England's spin twins are dominant but Nicholls struggles again... PLAYER RATINGS

England narrowly beat New Zealand by four runs in a dramatic one-day international in Wellington. The Cricketer assesses the individual performances of both sets of players...

England narrowly beat New Zealand by four runs in a dramatic one-day international in Wellington.

The Cricketer assesses the individual performances of both sets of players...

NEW ZEALAND

Martin Guptill (3): Good in the field but dismissed very cheaply, lobbing up a tame catch. 3

Colin Munro (49 & 0-46): Wouldn’t have expected to bowl as much as he did… and perhaps shouldn’t have been asked to. At the crease, after a frantic beginning, he gave his side a strong foundation. 6.5

Kane Williamson (112*): Couldn’t quite see his team home after being stranded by his own middle order. 9.5

Mark Chapman (8): Very tidy as a boundary rider during the England innings. Seemed to be in far too much of a hurry with the bat, slicing aimlessly to backward point. 3.5

Tom Latham (0): Good with the gloves on a difficult pitch. Dismissed first ball after misjudging Moeen Ali’s flight. 3

Henry Nicholls (0): Baffling review, taken without consulting his captain at the other end. He’s having a very tough series. 2

Colin de Grandhomme (3 & 1-24): Extraordinarily economical spell with the ball, making the most of a dubious pitch. Extraordinarily casual dismissal when he needed to hang around with his captain. 6.5

Mitchell Santner (41 & 0-12): Barely given a chance with the ball, so unlucky with the bat after setting New Zealand up for victory. 8

Tim Southee (7 & 1-48): Excellent up front and at the death, mixing his speed and getting rid of dangerman Morgan at a crucial juncture. 7.5

Ish Sodhi (2* & 3-53): A mixed bag of real quality, and monumental turn, and loose stuff easily punished by England. 6.5

Trent Boult (DNB & 2-47): Got a little tap late on but for the large part disciplined and dangerous. A livewire in the field, too. 7

ENGLAND

Jason Roy (15): Looked to be up for the battle before falling victim to a delivery from Southee which rose sharply off a length. 5

Jonny Bairstow (19): Having fought hard to see off the new ball, the Yorkshireman found himself totally outfoxed by Ish Sodhi. 4.5

Joe Root (20 & 0-7): So settled and totally in charge, then took three paces down the pitch and slapped the ball straight to mid-on. Needless. 4

Eoin Morgan (48): Held the innings together when it was in danger of falling apart. Unafraid to take on the spinner, combining power and patience. 8

Ben Stokes (39 & 0-27): A gritty, at-times ugly knock was absolutely crucial in the circumstances. Two excellent catches. 7

Jos Buttler (29): Entertaining, 360-degree hitting to give England impetus in the latter overs. 7

Moeen Ali (23 & 3-36): Fast runs with the bat preceded an exceptional 10 overs with the ball. Drift and guile totally bewitched the flimsy New Zealand middle order. 9

Chris Woakes (16 & 2-40): Useful lower-order runs and an incredibly cool head in trying circumstances at the death with the ball. 8

Adil Rashid (11 & 2-34): Fantastic control over a wide range of variations suggest Rashid is high on confidence right now. 9

Tom Curran (2* & 0-49): A tricky spell followed by one excellent, and hugely important, over at the end. 5.5

Mark Wood (1 & 0-36): Surprising that he couldn’t make much of an impact as the pitch appeared to offer bowlers less in the second innings. 5