we were well in the driving seat when the last two wickets fell and I did not expect to lose from there."

The final margin of victory - three wickets - does not sound too large, but winning with 10 balls to spare represents a very professional job.

The pitch appeared inviting for the seamers and after winning the toss Alleyne put the hosts in.

They were skittled for 216 in 49.4 overs, with Ronnie Irani taking three wickets and Paul Franks and Chris Schofield bagging two apiece.

Alleyne cut a boundary to seal the victory and said: "I quite enjoyed hitting the winning runs. I had probably been trying to hit it a bit too hard earlier, so it was nice to finish it with a delicate little shot."

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