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LONDON - A "mad hour" in Manchester was still gnawing away at coach John Bracewell as he assessed New Zealand's cricket tour which ended with their best performance in the finale at Lord's.
Led by man-of-the-match Scott Styris' excellent 87 not out and captain Daniel Vettori's killer spell of three for 32, the 51-run victory in the fifth one-day international gave New Zealand a 3-1 series victory to retain their world ranking of three.
In tests, it was the familiar must-do-better scenario, the 0-2 defeat leaving them seventh in the world, with two-test tours of Bangladesh in October and Australia in November to follow.
The gulf between their test and one-day performances made it difficult to give an overall success rating of the tour, although the final week of three consecutive victories over England and teenager Tim Southee's player-of-the-series performance was the best possible finish.
Still, test success is the barometer and Bracewell said the second test collapse at Old Trafford - seven for 29 in 17 overs against Monty Panesar's spin after they had total control - sent shockwaves through the camp which were still felt in the ODI series.
"The tour was summed up in a mad hour which turned our tour on its head," said Bracewell.
"Being such a young side they were quite scarred emotionally by that and we didn't recover for the third test.
"Our strategies were pretty good but our skill and experience was very low. We had England in positions where we could have won throughout the test series but we didn't have the overall experience and skill level to execute it."
Things got worse - a comprehensive hiding in the Twenty20 international back in Manchester and a 114-run defeat in the first ODI in Durham. Captain Daniel Vettori's usually cheery demeanour was becoming ever darker and murmurs of 5-0 to England were growing louder.
But England began to self-destruct with the bat, befitting their world ODI ranking of seven, and New Zealand were far superior in the field.
The turnaround, which started in Birmingham when rain cost New Zealand a likely victory, showed Bracewell there was a solid foundation to rebuild.
"There's no doubt there's some tough characters in this group, and a toughness we really haven't had in the past," he said.
"We've had some extremely talented players but they've been day on, day off people. We've got some kids there, once they learn and gain that experience will secure some really good results for New Zealand."
That toughness was epitomised in the fourth ODI at The Oval when Paul Collingwood's decision not to recall Grant Elliott galvanised the side in a furious reaction, caught by television cameras.
Bracewell, a noted scrapper in his time as test offspinner, said the incident steeled his side for their clinical finish at Lord's.
"It looked like quite ugly stuff there, but the guys were single-mindedly in behind our captain and vice-captain (Brendon McCullum) and I was really proud of that.
"There was no backing off and there was complete support for their actions. Sometimes you need to show a little dirtiness to drag it out. I admired what they did and I admired the players for supporting them."
Southee defied injury, illness, and his surprise non-selection for the third test to finish his first England tour in style, taking 13 ODI wickets at 18.23 to point to a bright future.
Kyle Mills was a close second in player-of-the-series voting for his all-round heroics in Bristol and The Oval, while Bracewell hailed his "tremendous" leadership of the pace attack. Late callup Elliott made a seamless transition to ODI cricket with his Bristol performance and added to New Zealand's allrounder pool.
The test side remains a work-in-progress, with a No 3 batsman and a quality strike bowler their biggest holes to fill in Stephen Fleming and Shane Bond's absences.
Young Daniel Flynn was another good find for the future, with some gritty test and ODI innings in a gutsy comeback from his tooth-shattering blow in Manchester which made the second test even more forgettable for the tourists.
They now head for Aberdeen to play Scotland and Ireland this week before heading home on Friday.
- NZPA
