Rollicking finale for madcap ODI series

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A madcap ODI cricket series comes to an end in Durham tonight.

It has the ideal setup in the sense that this fifth game decides what has been a rollicking rubber, unless you're a bowler. England have cast away their dowdy limited-overs clobber and the young thrusters, like Joe Root and Jos Buttler, have become assertive backers of their own talent.

It always helps when the captain is leading the way, and Eion Morgan, so woeful during the World Cup, has struck three half centuries and a century in four innings.

England have set batting records, have pummelled New Zealand's bowlers, have grown not just another leg, but a fresh pair of arms, wings and a mind which looks at possibilities in a fresh light, as a challenge to be accepted rather than fearfully shied away from.

And what of New Zealand? The batting has produced runs. They have managed 1251 runs in four innings, compared to England's 1425.

Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor - three centuries between them - top the aggregates for both teams with 346 and 328 runs, respectively. Morgan, Root and Buttler come next, with rousing strike rates.

And the bowlers? They'll be glad to see the back of this series. The most successful has been Trent Boult, who left for home after two games. Six wickets at 18 with an economy rate of 5.4 runs per over put him miles ahead of the next best. It's a worry.

Indeed, you could say it's Dimitri Mascarenhas' worry. The newly- appointed bowling coach has a serious job of work ahead. It's far too early to cast a critical eye on him, as Shane Bond's replacement. But Australia are looming next summer, and a trip to Africa before that. Tough questions are going to be asked of the bowlers.

Good old line and length on its own won't cut it; batting inventiveness has moved far ahead, but if you can't even manage that ...

England's bowling hasn't been brilliant but it's been marginally better than New Zealand's. Frankly they've become buffet bowlers in this series. There's a range of reasons for that - size of the grounds, fine batting conditions, fielding restrictions and witless bowling.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum called this series an aberration. That remains to be seen.

But certainly if you had a young lad growing up and mad for the game, you'd be inclined to steer him towards bats in the sports shop rather than the box of shiny red pills.

So has it been a good series? For England, having tossed away a cloak of conservatism, undoubtedly. For New Zealand, having clambered their way to No3 in ODI rankings, there is more to lose from that angle, but also in terms of maintaining their position as trend setter. New Zealand are now no longer the only country with a dashing game. Pretenders are hammering on the door.