New Zealand fell to a six-wicket defeat at the Bay Oval on Tuesday on what was a historic day for cricket in the region.

The first one-day international to be held at the Mount Maunganui venue ended in disappointment for the Black Caps, with South Africa proving too strong for skipper Brendon McCullum and his side.

All photos: Tracy Hardy

Despite a late rally that saw Luke Ronchi and Trent Boult post a 10th wicket record of 74 runs, a total of 230 from 45.1 overs was not enough to trouble the visitors, who took the spoils ahead of Friday's rematch.

Ronchi was agonisingly dismissed for 99 when he edged to Quinton de Kock, while local boy Boult, playing on his home ground, posted a one-day career-best of 21 not-out.

Boult then took the game to the South Africans as NZ started their defence, removing De Kock with his first ball before dismissing Faf du Plessis for eight and ending the day on 40-2.

But the sterling partnership of South Africa skipper AB de Villiers and JP Duminy quashed any hope of a home win, with the pair posting 89 and 58 respectively to clinch victory with nine balls to spare.

After the match, McCullum told Sky Sports New Zealand: 'It was pretty close. The scoreboard doesn't reflect that but I thought we had a period there where we weren't that far away.

'I'm pretty proud of our effort to get through to 230 after staring down the barrel of a pretty low score.”

He also singled out Boult for special praise after his impressive homecoming, saying: 'Trent Boult I thought was outstanding. He's certainly improving as a cricketer, he's starting to flow his Test game into the shorter version as well so that's a real positive.”