Cricket: 'It hurts a lot' - McCullum

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is adamant his team is still playing good cricket and they'll avoid a "kneejerk reaction" to their 124-run loss to England after conceding a 134-run first innings lead.

His opposite Alastair Cook dropped anchor with 162 when it mattered in the second innings. In response, the New Zealand top order had slumped to 12 for three before lunch on the final day, effectively ruling out the possibility of victory in a fourth innings chase for 345 from 77 overs on a wicket which still appeared batsman-friendly.

Kane Williamson, B-J Watling and Corey Anderson gave hope for a draw but it escaped New Zealand's grasp.

Similarly spinner Mark Craig has enjoyed a phenomenal start to his career but struggled to tie down an end in match figures of 46-5-173-2. Tim Southee also took his share of punishment as a pace spearhead, delivering 58-5-266-3. His main nemesis was Ben Stokes. On the fourth day Stokes contributed significantly to Southee's spell of none for 53 from six overs with the second new ball. That was scarring, yet Southee still showed a knack for producing brilliance with his deliveries to remove Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell.

"It hurts a lot," McCullum said of the loss. "At the same time there's an element of pride that we continue to play a style that gives us our greatest chance [of winning]. There will be times teams can stand up to you and withstand the pressure. You have to doff the cap, say 'well played' and make sure next time you go hard again and ask the same question.

"At Headingley we may see a different result. Emotionally our guys are steady and that's allowed us to play some good cricket so 'no kneejerk reaction' will be the message to a performance like this because we were pretty good for most of it."

McCullum paid tribute to the way Cook dealt with pressure in the wake of the Kevin Pietersen non-selection saga.

"I've got a heck of a lot of respect. He's been going through a tough time so to play the type of innings he did, when his team were behind the eight-ball, showed steel.

"Not every captain has to play the game in the new, innovative style. It helps when you have guys like Ben Stokes and Joe Root who can play with that sort of freedom under pressure. You have to put that down to Alastair's leadership as well."

"It's been a rocky road for us the last two weeks but I've never heard Lords' like that," Cook said, referring to the crowd support. "Mentally the match was on a knife edge the whole time. When we were 134 behind, someone needed a big score."

He singled out man-of-the-match Stokes, particularly for his first innings contribution.

"I'd love to score as quickly as Ben, but the bottom line is: I can't. He'll get plaudits for the century but his [first innings] 92 was unbelievable batting when the ball was moving around corners at 30 for four."

Stokes had also caught McCullum's eye in an all-round performance which severed New Zealand's ambitions.

"The game needs more players like him and Joe Root who can rip a game away. There aren't too many who have the courage, the freedom and the backing of their captain to play like that. I thought his performance with the bat rolled over to the ball where he was devastating."