KEY POINTS:
Five things the Twenty20 series has shown us:
1: Having lost a clutch of experienced players from limited-overs cricket, New Zealand needs all available hands on deck.
Having no Daniel Vettori for either game was crucial; having no Jacob Oram in Christchurch on Thursday night left too many greenhorns to do the job. There's nothing wrong with greenhorns, just that drip feeding rather than throwing them in en masse has a better chance of working.
That pair would have accounted for eight overs for a start, therefore rationing the pile of dross tossed up to England. Oram's 61 at Eden Park was the one saving grace in a dismal batting effort; his absence on Thursday meant there was no one to turn with notable experience and a thunderous bat.
2: Sort out the batting order for the ODI series. Yes, it was only a couple of quick thrashes but some damage has been done. Precisely how much depends on your - and the players' - view of Twenty20 cricket. The next three games will tell.
Jesse Ryder will continue at the top of the order in Wellington today, but might prefer to return to the familiar middle-order territory he occupies for Wellington. Jamie How should be opening again as he did against Bangladesh. Ross Taylor and Peter Fulton both fancy the No 3 spot. Both could do with runs, and smartly.
If How opens with Brendon McCullum, the dashing Taylor could go in if McCullum is first out; Fulton if the more measured How goes early. Both are like-for-like swaps.
Players talk about the need to know where they're batting, but they're not kids. Planning is the key. Scott Styris, Ryder, Oram, Vettori and Kyle Mills, who is as clean a hitter as any, form a decent middle-lower order.
3: England have filed in the round drawer under the desk the notion that New Zealand should prosper in the ODIs; England will be superior in the tests.
If New Zealand don't buck up their ideas quickly, things could go pear-shaped at a great rate of knots. England have the bit between the teeth, they have young, enthusiastic men determined to make an impact. They have also won their last two ODI series under Paul Collingwood. Their Twenty20 record is not flash.
The skipper remarked after the Christchurch win that this week had had the makings of a tough introduction for England. It was a telling observation. He expects things to get even better for his team.
4: Tim Southee does not look out of place in the national side. The 19-year-old is off to Malaysia for the under 19 World Cup with a couple of encouraging displays behind him. He bowls a good full length and swings it.
The selectors thought of pulling him out of the cup to join the squad for the first three ODIs. He'll return in time for the test series. Don't be surprised if the young man from Maungakaramea is fast tracked, especially if those in front of him do not deliver in the coming weeks.
5: Eden Park was a shambles this week. Their handling of a 29,000 crowd was inept. Anyone trying to get through the crush down the back steps towards the No 2 ground 25 minutes before the kickoff in last year's rugby test against Australia will remember it vividly. That was a tragedy avoided through good luck rather than good management.
Did they not know more than 20,000 tickets had been pre-sold, therefore 25,000-plus would be coming in? Someone important offered the thought on the radio this week that spectators should have arrived earlier. It was the end of a working day, with the standard Auckland traffic pileups. It was a joke, but no one was laughing.
