Wellington, Mar 3: New Zealand vice-captain Brendon McCullum, who is struggling with his fluency, is expected to reproduce his Twenty20 form in the one-day international format.

Better known as a dasher when facing the shiny white ball, McCullum’s problems in finding momentum in the early overs of the two Twenty20 matches were instrumental in New Zealand winning by seven and five wickets respectively.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori was delighted in his ability to plug away when apparently bogged down.

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Wellington  - New Zealand and South Korea will start negotiations on a free trade pact as soon as possible, leaders of the two countries announced Tuesday after a summit meeting in Auckland.

The announcement came following talks between New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and the South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who is on a two-day visit to the South Pacific nation.

"Our relationship with Korea is strong and vibrant, and we would like to further strengthen this relationship, building on extensive bilateral cooperation in recent years," Key said.

A joint statement said the leaders emphasised the importance of maintaining open markets and shared concerns for the deepening economic crisis.

Wellington  - A New Zealand pensioner fought off a 15-year-old intruder who broke a window at her Hamilton home in the early hours of the morning by hitting him over the head three times with a rolling pin, police said on Tuesday.

She called police who found the youth crying after he had wet his pants and tjat embarrassed that he virtually leapt into the patrol car, said Constable Chris Mankelow.

"He'd had a wee accident and stripped down to his boxers and was pretty keen to be taken away," the officer said.

Wellington  - The New Zealand economy, which has been in recession since early last year, faces a "long, slow grind" back to normality, the country's leading economic think tank said Tuesday.

"Several years of sub-trend growth lie ahead," the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) said in its latest quarterly predictions commentary.