Amy Satterthwaite's unbeaten innings of 79 has seen the White Ferns fall 30 runs short of victory in their one-day series opener against England at Bristol.
After winning the toss, NZ captain Sophie Devine asked the home team to bat first, with Heather Knight's 89 off 107 balls providing the backbone of a 241-run total.
Knight combined with Tammy Beaumont in a 65-run second-wicket partnership and found another willing ally in Katherine Blunt, as the pair put on 88 runs for the sixth wicket, before Knight send a return catch to bowler Leigh Kasperek.
Jess Kerr was the best of the NZ bowlers, taking 3/42 off 9.3 overs, as England failed to bat out their 50 overs, dismissed with three balls remaining.
The Ferns' response started slowly, with opener Suzie Bates dismissed in the fourth over, when their total was just two.
Devine and Satterthwaite combined in a 78-run fourth-wicket stand that took the Kiwis to 109/3, before the skipper fell for 34 runs, but the middle order crumbled, as they lost four wickets for 19 runs.
Satterthwaite received her best support from tailenders Lea Tahuhu (25 runs off 14 balls) and Kasperek (15 off 21), but the White Ferns were never ahead of the required run rate and were eventually dismissed with more than three overs remaining in their allocation.
Knight was declared Player of the Match.
"We got very close there in the end," says Devine. "It just goes to show the deeper we take the game, the closer we can get.
"We thought 250 was par on this wicket - it's a pretty sedate wicket with a good outfield - and we were happy to keep them to that, especially given the start England got.
"Coming into the sheds at halftime, we certainly knew we were capable of it and we spoke about keeping wickets in hand, which unfortunately we didn't do, but we can see the damage our lower order can do, if given a chance."
The five-match series - a crucial part of both teams' build-up to next year's World Cup in New Zealand - moves to Worcester on Sunday.
