Southee injury sours series loss for Kiwis

Opener Dawid Malan has hit a superb century and Moeen Ali grabbed four wickets as England beat New Zealand by 100 runs in the fourth one-day international to wrap up a 3-1 series victory at Lord's.

Malan made a 114-ball 127 with 14 fours and three sixes to lay the platform for a strong 9-311 in 50 overs, after Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat on Friday, with the visitors only managing 211 in response.

To complete a miserable day for the Black Caps, key seamer Tim Southee suffered a fractured hand in the field which could threaten his World Cup participation.

Needing a win to avoid defeat in the ODI series, New Zealand got off to a poor start as they lost opener Devon Conway cheaply following an excellent run out by Buttler.

Henry Nicholls (41) gave the visitors a glimmer of hope but incisive bowling by Moeen snuffed out the threat, though the spinner was denied a hat-trick on his way to figures of 4-50.

Allrounder Rachin Ravindra led the scoring for New Zealand as he valiantly battled on until the end, hitting 61 off 48 balls, but his resistance was ended by Sam Curran's excellent yorker.

Southee's broken hand meant New Zealand were one batter short when their innings came to an end on 211 in the 39th over.

"When you're faced with those challenges, it's important for guys to step up. Southee's in good spirits. He'll be assessed further to see how he is. Fingers crossed," New Zealand captain Tom Latham said.

A statement from New Zealand Cricket confirmed the fracture: "An X-ray has confirmed that Tim Southee dislocated and fractured a bone in his right thumb while attempting to take a catch in the 14th over of the first innings.

"A timeline for his recovery will be established on Saturday when he undergoes further assessment."

Earlier, Malan was the cornerstone of England's innings and was involved in three significant partnerships.

He added 79 with Joe Root (29), 56 with Buttler (36) and 48 with Liam Livingstone (28), before departing on 127 when he nicked a Ravindra delivery into Latham's gloves.

"Trying to break into this team, you either have to be a freak or be consistent, and that's what I've tried to do, put match-winning performances on the board," Malan said.

Ravindra was the pick of New Zealand's bowlers, claiming the wickets of Malan, Root, Harry Brook and Moeen to limit the damage.

England next take on Ireland, while New Zealand face Bangladesh before the two sides face off in the opening match of the ODI World Cup in India on October 5.