- Scorecard

England [ Images ] opener Ian Bell [ Images ] scored 60 not out on Friday to help subject New Zealand [ Images ] to their seventh straight defeat in Twenty20 [ Images ] internationals.

Bell's fluent innings was the highlight of a day in which England won a one-sided contest by nine wickets with 15 balls to spare at Old Trafford in Manchester.

The home side, replying to New Zealand's below-par 123 for nine on a pitch encouraging both pace and spin, reached 127 for one. Kevin Pietersen [ Images ] made 42 not out and put on 79 with Bell, who faced 46 deliveries and struck nine boundaries and one six.

"It was a fantastic performance, you can't ask for anything better, we hit our straps from ball one," Pietersen told Sky Sports. "What a great knock from Belly, he's a fantastic player who can hit boundaries from good cricket shots. We want to take this win into the one-day series now (on Sunday)."

New Zealand needed to make early breakthroughs and restrict England's scoring rate but they managed neither. Luke Wright [ Images ] (24) and Bell combined in an opening stand of 48 before Mark Gillespie had Wright caught at long-on.

England's top-ranked batsman Pietersen was then dropped before he had scored a run by Daniel Vettori [ Images ] off his own bowling, after shrewdly introducing himself early. The missed opportunity summed up the Kiwis' match.

After England won the toss, off-spinner Graeme Swann [ Images ], who extracted significant turn, Stuart Broad [ Images ] and his fellow pace bowler James Anderson [ Images ] claimed two wickets each. Ross Taylor's [ Images ] 25 from 18 balls was his team's highest score.

Even New Zealand's most dangerous batsman Brendon McCullum [ Images ] (24) uncharacteristically failed to score until the seventh over. He also took 42 minutes to score his first boundary.

New Zealand's key all-rounder Jacob Oram [ Images ] had to be replaced by Peter Fulton [ Images ] shortly before the match after sustaining a hamstring injury. England won the three-Test series last week 2-0.