New Zealand Level Series With Big Win

Hamilton: Brendon McCullum blitzed 74 to help New Zealand thump England by 55 runs in the second T20 in Hamilton on Tuesday.

James Franklin cleans up with 4 for 15. England batted like a firecracker that had been dipped in a pint of warm lager, their timing worse than a knock-off Rolex.

Mitchell McClenaghan, who took two wickets in successive balls in the second over, Trent Boult and Ian Butler then put the power-packed England batting line-up under constant pressure with aggressive pace bowling.

Butler finished with two for nine from four overs, while McClenaghan had two for 24. James Franklin mopped up the tail to finish with 4-15 off 3.3 overs.

Jos Buttler produced a cameo of 54 but received little help as England were dismissed for 137 in 19.3 overs.

Earlier, a captain's knock from skipper Brendon McCullum helped New Zealand set England an imposing target of 193 after being sent into bat.

McCullum, whose team was humbled in the opening fixture in Auckland last Saturday, made a commanding 74, including five sixes and six fours, in his 38-ball innings as the Black Caps seek to level the three-match series.

Openers Martin Guptill (47) and Hamish Rutherford (40) provided a solid platform for McCullum to blast away late in the innings in a display that included three sixes off a Stuart Broad over.

Between them the three scored 10 sixes as New Zealand reached its fourth highest T20 total, taking advantage of Seddon Park's short boundaries to attack from the outset.

Rutherford, who made just 18 in the opening fixture, plundered the bowling to smash 40 in 27 balls, including three sixes, before edging a Luke Wright ball through to the wicketkeeper to give England a breakthrough in the eighth over.

Guptill maintained the pressure after McCullum joined him at the crease but fell on 47 with a failed attempt to reach his half century by slogging spinner James Tredwell over the boundary for six.

Jade Dernbach was the pick of the England bowlers, taking three wickets for 38 runs.

The third and final match is at Wellington Regional Stadium on Friday.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 192 for 6 (B. McCullum 74, Guptill 47, Rutherford 40, Dernbach 3-38)
England 137 (Buttler 54, Franklin 4-15)
Result New Zealand won by 55 runs