New Zealand vs England, 5th ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: England tour of New Zealand, 2018 Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch Date & Time: Mar 10, 11:00 AM LOCAL

Bairstow slammed 104 off 60 in the chase. © Getty

That's all from us folks! Hope you enjoyed England's cracking win. Until next time then ...

Here's what the players had to say -

Jonny Bairstow - Player of the Match: "Very fortunate to travel to this amazing country. It's a case of giving yourself a bit of extra time at the top. You can be 1 or 2 off 10 balls but you can catch up later. Delighted to get the win. Opening the batting is different to batting in the middle order. My job now is to contribute with big hundreds. It's still work in progress. There was grip for our spinners, so maybe there was some moisture in the wicket early on. Decent toss to win. The catch I took was more luck than judgement. Can't wait for the Tests. First D/N Test as well here, so a new experience for everyone."

Chris Woakes - Player of the Series: "The ball's coming out alright. Wickets upfront are important, else the guys can take it away. It's nice to pick those wickets and thankfully I've been able to do that. A couple of wickets offered a bit. Pitches have been okay. You've to adapt to the conditions and realize what deliveries are best on that pitch. You've to think on your feet."

Williamson: "We lost the toss and they bowled very well. The ball did stand up a little bit but we had to weather that. Santner and Nicholls batted really well. A disappointing win from our side. It's such a shame. Putting all that aside, England are a very very good One-Day side and deserved to win the series. Too many soft dismissals throughout our innings. the wicket was a good surface and we did need a lot more from the bat. We weren't good today, which is such a tough pill to swallow. They have great depth, have a number of all-rounders and bat a long way down. So they can play the aggressive brand of cricket a lot longer. We know when we do well, we can beat anyone. The game keeps teaching us lessons."

Morgan: "Our bowlers set the tone. Probably a little bit of bounce early on, and we took advantage of that. We created opportunities by creating pressure. Spinners took opportunities of a little bit of turn here today. Woakes has been outstanding. He can bat as well, believe me. He's led our attack with the ball; just doesn't take the limelight. We did get the hundreds but the process through which we got them. Bairstow and Hales batted well but the game today was won by the bowling unit."

will be an epic one. The best against the best. Englad have won all their last odi series' against sl,aus,sa,NZ India have all won their last odi series' against sl,aus,sa,NZ and England Along with 5 tests matches would be a great tour.

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Hello and welcome to the live blog of the fifth and final ODI between New Zealand and England. New Zealand enjoy playing in the South island of their beautiful country. Their five-wicket victory in the fourth ODI against England in Dunedin continued their unbeaten one-day record at that ground and they will also be looking to remain undefeated at Hagley Oval in Christchurch when the two sides meet there in the series decider.

This ODI series has shown the format in its very best light. The pitches have often given something for the bowlers which has created more nuanced and interesting cricket as a result and the series has ebbed and flowed as two fine teams have slugged it out. Although T20 cricket may be the coming force, when the 50-over format is as compelling as it has been in this series, it clearly still has a future.

It is fitting then that the two teams are locked at 2-2 going into the final match, setting up a knock-out type scenario which will be good preparation for next year's World Cup.

New Zealand's two victories in Hamilton and then in Dunedin have been based in large part on brilliant individual performances from Ross Taylor who may be missing in Christchurch with injury whereas England's wins in Wellington and Mount Maunganui were achieved thanks to a number of players contributing. Eoin Morgan's men still look the more rounded team, with more options with the ball and a deeper batting order.

With more players in decent form too, England are perhaps favourites to take the series and will be in the box seat if Taylor isn't fit, something which would put even more pressure on Kane Williamson. One area where England will be looking to improve is on their ability to take wickets in the middle overs which they were unable to do in both Hamilton and Dunedin.

But New Zealand teams are generally resourceful and this side has won two games in the series despite a number of important players such as batsman Martin Guptill and bowlers Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner not quite hitting their straps. The home side could have won in Wellington too had one of the middle order batsmen managed to stay with Williamson - who made a fine hundred - for just a few overs.

History is on New Zealand's side. They have played eight times at Hagley Oval since their first match there in 2015, winning them all. Prior to that first game at the venue against Sri Lanka, Lancaster Park had hosted international cricket in Chirstchurch but it was destroyed during the horrendous 2011 earthquake which cost 185 lives. Christchurch is a sporting city which is still rebuilding itself after that horrible day but it is a fitting venue for such a mouth-watering finale.