NEW ZEALAND v ENGLAND 1990-91

At Wellington, February 13. New Zealand won by 9 runs. Toss: England. Generous to a fault, England reserved for their hosts a collapse that was a collector's item, even by their standards in Australia. After good bowling and brilliant fielding had pegged New Zealand to 196 for eight, England progressed from 73 for no wicket to 147 for three and 160 for four, needing 37 off nine overs. And still they lost the match with ease, through a mixture of arrogance, stupidity and panic. A full house of 11,000 watched in mounting disbelief until Bicknell and Fraser were caught within three balls from Pringle.

England had controlled the game from the moment Gooch won the toss. With Fraser making the ball bounce and seam on a pitch that had sweated under tarpaulins on a rainy night, and Bicknell disposing of Crowe with a devastating leg-cutter, New Zealand were 43 for three in an hour. When Gooch and Atherton launched England's reply in bright sunshine at almost 4 an over, it seemed that Jones's 64 from 91 balls had merely postponed the inevitable. But four wickets fell to catches at mid-off and mid-on, and two to run-outs. Once more England had tackled the impossible and made it look commonplace.

Man of the Match: A. H. Jones.