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Kiwis upbeat after triumph

New Zealand today celebrated its second ever cricket Test series win over England in Britain, but there was caution about how this would help the Kiwis when they face the West Indies and Australia over the southern summer.

''Let's praise them for what they've done but let's not get carried away with it,'' former national captain and coach Geoff Howarth told Radio NZ after New Zealand beat England 2-1 in the four-Test series.

''This Test match series has been played between two ordinary sides. There's a long way to go for New Zealand to start competing with the likes of Australia,'' Howarth said.

But former captain John Reid was more upbeat -- saying New Zealand's performance at the World Cup in June set the team up well for the home series against the West Indies (December, January) and Australia (February/March).

The team's next engagement is a tour of India in October and November, incorporating two Tests and five one-day internationals.

''People will speak of a weak England side but wins are wins and to come from one-nil in a four-match series is very pleasing,'' Reid -- now operations manager for New Zealand cricket -- told the Evening Post.

''Making the semi-finals of the World Cup was also a good effort and we are proud of what they've achieved over the last four-and-a-half months.''

New Zealand morning newspapers put the series win on their front pages with Wellington's The Dominion hailing a ''dramatic Test win'', while Auckland's New Zealand Herald praised the side for giving retiring coach Steve Rixon a perfect farewell present.

Rixon was New Zealand's most successful Test cricket coach, winning a third of his 27 Tests. In one-day internationals he was the second most successful coach behind Warren Lees (1990-93) with 26 wins from 60 matches, a win ratio of 43 per cent.

Howarth said England now had to go back to square one and introduce new faces for its tour of South Africa in November.

''They've got to do this to try and gain some credibility back from the public point of view,'' he said.

Reid pointed to a large number of allrounders in the New Zealand side as a difference between it and England.

Spinner Daniel Vettori may have batted in the tail but Reid noted the 20-year-old delivered important half centuries.

''To have guys between seven and 10 all capable of scoring 50s in Tests, and in some cases 100s, is a very comforting position to be in,'' Reid said.

Howarth was impressed with another all-rounder, Chris Cairns, who was voted man-of-the-match and New Zealand man-of-the series.

''He has shown a competitiveness, a determination that hasn't been seen before in Chris Cairns and if he continues along this vein he's going to be rated as one of the best all rounders in the world.''

Former New Zealand bowler David Trist takes over as coach after the side returns home and Howarth said he had been given a side with potential to be great.

''Give them time still to mature and develop and in a couple of years time we will be competing with the top echelon of international cricket.''

Almost every Test team these days bat all the way down the order. Not so England, fielding in this fourth Test three players regarded as 'number 11s'.

New Zealand are a side filled with combative, all-round players which no one will now take lightly. Success in this series follows on a highly successful World Cup in which they reached the semi-finals, beating eventual winners Australia on the way.

England failed to get past the first round of the Cup.

That England won the first Test was due solely to a remarkable 99 not out by nightwatchman Alex Tudor. Rain saved them from defeat in the third Test.

Ironically England's best player through the series was pace bowler Andrew Caddick who was born in New Zealand.

A cricket writer in one of Britain's up-market Sunday newspapers forecast a nail-biting finish to the final Test.

The nail-biting will have been done by the selectors as they attempted to forge a squad capable of presenting at least decent opposition in the forthcoming tour of South Africa.

The defeat sees England, who gave the game to the world, fall to the bottom of the unofficial world Test rankings.

One optimist remarked on Sunday that at least now the only way was up. The trouble is, do England know which way that is?

UNI