England, Kiwis T20 Washes Out by Rain

London: Kevin Pietersen's England return after injury ends early as the Twenty20 game with New Zealand is abandoned because of rain.

England recalled Kevin Pietersen on his 33rd birthday, his first international game since a knee injury forced him out of the tour to New Zealand in March.

Spinner James Tredwell, captaining the side in place of the injured Eoin Morgan, lost the toss at The Oval.

Michael Lumb flicked the first ball for two but edged the next one to slip before steady drizzle intervened.

A capacity crowd had gathered in anticipation of similar scenes to Tuesday evening at The Oval when 33 fours and 15 sixes were struck in the sunshine as New Zealand won by five runs.

Teams

England: Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Luke Wright, Kevin Pietersen, Ravi Bopara, Jos Buttler (wk), Ben Stokes, James Tredwell (Capt.), Jade Dernbach, Boyd Rankin, Danny Briggs

New Zealand: Hamish Rutherford, James Franklin, Brendon McCullum (Capt.), Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Ian Buttler, Nathan Mcullum, Corey Anderson, Kyle Mills, Ronnie Hira

Scores	Upcoming	Results
West Indies vs Bangladesh - 3rd T20I Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan - 2nd ODI South Africa vs Pakistan - 2nd ODI 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 21, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - South Africa v Pakistan - December 22, 12:00 GMT 3rd Test - Australia v India at Brisbane Match drawn 2nd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 27 runs

Related links

New Zealand Tour of England 2013 News

England, Kiwis T20 Washes Out by Rain [+]

Kevin Pietersen's England return after injury ends early as the Twenty20 game with New Zealand is abandoned because of rain.

Morgan Out of 2nd T20, Tredwell to Lead [+]

James Tredwell will lead the side in place of Eoin Morgan in today's second and final T20I against New Zealand at the Oval

New Zealand Beat New-look England [+]

Brendon McCullum led from the front with a typically quickfire innings as the Black Caps beat England by five runs to win the first Twenty20 international.

Guptill, Taylor Shine in T20 Warm-up [+]

New Zealand eased to a 42-run victory over Kent at Canterbury on Saturday as they warmed-up for their two Twenty20 internationals against England.

Rutherford, Latham Come in to Twenty20 Squad [+]

Test opener Hamish Rutherford and another member of the Test squad Tom Latham will join the Blackcaps for the Twenty20 games along with spinner Roneel Hira.

Pietersen to Return for New Zealand T20 [+]

England batsman Kevin Pietersen is poised for a return to international cricket in the second Twenty20 match against New Zealand after a long lay-off with injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday.

Buttler Blitz Sets up Consolation Win [+]

England beat New Zealand by 34 runs in the final one-day international at Trent Bridge as the Kiwis take the series 2-1.

New Zealand Aim for ODI Whitewash [+]

New Zealand by contrast are in excellent shape with batsmen and bowlers in form and they looks overseas whitewash in final ODI at Trent Bridge.

Record-breaker Guptill Stun England [+]

Guptill's majestic unbeaten 189 along with good contributions from Williamson, Taylor and McCullum helped New Zealand beat England by 86 runs.

Guptill Ton Secure New Zealand Win [+]

Martin Guptill's unbeaten century leads New Zealand to a five-wicket win over England in the opening ODI at Lord's.