New Zealand restrict England to 162

Birmingham: The second one-day international between England and New Zealand ended in a controversial no-result with the game just an over away from being declared a 'match.' The Black Caps were on 127 for two off 19 overs and needed just seven more off the 20th, assuming they didn't lose a wicket, for victory under the Duckworth-Lewis system.

1.Short Highlights

England made one change from the side that won the first ODI by 114 runs, with Dmitri Mscarenhas coming in for Ryan Sidebottom.

Although, at that stage, rain was falling heavily it had been for some time. Nevertheless, the umpires then took the players off the field with the game just shy of the 20 overs in the second innings needed for a result. The hard-hitting Brendon McCullum was 60 not out, off 51 balls with five fours, while experienced all-rounder Scott Styris was unbeaten on 19.

Had they won this would have been New Zealand's first international win of a tour which saw them lose the Test series 2-0 and then suffer a nine-wicket defeat in Friday's lone Twenty20.

As it was, England remained 1-0 up in this five-match campaign ahead of the third one-dayer at Bristol. England took 83 minutes to bowl their 19 overs but International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Javagal Srinath said they would not be fined or punished in any way for a slow over-rate.

"England were not in breach of the over-rate," former India fast bowler Srinath told reporters. "They had enough allowances. There were a few referrals to the third umpire and injuries."

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori suggested the officials could have moved the game along more quickly but Srinath defended the actions of Australia's Steve Davis and his on-field English colleague Ian Gould.

"I understand that coming from Daniel Vettori but I think the umpires did a commendable job."

Earlier, Davis told Sky Sports: "For consistency with our rulings earlier in the day, we had to come off. The two teams were struggling to stand up. "The number of balls left shouldn't come into it, if that's the way the conditions are."

Despite the prevailing bad weather, there was still a gap of 30 minutes between the innings when it might have been possible for the teams to turn round in 10.

"That's the standard one-day international playing condition. We couldn't go below that," said Davis.