5 things we learned after England’s limited-overs tour of New Zealand

England’s final assignment before the Ashes ended in a 3-0 one-day international series whitewash defeat by New Zealand.

Three top-order failures ultimately doomed the tourists, with Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell – all of whom will be on the plane to Australia this week – hugely underperforming.

Here the PA news agency looks at what was learned from the trip.

England need to find their identity

England’s record of four wins in 15 ODIs this year makes for grim reading, and on nine occasions in 2025, they failed to bat out 50 overs, including in all three matches against the Black Caps.

Unlike in previous years, England have been at or near full strength since Harry Brook took the white-ball reins but their talented batting unit has struggled to adjust to the ebbs and flows of an ODI.

When the pitch is flat, England can bang with the best of them – and they have put up two scores of 400 this year – but if the ball spins or seams, as it did in New Zealand, they repeatedly flounder.

Brook wanted England to go a “little bit harder” after his 135 for the ages in Mount Maunganui but Brendon McCullum accepted after the series that they may need to strike more of a balance in future.

Bethell blows big audition

Even a bold gambler would not have bet big sums on England’s top-four making a combined 84 runs across the series, an all-time low in a men’s ODI series consisting of at least three matches.

Smith, Duckett and Root all appeared rusty and averaged in single figures, while Bethell has not strengthened his case to oust Ollie Pope as England’s number three batter against Australia.

Bethell, who struck a stunning maiden professional century against South Africa in September, made 31 runs at 10.33 when one score of substance would surely have rubberstamped his promotion ahead of Pope.

England looking over their shoulders

Three years ago, England held both limited-overs World Cups, having ended their 50-over drought in unforgettable scenes on home soil in 2019 before lifting the T20 title in Australia in 2022.

How times have changed. England’s fortunes in ODIs have nosedived to such an extent that they have lost six out of their last seven bilateral series to sit eighth in the world rankings.

Automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa rests on them being inside the top-nine by March of that year, with a qualifying tournament awaiting those ranked 10th or lower.

Ninth-placed West Indies and 10th-spotted Bangladesh are seven and 10 points adrift of England respectively so any notion automatic qualification is a certainty would be naive.

Plunkett void remains but Overton impresses

Liam Plunkett was jettisoned after England’s famous World Cup win six years ago, but no fast bowler since has been able to replicate his role as a consistent wicket-taker after the powerplay.

While Brook hailed leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s “wizardry”, he lamented the lack of his support his fellow Yorkshireman gets from the quicks at the other end although Jamie Overton enhanced his standing.

Valuable runs from number eight rescued England from oblivion in every match, while he chipped in as a change bowler and topped out at 90mph to suggest Plunkett’s successor could be close at hand.

New Zealand continue to punch above their weight

One of the well-worn cliches about New Zealand is the country with a population of five million continues to outstrip more resourced nations.

Will O’Rourke, Ben Sears, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne and Kyle Jamieson missed the entire series, with Matt Henry absent for the last two matches.

But Zak Foulkes looks an excellent prospect, Jacob Duffy excelled and Blair Tickner made a heartwarming return to bulldoze England’s hopes.