A short history of infamous Kiwi sporting crashes

Brendon McCullum (L), Dean Barker (C) and Ricki Herbert. Photo / Getty Images.

Send this script to Hollywood: a struggling cricket nation re-invents itself and the way to play, attracts a legion of new fans, and takes on the world. But enough about England.

That mighty juggernaut, Brendon McCullum's New Zealand, crash landed at the start of the one-day series in Birmingham where England scored an amazing 400-plus.

This comes after New Zealand failed to win a two-test series that was there for the taking.

The tour of England is turning into a startling let down after the drama and delight generated by the World Cup when the heroics included the destruction of England in Wellington.

There is still time for a turnaround, but we check out a few infamous Kiwi sporting crashes anyway.

1992: Sydney smash the All Blacks 40 - 17, at Penrith

This game is like the creepy uncle a family never talks about. Any All Black defeat is a let down but getting pulverised by Sydney took this to a new low.

Decades of All Black mystique were swept away. There were some decent players in the home side with the most notable being Simon Poidevin, so the underwhelming team name of Sydney is a bit misleading. But enough of the excuses.

This was the heaviest defeat ever for New Zealand and the most points ever scored against them. Pat Lam, making his debut, must have wished he'd stayed with Samoa. Another newcomer, Northland lock Glenn Taylor, apparently arrived from Bali without his boots.

1991: Kangaroos destroy the Kiwis 44 - 0, at Sydney

Big league defeats to Australia were hardly new. But the first test was a Cinderella moment, with an unheralded side including rookies like Jarrod McCracken and Richie Blackmore crushing an Australian team full of big names in Melbourne.

There was a bit of a gap between the tests, during which the Kiwis became celebrated household names. The nation got behind their league team like never before. The Aussie selectors wielded the blade, and the team then cut the Kiwis to ribbons. The third test in Brisbane was almost as bad.

2012: All Whites beaten 2 - 0 by New Caledonia, at Honiara

The 2010 World Cup euphoria turned into a distant memory for coach Ricki Herbert as a New Zealand team of full time professionals crashed out of the Oceania Nations Cup in the Solomon Islands. The aftershocks of this defeat to tiny New Caledonia were significant - missing the Confederations Cup denied the All Whites valuable preparation for what turned into a disappointing bid to make the 2014 World Cup.

2013: America's Cup, San Francisco

Dean Barker's team led 8 - 1 against Oracle, and needed just one more win to take the cup. We all know what happened next. This might be our most famous sporting collapse.

Michael Campbell's golf career

He won the 2005 US Open and fended off Tiger Woods to do so. It was a golden year...but Campbell was hardly seen on a leaderboard again.