One-day series, Adelaide: New Zealand 210 (50 overs) beat England 120 (37.5 overs) by 90 runs
England produced a limp batting display to slump to a 90-run defeat to New Zealand in the CB Series in Adelaide.
England's batsmen had no answers to the guile of Vettori
They looked on course for a second win over the Kiwis when Andrew Flintoff (4-21) helped dismiss them for 210, with only Jacob Oram (86) attacking.
But James Franklin (3-17) removed the top three before spinner Daniel Vettori (4-24) ran through the middle order.
Only Ed Joyce (47) came close to upping the run rate but after Vettori got him England folded for 120 in 37.5 overs.
They had missed a golden opportunity to go a long way towards setting up a likely final against Australia.
By the end they had managed to rejuvenate a New Zealand team which went into this game low on confidence amid rumours of dressing room unrest.
Initially, England looked very good, and their disciplined bowling display reaped rich rewards when the Kiwis collapsed to 67-5.
James Anderson bowled beautifully, shaping the ball away and nipping it back in, while Flintoff consistently hit the 92/93mph mark.
New Zealand were so subdued that long periods went by in which no boundaries came.
Peter Fulton (24) dispatched Jon Lewis over wide long-on for six in a rare gesture of defiance but then sliced a slower ball to point before Craig McMillan played all round a straight one from Paul Collingwood and departed lbw.
Collingwood took his third catch, this time a sharp one at slip, after Monty Panesar found the edge of Ross Taylor's bat and New Zealand were in disarray.
Flintoff bowled fast and was miserly on a good batting surface
Oram belatedly gave his side an injection of urgency with his fourth ODI half-century, hitting Jamie Dalrymple and Panesar for big sixes.
Flintoff returned to end his 120-run stand with Brendon McCullum (30) by bowling the keeper and finished with two wickets in three balls by having Vettori caught behind and bowling Shane Bond.
Any suggestions that the pursuit would be straightforward were dismissed following an impressive opening from Franklin, who saw Mal Loye and Ian Bell edge to slip and Andrew Strauss trapped leg-before.
England were struggling to hit the ball off the square until Joyce pulled Mark Gillespie and guided him down to fine-leg for successive boundaries.
The Irish left-hander then pulled the seamer for four before charging down the track and mowing him away to deep mid-wicket.
The introduction of Vettori signalled another collapse, however, from which England would not recover.
Collingwood's misery was ended when he was plumb lbw trying to sweep, while Flintoff gave the spinner the charge and succeeded only in nicking behind.
Paul Nixon was unfortunate to be given out caught behind when replays showed he had not touched a delivery which gave Oram his 100th ODI wicket.
But Joyce and Dalrymple deserved little sympathy for offering easy opportunities off Vettori before Bond returned to deliver the coup de grace and also reach a century of one-day international victims by polishing off the tail.