England produced an all-round performance to level the Test series with New Zealand on Monday, winning the second match by 126 runs early on the fifth and final day at the Basin Reserve. Left arm pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom, who captured 10 wickets in the first Test in Hamilton, provided the impetus for the visitors with five wickets in New Zealand's second innings to help dismiss it for 311. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum had a swashbuckling 85 and Ross Taylor 55 in an effort to help chase down the record 438 needed for victory, but too often New Zealand's batsmen got starts but then fell just as they needed to push on. “The plan was to try to make sure they were chasing 400. We did that Sunday and we bowled exceptionally well, as we have throughout the whole match,” England captain Michael Vaughan told reporters. “I spoke after Hamilton, saying playing a game so soon after a poor performance is the best thing. We've answered that in a positive fashion.” England, with a new pace attack after Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard were dropped, dominated from the outset and James Anderson's five-wicket haul on the second day ensured New Zealand was played out of the match early. Resuming on 242 for six, New Zealand's hopes of pulling off an improbable victory rested squarely on the shoulders of McCullum and captain Daniel Vettori. The aggressive McCullum had two large swishes at Stuart Broad deliveries in the first over before he hooked him to the backward square boundary to open the day's scoring. However, Vettori was unable to reproduce the form that had given him two half centuries and he nicked a Sidebottom delivery to Alastair Cook at third slip in the second over of the day. Vettori's dismissal effectively ended New Zealand's slim hopes of fashioning victory, and first Test series win against England since 1999. Teenage pace bowler Tim Southee, meanwhile, was added to an otherwise unchanged New Zealand squad for the third Test against England, beginning in Napier on Saturday. ScoreboardEngland (1st innings) 342 New Zealand (1st innings) 198 England (2nd innings) 293 New Zealand (2nd innings) How c Bell b Sidebottom 08 Bell c Ambrose b Broad 29 Fleming b Broad 31 Sinclair c Bell b Anderson 39 Taylor lbw Sidebottom 55 Oram c Pietersen b Sidebottom 30 McCullum c Sidebottom b Panesar 85 Vettori c Cook b Sidebottom 00 Mills lbw b Sidebottom 13 Gillespie c Ambrose b Anderson 09 Martin not out 00 Extras (lb-11, w-1) 12 Total (all out; 100.3 overs) 311 Falls: 1-18 (How), 2-69 (Bell), 3-70 (Fleming), 4-151 (Sinclair), 5-173 (Taylor), 6-242 (Oram), 7-246 (Vettori), 8-270 (Mills), 9-311 (Gillespie), 10-311 (McCullum). Bowling: Sidebottom 31-10-105-5, Anderson 15-2-57-2 (1w), Broad 23-6-62-2, Collingwood 9-2-20-0, Panesar 21.3-1-53-1, Pietersen 1-0-3
