We rate England’s players out of 10 after their eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the series opener at Christchurch.

Zak Crawley – 3/10

0 off 12 balls
1 off 8 balls

The spotlight is always on someone and perhaps that glare has now moved to Crawley after the under-the-pump Ollie Pope silenced some of his critics with a half-century, bouncing back from a woeful series in Pakistan when he averaged just 11.

Crawley’s form also nosedived in the subcontinent after a knock of 78 in the first Test in Multan, with a best of 29 across his next four knocks, while he scored just a solitary run against New Zealand from a combined 20 balls, albeit that the Kiwis bowled well to him.

England have backed Crawley for so long that you cannot say his place is in jeopardy and coach Brendon McCullum once said they were not necessarily looking for consistency from him. It is just a shame that having found that consistency in the 2023 Ashes and last winter’s tour of India, it now appears to have deserted him.

Oh, and if you are wondering why Crawley has been given 3/10 after only scoring one run, that is because he took a couple of key catches in New Zealand’s first innings, including Kane Williamson for 93 – and because we try not to be too horrible with these ratings!

Ben Duckett – 6/10

46 off 62 balls
27 off 18 balls

Frantic cameos but no more for the diminutive England opener in Christchurch, although his first-innings knock was key as the rest of the top four made just 10 runs between them – and all of those came off Jacob Bethell’s bat, with Crawley and Root sent packing for blobs.

Duckett then spanked a speedy 27 in the second innings to tee up England romping to a target of 104 in 12.4 overs. McCullum loves the intent the left-hander brings at the top of the order and Duckett will hope that helps him become a fixture in white-ball cricket, too, with McCullum taking charge of the the limited-overs team in January.

Jacob Bethell – 7/10

10 off 34 balls
50no off 37 balls