England fall to New Zealand XI in cricket Test warm-up Chasing 334, after England declared on their overnight score of 256-9, Watling played the match-defining knock, his unbeaten 89 being another feisty effort to go with his unbeaten 66 in the first innings. Another player to have been raised in South Africa, he skipped from caution to adventurous abandon in heartbeat. One cut shot for six over point, off Broad, went a long way given his modest-sized frame. He was dropped, on 46, by Swann in the gully, after he cut Broad hard and low to the fielder's right. Swann had just come back onto the field after receiving treatment on his troublesome right elbow, but it was a tough chance, one that might have been held twice out of ten in practice when players are alert. England say Swann's brief absence was part of the ongoing management of his elbow. He bowled 42 overs in the match taking 3-97, which was quite a lot after a long lay off and another warm-up match might have allowed him to ease into his bowling with fewer overs here. The home side were six wickets down when that catch was dropped, with plenty still to do. But Watling, in the company of James Neesham and Neil Wagner, oversaw victory as England struggled to create the chances that would have stopped them. The game was effectively set-up by Tom Latham's declaration 77 runs behind on the third day and then won largely by the New Zealand XI's bowlers, who took nine England wickets in two sessions. Having a single warm-up match before the first Test is a risk, especially for batsmen who have not played outside for two months. Kevin Pietersen and Nick Compton are two such men and both looked undercooked, and while that is not so much of a problem for Pietersen, who tends to feed off big occasions, Compton likes to groove himself with long periods at the crease, something denied him here by his worrying vulnerability against the bouncer. His flap at the none-too-express Mark Gillespie was unedifying, but then his last assignment for England was to get his front foot a long way forward in India, something he likes doing in county cricket. It would have served him well on New Zealand pitches 20 years ago, but the use of drop-ins has quickened them up. Even grounds that have permanent squares have been relaid and the strip at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, where the second Test is scheduled, is said to be the quickest in the country. One factor that may go in his favour is that New Zealand's first choice pace attack are not that fast. Unless they unleash Neil Wagner from this match in Dunedin, they are likely to go with Tim Southee, Doug Bracewell and Trent Boult, all three pitch-it-up swing bowlers. Wagner, another who emigrated from South Africa, bowled quick and aggressively the whole match, to take six wickets, though he once took five in six balls for Otago against Wellington. It is the kind of feat that tends to remove any shyness, as his post match statement about bowling to England's batsmen revealed. "It helps us that Pietersen and the top-order haven't batted that much recently and we'll try to hammer on that and his confidence and be ruthless," said Wagner. It was nice to have a bit of a look at England's batsmen and I spotted a few things which I'll be passing on to the rest of the squad.