England v New Zealand: Morgan hails 'close to perfect' display

England made a winning start to the series with New Zealand by a record 210-run margin

Captain Eoin Morgan said England were "close to perfect" in their record 210-run win over New Zealand at Edgbaston.

England smashed 408-9, their highest one-day international score, then bowled the Black Caps out for 198 to secure their biggest-ever win.

"It was outstanding, as close to the perfect performance in an ODI game that you'll find," said Morgan.

"For a long time we've talked of an aggressive brand of cricket and today we produced it."

Morgan then offered a word of warning as he added: "The real test for us will be to find consistency."

England's remarkable performance came in their first home one-dayer since a humiliating first-round exit at the World Cup.

Jos Buttler's 66-ball hundred was the second-fastest by an England player and Joe Root's 71-ball effort the fourth quickest, while Adil Rashid hit 69 before taking 4-55 with his leg-spin.

The Yorkshire all-rounder was one of five players in the England XI who were not part of the World Cup squad.

"We have had an attacking mindset, but the execution hasn't always been there," said 28-year-old Morgan. "Attacking cricket comes naturally to the guys we have selected.

"We normally go into our shells, that's just how we play cricket in England because the ball moves around.

"Slowly but surely we have to move to the other end of the spectrum and stop playing safe cricket. Today is a big step towards that."

Jos Buttler has the two fastest 100s in England ODI history (61 balls v Sri Lanka in 2014 and 66 balls on Tuesday)

Wicketkeeper Buttler hit his second 50 from only 24 balls, falling five deliveries short of his own 61-ball record for the fastest hundred by an England batsman.

"It is up there with the best I've played," he told BBC Sport. "The timing is pleasing with this new era of English cricket, as everyone keeps talking about. Most of all, it was really fun today.

"We have had some tough times in the last 18 months so it is great for the crowd to be able to enjoy this. We said at half-time, whatever happens we are on the right track. We need to keep playing this way."