Summary Worcestershire, chasing 246 for victory, were well-placed at 208 for four.
LONDON (AFP) - Martin Guptill s impressive sequence of big scores continued as New Zealand beat Worcestershire by 15 runs on Sunday in their final warm-up match before next week s first Test against England at Lord s.
The opener, 61 not out overnight, went on to make 150 in New Zealand s second innings total of 275 for nine declared on the fourth and final day at Worcestershire s New Road headquarters.
Guptill batted for more than four-and-a-half hours, facing 210 balls including 15 fours and three sixes.
But his innings won t count in his first-class record after this match was stripped of that status following the tourists request to field more than 11 players in what was just their second warm-up match before the opening match of a two-Test series.
The 28-year-old opener was the leading run-scorer at the recent one-day World Cup, where New Zealand reached the final before losing to co-hosts Australia.
His tally of 547 runs included a remarkable 237 not out against the West Indies -- the highest individual score in the tournament s 40-year history -- during a quarter-final win in Wellington.
Last month, Guptill scored a maiden first-class double century, making 227 off just 176 balls for English county Derbyshire against Gloucestershire.
But the Auckland batsman has not played Test cricket, in which he averages a modest 29.62, since winning the last of his 31 caps in the five-day game during New Zealand s last tour of England two years ago.
Worcestershire, chasing 246 for victory, were well-placed at 208 for four.
But the county s last six wickets fell for 22 runs as they collapsed to 230 all out, with off-spinner Mark Craig (four for 56) and fast bowler Matt Henry (three for 58) doing the bulk of the damage.
