When I got out of bed this morning, I tuned in to Breakfast to find out the state of the England vs. New Zealand cricket Test that's currently being played at Old Trafford.

Live television coverage starts here in New Zealand at 10pm, and the day's play wraps up at about 5am. Call me uncommitted, but I headed to bed just after midnight. England had gone to lunch sitting in a comfortable position, with Strauss and Vaughan batting nicely, but still along way off what would have been a very unlikely (and record breaking, for the ground) win.

I watched the sports news, heard the result, turned the TV off, and went back to bed. It was funny, really - I'd obviously been sleep-walking, and having a nightmare at the same time, because the news had told me that England had won by 6 wickets, with a day up their sleeve.

Half an hour of trembling under the sheets later, I got out of bed and accepted that I hadn't been dreaming, and that England had actually won.

And I was late to work, too.

We here in the Attic aren't sure what happened in that Test. New Zealand had a 179-run first innings lead, and England had a ton of pressure sitting squarely on their shoulders. Yet England's bowlers stood up, and rolled the sorry-looking Black Caps for a paltry, pathetic, useless, miserable (OK, we'll stop...) 114. Terrible from New Zealand, and a spirited fightback from an English side that was staring down the barrell of a heavy loss.

Still, New Zealand were well in the drivers seat. Thanks to their first innings total, England had 294 to chase down to win the game - and they'd have to set a new highest run-chase at Old Trafford to do it, too. England might have shifted some momentum their way, but the prospect of Vettori on a crumbling pitch kept the favourites tag with New Zealand.

And maybe that's what did it. There was no underdog status to overturn. Instead, there was an expectation to fulfill - and that's something the New Zealand Test side is not at all used to.

Maybe, too, it was the heavy roller that Vaughan decided to use before play began. It certainly seemed to extinguish the Vettori-flame - he finished with the unflattering (and unhelpful, from New Zealand's perspective) figures of 1-111 from 35 overs.

The closer England got to victory, and the more solid Strauss looked on the way to his match-winning 106, the more the pressure got to New Zealand. O'Brien should have had both Collingwood and Bell, but fumbled two fairly straight-forward return catches.

And that sums up New Zealand's day...should have.

O'Brien should have taken both catches. But he wouldn't have needed to had his batsmen performed better, and set England at least 370 to win. And England should have had to score that many. Even then, New Zealand's bowlers should have been able to bowl England out for less than 294. They really, really should have.

But they didn't - England did bowl New Zealand out cheaply, they did chase down the record score, they did win, and they do take an unasailable 1-0 lead with one match remaining.

And I'm going back to bed.