Nicol and Co blast New Zealand to 372

50 overs New Zealand 372 for 6 (Nicol 146, Guptill 77, Oram 59, Latham 48) v Zimbabwe

Martin Guptill powered along to his fourth successive ODI fifty © AFP

New Zealand amassed 372 for six in the second one-dayer in Whangarei, as they subjected Zimbabwe to the bowling equivalent of the catastrophic batting collapse they had suffered in the Test, earlier in the tour. Rob Nicol hit 146 at the top of the order, with Martin Guptill contributing 77 and Tom Latham adding 48 from 28 towards the end, but it was Jacob Oram's 28-ball 59 that set up the mammoth total, as he seemed to rediscover some of his long-lost hitting form after coming in at No. 3.

Zimbabwe were guilty of a dramatic slip in fielding standards, missing no fewer than five clear-cut chances after they had restricted New Zealand to 10 runs in the first five overs. Tatenda Taibu and Elton Chigumbura fluffed an early run out, where they could have dismissed either batsman with ease, before the bloody-minded Jacob Oram was gifted a reprieve ten overs later. Two absolute sitters went down - off Brendon McCullum and Latham - with Nicol also benefitting from a dropped chance.

Earlier, Shingi Masakadza combined well with Kyle Jarvis to prevent New Zealand from aggressing early. The openers initially struggled for timing, and the fielding was sprightly enough to deny them runs, even as the batting became more fluent.

Guptill eventually unhinged the floodgates with two wristy legside flicks off Kyle Jarvis, and the batsmen discovered the middle of the bat, the gaps in the outfield and the boundaries, in a rush. Having crawled to five from 17 deliveries, Guptill plundered 46 off his next 27 balls, to complete his fourth successive ODI half-century.

Two sixes - one straight, and another hooked over square leg - punctuated a volley of crisp legside boundaries, as New Zealand flung off the chains suddenly and emphatically. Nicol took longer to warm to the attack than Guptill, but his gargantuan 118-metre hit into the neighbouring rugby stadium signalled his coming in the sixteenth over.

Guptill's demise in the 23rd over brought a surprise from the dressing room, as Jacob Oram, slated originally at No. 8, came out ahead of McCullum in a bid to continue the rapid scoring-rate. Oram not only ensured New Zealand's early momentum didn't abate, he hammered the tempo up yet further with an innings whose violence was reminiscent of his early years. Having taken the batting Powerplay an over after he came to the middle, Oram unleashed an array of punishing strokes - some of which had been notably missing in recent times. The four towering strikes over long-on were brutal, as were the drives that singed the turf behind the bowler, but it was his inside out loft over extra-cover that suggested he might yet recover the batting mantle he had relinquished a few years prior.

Ray Price bore the brunt of Oram's onslaught, with three of his overs disappearing for 40 in the middle of his spell. Shingi Masakadza was also dispatched for three successive boundaries, and Prosper Utseya launched into orbit despite Oram's top hand coming off the bat mid-stroke. Only Hamilton Masakadza avoided the worst of the battering, as he mixed up his pace to prevent Oram from settling. He even created a chance, getting Oram to top edge one towards mid-on, but the opportunity was woefully and predictably bungled by a fielding outfit that had had the wind blasted out of them.

Oram was eventually caught at long-on when he mishit another one, and though Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson kept the runs flowing in their short efforts, they both holed out to the leg side as Nicol progressed untroubled. Another giant six into the rugby stand from the same pick-up shot took him into the nineties, before two square boundaries brought him his second one-day hundred. In most other innings, Nicol's knock might have provided both the substance and the impetus for the team effort, but in comparison to his teammates' ballistics, a 115-ball ton was dropping anchor.

Nicol was joined by Latham as the final overs approached, and the pair continued New Zealand's incredible plunder. Eighty-six runs were scored in the last five overs, 25 of those from Kyle Jarvis' 48th. Six fours and eight sixes came in the that phase as Andrew Ellis and Dean Brownlie joined the flogging when Nicol and Latham fell at the close.

The bowlers aimed for the blockhole, but often missed their lengths by so much that the batsmen could choose where they wanted to dispatch it, before Ellis' six off the last ball ended the visitors' tortuous outing in the field.