Cook offers sole resistance as Kiwis warm up for England with comfortable win over Essex

The tourists began the final day as marginal second favourites in what looked sure to be a tight contest - but ground out an encouraging outcome from their penultimate warm-up match before the first Test against England at Lord's.

For Essex and England, a stubborn first half-century of the summer from Alastair Cook (57) was the consolation as the hosts descended from a start-of-play 45 for one to 201 all out - in pursuit of 293.

For the Kiwis, it must have been heartening to learn they could break a strong county top order without the services of the injured Vettori as captain or premier spinner.

In his absence - with the split finger in his bowling hand which will also rule him out of this week's match against England Lions - an attritional effort from an all-seam attack did the trick.

Cook began the final day with 21 to his name and needed almost an hour to top his previous season's best of 27.

He and second-wicket partner Tom Westley were breaking no speed limits, in necessarily watchful mode in warm and humid conditions.

The ball continued to swing, as it had all match, but New Zealand also appeared to be playing a waiting game with a line generally too wide of off-stump to present an imminent threat.

Cook, dropped on nought in the slips yesterday, has one more County Championship match in which to get more runs under his belt before the first Test on May 15.

More immediately, though, he soon became central to Essex's hopes today as wickets began to fall at the other end.

Westley drove Mills in the air to cover, and then Ravi Bopara and captain Mark Pettini went within an over of one another for the addition of one run.

Bopara was unlucky no nick an innocuous delivery from Jacob Oram down the leg-side, and Pettini fell for the second time in the match to a very good inswinger - this one from Michael Mason, beating a forward push to bowl him through the gate.

Cook had two anxious moments in the 40s, umpire Peter Willey twice deciding in his favour - once with a borderline run-out call after a direct hit from mid-off and then when Mason went up for a big caught-behind appeal.

The opener kept his composure and gradually began to middle the ball - saving his best shot to bring up a 114-ball 50 with a cover-drive off Mason for his fifth four.

His innings never came close to fluency, however, and ended disappointingly with a tame drive at Mason (three for 36) into the hands of mid-off.

It could yet prove a summer launchpad for Cook - but as far as Essex were concerned, with his departure went a last realistic chance of inflicting defeat on the tourists.

When James Foster popped a catch up to gully to go second ball for a second duck of the innings to follow Pettini's, his team had lost five wickets for 33 runs on the way to 100 for six.

Ryan ten Doeschate and James Middlebrook salvaged some respectability in a 58-run seventh-wicket stand.

But it was stretching a point to suggest they were involved in anything more than damage limitation, and Ian O'Brien saved a good one for Middlebrook which came back between bat and pad to clip the top of middle and leg stump.

Ten Doeschate then got too greedy against part-time leg-spinner Aaron Redmond and skied a catch into the leg-side ring, which was collected by wicketkeeper and stand-in skipper Brendon McCullum. From that point, the game was up.