Brilliant Bairstow leads England to 3-2 series win

Jonny Bairstow's England debut saw him win a rain-affected ODI in Cardiff in 2011 and on his return to the side here, in place of the injured Jos Buttler, he produced a similar act with his best innings since that day to get England home and take a thrilling ODI series against New Zealand. His unbeaten 83 from 60 balls won what turned into a gripping decider in Durham.

There were 17 needed from the final 12 balls of a rain-affected chase, with Brendon McCullum entrusting debutant Andrew Mathieson with the penultimate over. Bairstow struck two sweet drives over extra-cover before Adil Rashid guided another boundary with a dab past short third man. Bairstow completed victory with a sliced drive backward of point, eliciting an emotional celebration and delirium for England on their balcony, having been bailed out by their stand-in wicketkeeper.

England's cavalier cricket has won back the support of the British public during the New Zealand tour but cavalier turned calamitous at the start of their Duckworth-Lewis revised chase of 192 in 26 overs as they slumped to 45 for 5 at the start of the ninth over. On a fairly sluggish wicket, far more careful negotiation was required than earlier in the series, and yet England began their pursuit of 7.38 an over like a horse pulling hard in a middle-distance race.

With three furlongs to run they were tailed off but Bairstow and Sam Billings began to run on. They shared 80 in 57 balls for the sixth wicket, England's highest against New Zealand in ODIs, before Bairstow took them past the winning post with composure desperately lacking from the top order.

New Zealand were in control with the required rate touching nine an over and could have killed the chase. They gave Bairstow two lives. He was dropped by wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi, having got an inside edge on 39, and that was followed by a worse miss from Mitchell Santner at third man on 56. It spoiled Santner's effort in the field having taken three wickets in seven balls to leave England in desperate trouble.

But Bairstow bit back, lifting Santner down the ground for four and striking a better lofted drive wide of extra-cover off Tim Southee. Another four raced across the turf next ball. He cleared his front leg to smear Grant Elliott down the ground and then placed a graceful drive over mid-off next ball. Elliott was also swept for six by Billings, who also played his part in reviving the chase but fell pulling Matt Henry to short midwicket when 67 were needed from 51 balls. Bairstow took over to finish the job.

It was a fitting end to a superb series, which yielded the highest aggregate of runs in any five-match ODI rubber. But for much of the day the flourishing batting and clean striking that characterised the preceding four matches was largely absent as a grey day and a slower pitch created better bowling conditions.

But England failed to recognise as such and played with recklessness also seen in the third ODI. Alex Hales, trying to pull a ball not all that short, was taken by an outstanding one-handed catch by Kane Williamson leaping above his head at square leg; Joe Root fell out of his ground with Santner turning one sharply past his outside edge - Luke Ronchi completing the stumping despite a fumble - and then Eoin Morgan, rather criminally with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle, slog-swept his first ball straight to deep midwicket. That left England 23 for 3 after the five-over Powerplay.

Ben Stokes was never going to change tack, being at the vanguard of New England since a record-breaking century in the Lord's Test. Unlike Morgan, he at least composed himself with six deliveries for two singles but after two boundaries in succession off Ben Wheeler picked out mid-off to the next ball trying to slap down the ground. Jason Roy also tried a little too hard and, having failed to time any of his 20 deliveries, rather curiously hung his bat out to a short wide delivery and chipped up a catch to backward point.

But England recovered and ultimately New Zealand's 283 was not enough. To get even that many was thanks to a late burst from Wheeler. The only time the run rate topped a run a ball was during the first three overs. McCullum unleashed one smash down the ground having run down the wicket but until Wheeler lifted 39 from 28 balls late on, that was the only eye-catching moment of a subdued innings far more customary of one-day cricket in England - certainly in Durham where only once in 15 ODIs had 300-plus been posted.

Martin Guptill and Williamson make half-centuries from more than 60 balls and the only other partnership of note was 55 at better than a run a ball between Elliott and Ross Taylor. Elliott caressed a cover-drive off Mark Wood and lifted Steven Finn down the ground in the batting Powerplay that yielded 38 for 0 and presented New Zealand with a platform for the final 10 overs but England took regular wickets. The Elliott-Taylor stand gave the innings some impetus but both fell within an over of each other. A total of around 250 was looking likely before Wheeler popped up with three sixes, two off the final two balls from Steven Finn as the last over leaked 22.

Before the late hitting, the bowlers were enjoying a day in their favour that perhaps they were due. The ball swung and seamed and spun too for Adil Rashid, who has generally has performed encouragingly throughout the series. He bowled with guile and landed his change-ups well. His second wicket came with a googly, turning one inside Elliott's attempted heave down the ground having advanced at the bowler. He had also beaten Santner outside off with a googly to the third ball he faced and then, to the sixth, Santner advanced down the pitch and was beaten by a turning delivery past the inside edge.

New Zealand's innings had a familiar theme to begin with, after they were sent in by Morgan. Williamson was involved in another strong partnership, this time 94 for the second wicket with Guptill. Williamson passed 1000 runs in ODIs in 2015 with a 63-ball fifty but he fell bottom-edging a pull from Stokes into his stumps.

Guptill scored at a similar rate. He pulled Finn in the ninth over to the midwicket fence and flicked Stokes' second ball of his spell wide of deep midwicket. He reached fifty in 62 balls but had perhaps only timed one stroke properly - a blazing extra-cover drive off Stokes, his fourth boundary. Guptill fell edging behind trying to cut the sixth delivery of Stokes's second spell, which bounced a little. It left New Zealand 150 for 2 after 30 overs and their run-rate had barely increased by the finish. Then came the rain, which took a couple of hours out of the game; then came Bairstow.