England series ratings: Which batter has emerged as a good headache to have? Who proved to be the best bowler on either side? And which star reminded us all of his enduring greatness?
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England may have been absolutely hammered by New Zealand in the third and final Test of the three-match series, but heading home with a first series win since 2008 is a fine achievement for Ben Stokes and Co. The captain himself has left the country of his birth with questions swirling over his future as a genuine international all-rounder after suffering another hamstring issue while bowling.
![[The tourists were however handed a thumping defeat in the final Test - Tim Southee's farewell]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/06/93221325-0-image-a-2_1734416303132.jpg)
There were a number of impressive performances with the bat across the order, with both Harry Brook and Joe Root among the tons, while Ollie Pope's positional shift appeared to yield profit while deputising behind the stumps. Jacob Bethell's introduction at No 3 came with plenty of noise on social media, but it proved a very shrewd decision by Brendon McCullum and Stokes, though there were others who didn't quite live up to the standards we have seen them capable of in recent series.
![[Here Lawrence Booth runs the rule over the visitors and rates their performances in the series]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/06/93221323-0-image-a-3_1734416306476.jpg)
But who shone the brightest over the three Tests? Who returns home after a difficult series? And has anyone furthered their case to start against Zimbabwe in England's next one-off Test?. Here, Mail Sport's expert LAWRENCE BOOTH runs you through who starred in New Zealand, and who had a series to forget.
![[Zak Crawley couldn't lay a bat on Matt Henry, who removed him six times in the series]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/06/93221409-0-image-a-7_1734416560386.jpg)
Captain Ben Stokes and England picked up a first series win in New Zealand since 2008. The tourists were however handed a thumping defeat in the final Test - Tim Southee's farewell. Here Lawrence Booth runs the rule over the visitors and rates their performances in the series.
![[Jacob Bethell answered the pre-series critics in fine fashion and ticked off three half centuries]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/06/93221415-0-image-a-6_1734416558538.jpg)
