England win 5th ODI against New Zealand to take
5-match series 3-2
Bairstow steals the show
AFP
AFP, CHESTER-LE-STREET (UK): Jonny Bairstow proved an ideal stand-in as his unbeaten 83 saw England to a 3-2 series-clinching win over New Zealand in the fifth one-day international at the Riverside on Saturday.
England, chasing a revised target of 192 in 26 overs, collapsed to 45 for five, with left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner taking three wickets for four runs in seven balls.
But Yorkshire wicket-keeper/batsman Bairstow and Sam Billings (41), turned the tide during a sixth-wicket stand of 80 in 57 balls.
Adil Rashid (12 not out) then helped Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow complete victory for a new-look side with an unbroken stand of 54 in 29 balls.
England finished on 192 for seven, with six balls to spare, in a three-wicket win under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Man-of-the-match Bairstow, only called into the squad on Friday after first-choice keeper Jos Buttler suffered a hand injury, faced 60 balls including 11 fours, during his maiden ODI fifty.
It was all a far cry from the World Cup, where Englands first round exit included an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat by New Zealand.
This series saw England and New Zealand set a new aggregate runs record of 3,151 for a five-match ODI campaign, surpassing the total of 2,963 shared by India and Pakistan in 2003/04.
Having seen England leg-spinner Rashid prosper during New Zealands innings, McCullum took the unusual step of deploying Santner as one of his opening bowlers.
Santner struck with his second ball when Alex Hales (one) was superbly caught by a leaping Kane Williamson at square leg to leave England eight for one.
