LONDON — New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum praised Hamish Rutherford for an “outstanding” innings as the Black Caps beat England by just five runs to win the first Twenty20 international at The Oval Tuesday. McCullum may have top-scored with 68, but it was left-handed opener Rutherford's dashing 62 that caught the eye during the pair's second-wicket stand of 114 after Boyd Rankin struck early on his England debut to leave the Kiwis one for one. Defeat meant England had again lost by five runs after going down by that margin in a Champions Trophy final against India reduced to 20 overs per side by rain at Edgbaston Sunday. England needed six for a tie off the last ball that would have forced a ‘super-over' but that proved beyond Ravi Bopara, who finished on 30 not out as New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in this two-match series. Meanwhile, England stand-in captain Eoin Morgan is backing Kevin Pietersen to help turn around his side's fortunes in the second Twenty20 Thursday. Pietersen is expected to return to the England team for the first time since March, when he was forced out of the tour of New Zealand with a knee injury. — Agencies
