KEY POINTS:
Thank goodness that's over. Ryan Sidebottom seems to have been running in at New Zealand batsmen forever.
But yesterday's 51-run ODI series clincher at Lord's puts an end to a marathon contest between New Zealand and England.
They have duelled in both countries for almost five months, taking
in six tests, 10 one-day internationals and three Twenty20 contests. The players must be sick of the sight of each. A trip to Lahore in September might seem appealing. Maybe not.
The final count:
Tests: England 4-1 with one drawn; ODIs: New Zealand 6-2, with one tie and a no result; Twenty20: England 3-0.
So how far have New Zealand advanced? In test terms precious little; in ODIs the outcome was good, but with a rider. It has been an exercise in treading water in both forms.
Test cricket remains a work in serious need of repair, but when it comes to the ODI game, New Zealand are a pretty solid unit, which we already knew anyway.
They were whacked in the Twenty20 games, but here's the point of that: does anyone remember the games at Christchurch, Eden Park and Old Trafford?
A mark for New Zealand on their time in England? 6/10, but they needed the win at Lord's yesterday to get that. England are an ordinary one-day team.
Still, New Zealand should celebrate the ODI successes. This is not the time to mope about reflecting where the test series went wrong. They go to Aberdeen for games against Ireland and Scotland starting tomorrow night, and no late pratfalls, thanks.
(Warning: Sion Mills , just south of Londonderry, played host to a West Indies match against the Irish in 1969. A big night on the black gold was enjoyed by all, and the West Indies were rolled for 25 the next day. The tail wagged; they were 12 for nine.)
In the test series, New Zealand were largely outclassed and while for a time there was a bemoaning of how little separated the sides - that one poor session had cost the tourists dear in at least three test losses - the bottom line is that England got out of their dilemmas. They won four tests out of five on the trot. New Zealand were well off the pace and hard questions should be asked.
The ODIs? New Zealand were combative, dug deep to defend 182 at Bristol, fought determinedly to get the advantage in the dramatic conclusion at The Oval, and nailed the series with their best allround effort at the last.
New Zealand are third on the ODI ladder, seventh in tests. England are the reverse, so the results were about what should have been expected.
The ODI pluses?
* Tim Southee's 13 wickets won him man of the series. The future looks bright; older, wiser eyes than these rate him a better bowler at 19 than Sir Richard Hadlee at the same age.
* Daniel Flynn, who appears a tough-minded little rooster, after coming back from having his mouth rearranged in the second test.
* Grant Elliott put a poor test debut in Napier behind him to make a notable contribution; so too Scott Styris, the one-day-only cricketer, when he arrived from India.
* Kyle Mills, for his crucial contributions with bat and ball.
And all allied to a general spike in intensity over the last three games.
The Champions Trophy in Pakistan in September is next up. Several players have said they don't want to go. Daniel Vettori rates New Zealand a decent chance, but that will only apply if the best squad travels.
Still, time for rest and contemplation - and for the selectors to open a "go figure" file for some serious thinking to sort out the frustrating discrepancy between test and ODI output.
It is no five-minute fix.
