England this morning crashed to an embarrassing defeat to New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval which sent them to the bottom of the Commonwealth Bank Series standings.

Andrew Flintoff's men went down by 90 runs despite only chasing 211 for victory in their fourth match of the triangular tournament.

The margin of victory for the Black Caps meant their first win of the competition was accompanied by a bonus point, thus overhauling England in the table.

Once again the English bowling unit performed admirably but the batting was woeful on a sluggish surface.

The top order were blitzed by left-armer James Franklin, who claimed three wickets in as many overs.

Spinner Daniel Vettori then claimed four more while returning pair Jacob Oram and Shane Bond both took their 100th wickets in one-day internationals as the tail were blown away.

England were fortunate not to lose Mal Loye when umpire Daryl Harper turned down confident appeals for caught behind off Franklin.

Although Loye's bat jammed into the ground in attempting to force the ball away, television technology highlighted a clear nick from an attempted drive.

Loye had only doubled his score to eight, however, when another edge found the hands of Stephen Fleming at first slip.

Another Fleming grab, low down, accounted for Ian Bell and left England 31 for three in the 11th over.

Out-of-form opener Andrew Strauss failed once again, twice finding the boundary off Franklin in the ninth over before succumbing leg before.

A rearguard action from Paul Collingwood and Ed Joyce - the latter pulling a handful of fours in the process - stabilised proceedings but Vettori's spell rocked England.

Collingwood was out lbw, aiming a sweep at a quicker ball, while Flintoff followed when he charged down the pitch and edged behind for wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum to complete a bobbling catch.

English hopes were left firmly in the hands of Irishman Joyce, who cruised past his previous best score of 13.

But he fell for 47, one of five dismissals in four sorry overs which ended the innings.

Earlier, after Fleming won the toss, opposite number Flintoff claimed a four-wicket haul to restrict New Zealand to 210.

Flintoff regularly clocked speeds in excess of 90 miles per hour in a hostile first spell of 6-2-9-1 and cleaned up the tail at the death to finish with four for 21.

It took a career-best 86 from Jacob Oram, returning after a hamstring injury, to rescue New Zealand from a perilous position in mid-innings.

It was a stand of 120, in tandem with Brendon McCullum, which reignited the Black Caps' quest for a competitive score after they struggled to 67 for five in the 24th over.

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