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THE only man to rival Martin Guptill for the man-of-the-match award at The Ageas Bowl today was Hampshire groundsman Nigel Gray.

While Guptill and Brendon McCullum received a standing ovation following New Zealand’s record-breaking 359-3 against England, umpire Rob Bailey shook Gray warmly by the hand on the Ageas Bowl’s verdant outfield.

From a distance he appeared to be offering his congratulations for producing a track on which New Zealand were able to amass the highest ODI total England have ever conceded on home soil.

Guptill contributed a magnificent 189 while batting throughout New Zealand’s innings to secure a Natwest Series- securing win by 86 runs.

Now in its 11th season as an international venue, The Ageas Bowl had never seen the like.

Guptill’s innings surpassed Hashim Amla’s match-winning 150 for South Africa here last August as the highest individual one-day international score at West End.

It was also the highest ODI score by a New Zealander. Not only that, it put his name alongside Sir Vivian Richards, equalling the great man’s 29 year-old record as the highest score against England in a one-day international.

When Richards thumped his unbeaten 189 at Old Trafford in 1984, he did so from 170 balls with 114 runs coming in boundaries (21 fours, five sixes).

By contrast, Guptill needed only 155 deliveries, with 88 of his 189 accrued in fours and sixes (19 & 2). He ran between the wicket to great effect, while using every conceivable angle.

But England’s bowlers did serve up some dross, surely worse than that delivered to IVA Richards by Messrs Willis, Botham, Foster, Miller and Pringle all those years ago.

Jade Dernbach in particular was guilty of the sort of filth that would have been better suited to the village green.

Full tosses and rank long hops littered ten overs from the Surrey man that cost 87 runs (only Steve Harmison has conceded more for England in a home ODI).

Chris Woakes and Tim Bresnan, who delivered one ball that was so slow, short and wide that his teammates struggled to control their mirth, were not much better.

But the rubbish still had to be put away and Guptill did so in emphatic fashion, pulling Woakes over the rope at deep mid-wicket for his first six and, once he had secured his second hundred in three days, driving Graeme Swann back over his head for his other maximum.

Guptill had enjoyed dinner with Ageas Bowl supremo Rod Bransgrove the previous evening. Should he return to these parts as an overseas player, he will surely return to Oxfords Restaurant, Southampton to order the same pre-match meal.

Guptill is well known to Hampshire after helping to end their Champions League dream for Auckland Aces in South Africa back in October.

But his only previous visit to the Ageas Bowl had seen him dismissed cheaply by James Tomlinson when Derbyshire drew with Hampshire en route to winning last year’s division two title.

After losing his opening partner early on - former Bashley man Luke Ronchi was bowled by a beauty from James Anderson at the end of the third over – Guptill shared in stands of 120 with Kane Williamson (55) and 109 with Ross Taylor (60) before McCullum helped add a staggering 118 from the last 50 balls of the innings.

Guptill was dropped on 13, as he had been during his match-winning 103 not out at Lord’s 48 hours earlier.

Trott was the culprit this time, following a venomous pull against Woakes. Suffice to say, it proved expensive.

Guptill and his top-order teammates gave the near-capacity 13,000 crowd their money’s worth with a staggering display of clean hitting.

Trott’s bad day in the field continued when his hilarious, juggled effort on the mid-wicket boundary prevented another McCullum six, but also denied Anderson a wicket when he failed to locate his parry.

McCullum and Taylor both hit leg-side sixes against Anderson and Bresnan as New Zealand accelerated to their biggest ODI total against a major cricket nation (they have only scored more in 50 overs against Ireland, Canada and Zimbabwe).

At the last World Cup, England ensured a thrilling tie with India after conceding 338. But they have only chased down 300-plus to win an ODI match on two occasions and never looked like getting as much as 360 despite Trott’s unbeaten 109 (104 balls), which made him England’s fifth Ageas Bowl centurion after Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan and Andrew Flintoff.

Still, Anderson’s 19-ball 28 provided more entertainment and an aggregate of 632 runs on a glorious sunny day – another Ageas Bowl record.