England succumbed to their first home series loss since 2014 after meekly surrendering to a depleted New Zealand side that had the better of the Lord’s Test match before winning by eight wickets in Edgbaston.
England were let down by an underwhelming batting performance as they tumbled to 122 in the second innings. On the bowling front, however, there were some optimistic signs. Stuart Broad and James Anderson bowled long spells, Mark Wood did not compromise on pace, and Ollie Robinson’s debut performance highlighted the depth of their pace attack.
Rory Burns 9 ( M 2, R 238, Ave 59.50)
Burns was a lone bright spot for England’s batting. He came on the back of a prolific season with Surrey, scored a hundred at Lord’s, and got 81 at Edgbaston.
Ollie Robinson 8 (M 1, W 7, Ave 14.43)
Robinson has an unsettling start to his international career. He picked up seven wickets on debut, but was suspended indefinitely by the ECB once his historic sexist and racist jokes surfaced.
Mark Wood 8 (M 2, W 6, Ave 34.17, R 70, Ave 23.33)
Wood bowled fast and extracted bounce to finish the series with six wickets. He also played two entertaining, important innings at Edgbaston, top-scoring in the second innings.
Stuart Broad 7.5 (M 2, W 6, Ave 26.60)
Broad’s efficacy took a hit at Lord’s, where his 39 overs fetched him a solitary wicket. His recent ploy of going round the wicket to the left-hander did not work. However, he did better at Edgbaston to pick up five wickets.
Dom Sibley 6.5 (M 2, R 103, Ave 34.33)
Sibley led the rearguard for England on Day 5 at Lord’s, when he faced over 200 balls for his 60 not out. At Edgbaston, he and Burns batted the entire first session to add 71.
Dan Lawrence 6 (M 2, R 81, Ave 40.50)
Lawrence made 81 not out at Edgbaston, and was a part of an entertaining partnership with Wood. However, he also made two ducks.
Joe Root 5 (M 2, R 97, Ave 24.25)
Root’s last century at home came way back in 2018, against India. He got multiple starts but failed to convert them into anything substantial. An aggregate of 97 runs at 24.25 does not do justice to someone of his calibre.
Olly Stone 5 (M 1, W 3 Ave 32.33, R 35, Ave 17.59)
Stone replaced the suspended Robinson at Edgbaston. He picked up three wickets and made 35 runs.
James Anderson 4 (M 2, W 3, Ave 68.67)
It turned out to be a rare ordinary series for Anderson, who got only three wickets in two Test matches. However, he became England’s most-capped player during the second Test, surpassing Alastair Cook’s record of 161 appearances.
Ollie Pope 2 (M 2, R 84, Ave 28)
As has often been the case, Pope spent some time, played decent shots, looked in touch, then found unusual ways to get out. One that will haunt him is when he got out to an innocuous delivery off Ajaz Patel in the second game.
Zak Crawley 1 (M2, R 21, Ave 5.02)
A horrific series for Zak Crawley, and probably his last for time being. Time for him to get back to the grind of county cricket.
James Bracey 1 (M 2, R 8, Ave 2.6)
Two ducks on the trot, multiple catches shelled, and finally, a score of eight in the last innings, sums up Bracey’s debut series.