Colly makes Wright decision

Luke Wright suffers frustration after the last ball of the match

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England battled back from the brink of another dismal defeat against New Zealand after Luke Wright emerged as their unexpected hero by delivering a successful final over to earn a dramatic tie.

Sussex all-rounder Wright was surprisingly chosen to bowl the final over of a thrilling game, his first of the match, with New Zealand needing only seven runs to seal a stunning triumph and wrap up a series win.

But Wright, selected primarily as a hard-hitting batsman, put every one of his six balls right on the spot and helped clinch an unlikely tie off the final ball to keep the five-match series alive with a decider in Christchurch on Saturday.

With all his main bowlers having finished their 10-over allocations and New Zealand on the brink of overhauling England’s 340 for six, captain Paul Collingwood’s decision to throw the ball to Wright was a calculated gamble at best.

It could have backfired badly, but almost resulted in a stunning England victory with James Anderson running out man-of-the-match Jamie How, who hit a brilliant 139 off 116 balls, to leave New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori needing two off the final ball for victory.

Wright delivered a superb yorker which Vettori diverted via inside egde and pad towards point, where Collingwood picked up and threw. The ball missed the stumps by a whisker to allow Kyle Mills to complete the run which sealed a dramatic tie.

“I told him with four overs to go that he would be bowling the last over and told him he could be our hero today and to enjoy it,” explained Collingwood.

“He had a big smile on his face and I told him to bowl yorkers and he said: ’Which stump?’ That’s the kind of character you’ve got there - he loves the big stage.

Phil Mustard gave England an excellent start © Getty Images

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“He has done well in practice games and in the nets. I had to take a gamble in that situation and if I had bowled Wrighty or Dimitri (Mascarenhas) earlier on it might not have got to the last over and these are the gambles you have to take.”

Wright’s ice-cool response to the pressurised situation summed up England’s stunning fightback into a game they seemed destined to lose easily with seven overs remaining, 45 runs needed for victory and two batsmen well set at the crease.

England’s revival had begun the previous over with Scott Styris holing out to Anderson at long-on off Ryan Sidebottom and the pressure increased in the next over with Peter Fulton being run out going for a quick single by Kevin Pietersen.

With four overs remaining, big-hitting Jacob Oram drove Stuart Broad straight to Pietersen at short extra-cover and his exaggerated celebration betrayed England’s belief that they could turn around their fortunes with 26 required off 25 balls.

The real turning point was the 47th over delivered by Anderson, who had conceded 74 runs in his previous eight overs but found the right line and length and conceded only two in his last over to give Wright at least a fighting chance in the final over.

“I think we stepped it up a gear in the last six or seven overs and when the pressure was really on we showed our character today and we dragged something out of the game that we really didn’t look like getting,” added Collingwood.

The tourists dominated the early stages of the match after being put into bat with the opening partnership between Alastair Cook and Phil Mustard, which had averaged only 22 in its previous eight outings, finally firing with a 158-run stand.