England in New Zealand: Ashes hope should remain despite ODI series defeat

From Mount Maunganui to Wellington, plus a loss in Hamilton in between, England’s batting failings against the Black Caps were undeniably a concerning trend.

Yes, captain Harry Brook lost all three tosses to expose those batters to the worst of conditions on at least two occasions.

Yes, New Zealand’s 50-over side, with their 93% win ratio at home since 2019, provide one of the toughest challenges in world sport.

But with four Ashes bankers in England’s top five – and the fifth a possible starter in Jacob Bethell – they returned only one innings above 34 between them across three matches.

Bethell, Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Joe Root batted 15 times collectively in the 50-over series and together had nine single-figure scores.

No-one would call that ideal.

“It’s a different form of the game and it’s a completely different kind of challenge that we’re going to be confronted with as well,” said coach Brendon McCullum, denying batters would be scarred by the 3-0 series sweep heading into the Ashes.

At no point have England been in New Zealand because they see it as the optimal way to prepare for five Tests in Australia.

These fixtures were part of their wider schedule, dictated by those with a grip on the purse strings and who sign broadcast deals.

England have, instead, tried to make the most of the cramped schedule and ease players back into action after a post-summer break.

Steve Smith’s Sheffield Shield century appeared ominous, but fellow Australia middle-order batter Travis Head is also battling through white-ball matches against India, with no score above 30 in four attempts.

Had Root stroked New Zealand’s medium-fast pacers for a century in front of Aotearoa’s grass banks, few would have said it mattered when it came to facing Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Perth cauldron with a different ball.

The reverse must also be true.

“Jamie Smith, Joe Root and Ben Duckett, they’ll be better for the run, too,” McCullum said.

“I’m sure they’ll be better for it with the prep that we’ve had with the other Test guys [bowlers Mark Wood, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson] who’ve been here for a while, too, we’ll have no excuses come Australia.”

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