Captain Michael Vaughan hailed the return to form of Andrew Flintoff after the all-rounder guided England to their first victory of their tour Down Under.

Flintoff hit 72 not out off 75 deliveries as he edged the side to a three-wicket win with a ball to spare in their Commonwealth Bank Series match against New Zealand in Hobart.

The hosts had posted 205 for nine after James Anderson's four for 42 had slowed their progress but England made hard work of the chase and from a seemingly comfortable position of needing six from 12 balls they stumbled over the line.

It was their first victory - after a humiliating 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes Test series - since their arrival in the southern hemisphere in November.

"We have really seen a guy that can win us games and that is great for our team," said Vaughan.

"It was crucial we played well. Chasing on that wicket was always going to be tough.

"Anderson set the tone with his opening spell but it was always going to be difficult.

"We have to understand the position we are in in one-day cricket - we haven't had a great year.

"But we have chased a total down and we can move on to Brisbane (on Friday against Australia) and hopefully win that one as well."

Despite the apparent struggle to reach their target Flintoff said he was never worried that the asking rate was beyond them.

"The run rate never got up too much. It got up to just under seven (an over), which is achievable, and it was not getting out of control. It was something I thought we could achieve," he said.