Bairstow, bowlers lead England charge to series
England surged to a seven-wicket victory with 17.2 overs to spare to secure their sixth one-day series win a row
England surged to a seven-wicket victory with 17.2 overs to spare to secure their sixth one-day series win a row
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: Andrew Miller
5.46pm So, Morgan takes receipt of the series trophy, and that wraps up our coverage from an enthralling ODI leg of England's tour. Don't forget though, that the fun continues as we switch from white ball to pink and ultimately red, with the Test series just around the corner. And don't stray too far from your laptop/mobile, as a compelling Australia-South Africa Test is set to resume in just over three hours' time. From myself and Alan, and Ranjith the scorer, it's goodbye for now.
Eoin Morgan: "I thought our bowlers set the tone after winning the toss, took advantage of the bounce, good line and length, the execution was outstanding, and we created opportunities by building pressure. Woakes has been outstanding, he contributes a huge amount for us down the order, and leads the line with the ball. The aggressive nature that we play, we want to impart that on a game at any stage. But ultimately today the game was won by our bowling unit. We've had a good competitive series here, and we've loved every minute of the tour."
Kane Williamson: "We lost the toss and they bowled very very well. We lacked discipline with the bat today, a good showing from Mitch Santner and Henry Nicholls, but a really disappointing effort on our part. We didn't get a complete performance all series, but England were outstanding, a very good one-day unit, and deserved to win the series. Too many soft dismissals throughout our innings. England have great depth, a number of allrounders, and they play an aggressive brand of cricket for a lot longer."
Chris Woakes is Player of Series: "Thought there were a few better knocks than my bowling, but happy to take it, nice to come out on top in a tight series. Nice to pick up some wickets up top, a couple of pitches have offered a little bit, a bit of extra bounce this morning. The important thing is, if you take wickets up front, you naturally stem that flow of runs. You look at their strengths and weaknesses and try to expose them. Think on your feet a little bit."
Jonny Bairstow is Man of the Match. "The bowlers set the platform, and they have done first up all through the series, but obviously delighted to get the win. It's massive for me, opening the batting is different, my job is to go out and score big hundreds, still a work in progress. A bit of grip for our spinners in the first innings, but a decent toss to win, and we learnt from the first innings, which shots were right or wrong."
And on that catch .. "More luck than judgement. You cop a bit of stick out there, especially being a ginge!"
5.30pm Soham Basak: "As a neutral supporter, this has been an enthralling series with twists and turns all the way. Even with a one-sided finale, this series has been a great advertisement for ODIs. Kudos to both teams."
Pranjal Raj: "Oh boy!! NZ desperately missed Taylor. Enough said." A massive loss, it has to be admitted. But England were ruthless.
5.25pm What a barnstorming performance from England. Dominant with the ball, ruthless with the bat, particularly while Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales were in harness, and they've wrapped up a 3-2 series win with a hefty 17.2 overs left unused.
Dave: "What a joy England's top order isâŠRoy out injured and in comes Hales to step in to knock up an accomplished half century in partnership with Jonny as England chase down their target to take the series. One of the most feared top orders in white ball cricket. "
Dhaval : "This England side looks scary and are already a serious contenders for the finalists of WC19. "
New Zealand have plenty of time to ponder where it went wrong against England, but when they next take the field in coloured clothes the clock will be ticking to cement their World Cup plans
England surged to a seven-wicket victory with 17.2 overs to spare to secure their sixth one-day series win a row
With little more than 12 months left for the 2019 World Cup, Jonny Bairstow and Eoin Morgan are seeing plenty of positives in the way England have performed in New Zealand
New Zealand have won eight out of eight ODIs at Hagley Oval, while England are looking to make it six series wins in a row
Eoin Morgan will play his 200th ODI when England face New Zealand in Christchurch. His first came for Ireland in 2006, but even then his future path was clear