New Zealand 1-1 England: player ratings for the Test series

Ben Stokes: 110 runs at 27.50; one wicket at 54; one catchBy the end the body was broken, the ​was ​spirit bruised but the attitude was still intact – I was reminded of Fred Dibnah, the ruins of a tall chimney at his feet, grinning and asking “Did you like that?” A rare series win in New Zealand was sacrificed on the altar of Bazball, a chance to set a target of ​more than ​500 for the draw, which would have secured the series, eschewed with the follow-​on. But an unforgettable denouement became the legacy, as Kane Williamson and Neil Wagner charged through a door ever so slightly ajar. Are you not entertained? That said, is the price worth paying? You would have to possess no soul to ​say no conclusively. Grade B

Zak Crawley: 58 runs at 14.5; two catchesIs he dealing with his technical issues? Is he capable of doing so? Does this England setup care? There is the whiff of the sunk cost fallacy about continuing ​to show ​faith in him, the 33 Tests for a career average under 28 simply too painful an investment to consign to history just yet. Nicking off three times and bowled through the gate once is not a showreel to encourage his diminishing number of defenders. Grade D-

Ben Duckett: 151 runs at 37.8; one catchA barnstorming 84 on the first morning of the series knocked so much stuffing out of the Kiwis that it’s tempting to think that they only really regained ​their​ collective composure in the second innings at the Basin Reserve. To scramble opponents’ minds through drives and slashes through the offside and an occasional heave for six is his brief and, if his series fell away a little after that electrifying first 20 overs, England will take one knock in four like that. Grade B+

Ollie Pope: 115 runs at 28.8; five