England cricket captain Eoin Morgan was as surprised as anyone by his team's record 210-run victory over New Zealand in the first one-day international in Birmingham, as a new-look side cut loose at Edgbaston.
The England batsman Jos Butler. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
England's highest ever ODI total set up their biggest margin of victory by runs in the 50-over format of the game to banish memories of this year's dismal World Cup campaign.
Commentary: See how the match played out here
Jos Buttler and Joe Root thrashed brilliant centuries and Adil Rashid, who hit 69 to help England amass 408 for nine, took four wickets, New Zealand were bowled out for 198 in the 32nd over.
Morgan said it was a different performance to the World Cup, and for the team to come out of the traps like that was outstanding.
He said he was as surprised as anybody, given there were two or three new faces in the team, but they held themselves brilliantly and the senior players were outstanding. England, had dropped stalwarts Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell for the series.
There was little New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum could do but admit his side had been comprehensively outclassed on the day.
McCullum said it was a special performance from Root and Buttler, and to post 400 in any game was outstanding.
New Zealand bowler Mitchell McClenaghan against England 2015. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
England hit 14 sixes, beating their previous best of 12 against South Africa in 2009, with man-of-the-match Jos Buttler striking five on his way to a brilliant 129 off 77 balls.
Buttler's hundred came off 66 balls, the second fastest ever for England and five deliveries more than the 61 he took to make a ton against Sri Lanka last year.
He shared a world record seventh-wicket ODI stand of 177 with Adil Rashid.
The omens had not looked good for the hosts when opener Jason Roy fell to the first ball of the day.
But an aggressive Root, first with Alex Hales (20) and then Eoin Morgan (50) led a recovery, taking the attack to New Zealand with the ball flying to all parts of Edgbaston.
Root's hundred came off 71 balls before he fell for 104, one of four wickets for Trent Boult.
Buttler and Rashid then took over, their partnership surpassing the previous best seventh-wicket ODI stand of 130 by Zimbabwe's Andy Flower and Heath Streak against England in 2001.
Brendon McCullum bowled against England 2015. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Zealand, who thrashed England in February on the way to finishing as World Cup runners-up, made a stuttering start to their reply when Steven Finn bowled Brendon McCullum (10) and the paceman also accounted for Martin Guptill (22).
Kane Williamson (45) and Ross Taylor (57), who needed treatment after Morgan hit him on the hand with a shy at the stumps, tried to carry the fight to England.
But needing to keep up with a growing run-rate, New Zealand lost Mitchell Santner and Luke Ronchi to successive deliveries from Rashid and any lingering hopes of an unlikely victory ended in the next over when Finn trapped Taylor lbw.
Rashid completed a memorable match with a googly which flummoxed Matt Henry to return figures of four of 55 and Finn claimed four for 35.
England's previous best one-day international total was 391 for four against Bangladesh in Nottingham in 2005.
The next game in the five-match series is at The Oval on Friday.
