England's batting woes continued as New Zealand's pace attack secured a tense two-wicket win, sweeping the three-match ODI series. The Kiwis' tailenders put on an unbroken 30-run stand for the ninth wicket, lifting their team to 226 in the 45th over, after England struggled to reach 222. Seamers Blair Tickner and Zakary Foulkes took six wickets between them, causing England's top order to collapse to 44-5. This poor form from Test batsmen Ben Duckett and Joe Root is a concern just three weeks before the Ashes Test series in Australia. England's top four managed a total of 84 runs across the three matches, the fewest by any team in a comparable men's ODI series or tournament. Captain Harry Brook attributed the team's struggles to their inability to adjust to the movement extracted by New Zealand's pace bowlers in seam-friendly conditions. Tickner (4-64) and Foulkes (2-27) claimed four and two wickets, respectively, with Foulkes removing Jamie Smith and Root early. New Zealand's openers, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, scored 46 and 44, respectively, but steady wicket losses set up an exciting finish. England's Jamie Overton and Sam Curran took two wickets each, with both sides losing two batsmen to run-outs. New Zealand's late heroics, with Foulkes (14) and Tickner (18) not out, extended their exceptional run of ODI results on home soil since February 2019, with 25 wins, two losses, and two no-results.
