By Oliver Brett
New Zealand consigned England to one of their most ignominious defeats in recent history, winning the first Test by 189 runs in Hamilton.
The Kiwis declared on 177-9 to leave England needing 300 from 81 overs but Kyle Mills stunned the tourists with four wickets in his first six overs.
With the score 36-4 at lunch, England tried to salvage a draw but Chris Martin (3-33) had other ideas.
England totalled a paltry 110 on a flat track, with Ian Bell unbeaten on 54.
After starting his England coaching career with a 3-0 Test series win over West Indies, Peter Moores has now presided over a winless streak of seven matches, including losses to India, Sri Lanka and now New Zealand - a team England were expected to beat.
But only two Tests remain, the first of those starting on Thursday, for Michael Vaughan's men to salvage something from the tour.
Ryan Sidebottom's terrific display with the ball on day four, which included a joyously celebrated hat-trick, had left the tourists harbouring realistic hopes of victory.
606: DEBATE
Sidebottom dismissed Daniel Vettori to finish with 10-149 - a tremendous effort in benign conditions - as New Zealand batted for just seven overs, before calling a halt.
But his effort was supported by so few other English players as a succession of batsmen perished as much to poor batting as good seam bowling from Mills and Martin.
As England began their chase, Alastair Cook hit three boundaries, but did not look in control and he departed to a defensive outside edge, with the total on 19, in the fourth over.
Mills was getting just enough seam movement and though England should have been good enough to deal with it, the bowler reaped the rewards of a disciplined, probing spell.
Vaughan played around one that nipped back a touch and was leg-before, Andrew Strauss edged to the wicket-keeper and Kevin Pietersen played no shot to one that flicked his pad just outside off-stump.
The contest had become a battle of grim survival on England's part.
With Bell and Paul Collingwood digging in either side of lunch, hope remained for the tourists.
But Collingwood eventually played back to a Vettori delivery he should have been forward to, and chopped on to his stumps.
Though Bell was playing nicely, with two neat drives for four just after lunch off Jeetan Patel, New Zealand now began the second wave of dismissals.
Martin took care of Tim Ambrose and Sidebottom, who faced just seven balls between them, and Matthew Hoggard blocked 21 balls before edging a drive to Brendon McCullum.
Then Steve Harmison, whose place in the team could be under threat, edged Patel to slip.
Bell and Monty Panesar - who hit a lovely straight drive off Vettori for four - showed just how good conditions were as they added 33 for the final wicket in 12 overs, the most profitable partnership of the innings.
Bell reached his half-century with the second of two driven sixes off Patel.
But it was merely delaying the inevitable, and New Zealand could finally kick off their celebrations when Panesar edged Jacob Oram behind to give McCullum a fifth catch before tea had been taken.
Unsurprisingly, the Black Caps made no changes to their 13-man squad for the second Test in Wellington while England were left with plenty to ponder.
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