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BIRMINGHAM - It was left to one of their most junior members to issue a rallying cry as New Zealand desperately look to inject some credibility into the one-day cricket series here.
After plenty of time for soul-searching, nearly five hours on the bus between Durham and Birmingham,
the tourists arrived in a defiant mood ahead of Wednesday's second one-day international against England at Edgbaston.
Daniel Flynn was offered as the day-after-the-match interview subject, a spot usually reserved for a standout player other than captain Daniel Vettori.
Given Flynn scored 34, albeit in quick time and with a poor umpiring decision to boot, it reflected the level of the side's Durham performance as a Kevin Pietersen-inspired England cantered home by 114 runs.
In a tour with few individual success stories, the Tauranga product has stood out with his test-saving innings at Lord's, his recovery from a teeth-shattering blow in Manchester, then an innings of nearly three hours to try and bail out his team in Nottingham.
Given his solid form and James Marshall's struggles, Flynn was understood to be a strong contender to elevate to the troublesome No 3 spot on Wednesday.
Whatever his batting spot, Flynn was adamant there would be no quitting.
"The top-order, man for man, skill-wise I think we can match the English. It's just a case of producing the runs," he said.
"Back in New Zealand we lost two Twenty20s then came back and played really well in the one-day series. We know we're capable of it, it's just a case of putting performances on the park.
"As a collective unit we've all underperformed and individual performances are going to help that. I think everyone needs to raise their game a bit."
The host nation will take a little more convincing as the pencils have been sharpened for the tour obituary, just one match into a five-match ODI series.
The Guardian's chief cricket writer Mike Selvey described the Black Caps as a "punctured, dispirited and scarcely competitive unit, depleted by retirements, injury and circumstance," after England's Durham demolition.
It was hardly an unfair description as New Zealand's batting and bowling units, shorn of the injured Jacob Oram's matchwinning qualities, were outclassed by their opposites.
Oram's injured hamstring saw Wellington allrounder Grant Elliott summoned from the Surrey league yesterday.
Elliott, who played his one and only test against England in Napier in March, will likely come in for Marshall to provide a sixth bowling option with his medium pace as Oram targets a return in game three.
While the batting lineup were kicking themselves for not making more of the chase for 308, the bowlers were hurting after it all looked so encouraging with England 95 for three in the 24th.
Pietersen, who was restricted to a relatively low average of 33 in the previous ODI series, is now threatening to dominate the series.
Paceman Michael Mason caused him some early worries with his seamers and said the bowling unit still sensed a chance with the England lineup.
"We always have got that potential to cause them problems in the middle order but we just didn't create enough pressure, not enough dot balls to make them try something different.
"A few early wickets and then the pressure's back on them."
Mason said it was a "very frustrating" day with the ball in Durham when, despite a slick fielding effort, they conceded 50-60 runs too many.
"I think the confidence is there but we are hurting a bit. We've just got to keep fighting, just don't give in."
- NZPA
