Nathan Astle's 14th one-day international hundred and a five-wicket haul by Jacob Oram proved far too much for the USA on their international debut at The Oval.

Astle's career-best unbeaten 145, Craig McMillan's breakneck 64 not out, Scott Styris' considered 75 and a burst of three wickets in five balls from Jacob Oram (5-36) helped the Kiwis prove the gulf in class with a 210-run victory.

Brief moments of competitive cricket came at the start of each innings, the Kiwis stumbling to 43 for two batting first and USA's reply moving serenely to 52 without loss before reality kicked in on each occasion in a low-profile Pool A opener.

New Zealand were put in under cloudy skies after overnight rain - and they needed Astle's contribution after Stephen Fleming and Hamish Marshall had both gone cheaply on a batsmen's pitch.

Astle shared a near run-a-ball third-wicket stand of 163 with Styris and then added an unbroken 136 off only 48 deliveries with McMillan - part of a last 10-over onslaught of 142 towards a competition record 347-4.

Astle and Styris farmed around the Americans' assorted medium-pace and finger-spin as they made up for the two early wickets - all the while paving the way for late-innings fireworks.

Fleming and Marshall had plenty of time to kick themselves, the captain having poked a simple catch to cover off Charles Reid and the number three upper-cutting first-change Leon Romero straight to third-man.

Romero, little more than a net bowler at this level, was replaced by Clayton Lambert who propels gentle medium-pace of a similar ilk.

The former West Indies batsman should have had a big wicket too - Astle given not out on 32 when he missed a straight ball which hit his front pad halfway up.

Styris also had a life, on 56, when off-spinner Rashid Zia failed to hold on to a sharp, low return chance.

Otherwise, the third-wicket pair were untroubled until Styris holed out at long-on off Staple to close a sensible innings which had lasted 78 balls and contained eight fours.

Off-spinner Staple soon had Chris Cairns caught in the deep too, thereby exposing the Americans to McMillan - although it was Astle who in the 43rd over struck the first of his team's 13 sixes.

The hapless Howard Johnson returned to york McMillan with a no-ball and then be struck for consecutive sixes off his next two deliveries in an over which cost 27 runs.

McMillan went on to hit five maximums and two fours in a 21-ball half-century - while Astle reached the fence 13 times and exceeded it on six occasions in his 151-ball stay.

USA therefore faced a highly improbable mission with the bat but were indebted to left-handed openers Mark Johnson and Rohan Alexander who passed 50 in under 10 overs by running well between the wickets and picking off some occasionally loose fare from new-ball pair Oram and Daryl Tuffey.

Oram then restored his team's advantage with a vengeance.

Johnson fenced an edge behind off a short and wide ball, and Romero and Steve Massiah fell to near action-replay shots as they shuffled across their creases and nicked catches to second slip and the wicketkeeper.

First-change Cairns then followed up with the wicket of Richard Staple, lbw on the back foot. The USA captain went first ball, and his was the third duck in succession as his team lost their first four wickets for three runs in only seven deliveries.

Oram was not yet finished and produced some handy inswing to have Alexander lbw pushing forward - and from 63-5 it was thanks principally to some damage limitation from old hand Lambert that USA at least registered three figures and avoided further undeserved embarrassment.

10 Sep, 2004