Ahh, that's better; England are rubbish at cricket again

Will I never learn?  At the end of the fourth day's play in Hamilton I was genuinely thinking to myself that 'if we could get Patel out cheaply, then we could be chasing less than 300 hundred to win, and on this wicket thare's a chance that is achievable, and ... catch yourself on big lad, this is England.'  How right I was in the end.

First of all, Vettori and Patel hung around for another 30 runs and then England were skittled for 110 with a scorecard that reads: 13, 9, 2, 6, 54* (well done Ian Bell), 2, 0, 0 , 4, 1, 8; the third highest score in the innings was not in fact Vaughan's 9, but "Extras" with a monstrous 11 runs.  Pitiful. 

The damage was done not by the spinners, as you might expect on a day five pitch, instead the batting was annihilated by the twin cannons of Kyle Mills and Chris Martin.  Mills was the pick of the two, particularly in his opening spell of 10-3-11-4.

New Zealand played smarter cricket thoughout this whole match; bowling with more control, fielding with more dynamism and batting with more nous and skill.  England looked hapless from the very first day, with a bit of honest, accurate endeavour from Sidebottom on day four as the only glimmer of light.  I'm at a loss to know why; are they undercooked? Out of form?  Simply a load of shit and this is the best we can expect?

One thing I know is certain; we are nearly a year into the reign of Peter Moores and not one single player has got any better under his stewardship.  The selection of Ryan Sidebottom apart, the team has simply got worse.