At the end of every tour we have the chance to reflect as a group; what we’ve done well, what we haven’t done as well as we’d like and what we have learnt from the experience.

Obviously a key indicator of our success is our performances on the park. We drew the Test series and then lost the decider at Durham to lose the five-match ODI series 3-2. After competing well for the past two weeks, the guys were really gutted to come off second best, but that is cricket. We had our chances and we weren’t good enough to take them. England bounced back very strongly from their World Cup campaign and played an attacking and exciting brand of cricket that had two quality sides butting heads.

I hope that this ODI series will be remembered for being one of the best in recent time with the quality of batting on display that broke records every time we played. To sum it up, the series saw both teams set a new aggregate runs record of 3,151 for a five-match ODI campaign, surpassing the total of 2,963 runs shared by India and Pakistan in 2003 - 2004. That is a remarkable amount of runs and it was little wonder that every match was sold out across England.

Of course, sport isn't only about winning and losing. We have had a number of other measures of success on this tour that put us in a great position going forward. Ahead of this tour we knew little of the likes of Mitchell Santner and Ben Wheeler and how they would cope with the pressure of international cricket. Both of them have been very impressive.

Mitch has shown with the bat, ball and in the field that he has a great skill-set. His batting at Trent Bridge (44 from 19 balls) and his bowling the other day at Durham (3 for 31 from six overs), which gave us a chance of winning the match, were signs that we have unearthed a real talent who could play for the BLACKCAPS for many years to come.  'Wheels' is also an exciting prospect. He bowled nicely on his debut to claim three wickets and his batting at Durham was again a sign of what he is capable of.

I'd also like to make special mention of Andrew Mathieson who became the 186th cricketer to represent New Zealand in One Day cricket when he made his debut at Durham.  Andrew also showed his potential and was the 19th cricketer to take a wicket with his first ball in international cricket. He will only get better with further exposure within NZC.

In the absence of Corey Anderson, Adam Milne, James Neesham and Trent Boult, we were able to provide playing opportunities, and these young men stood up well to the challenge.

There were many other key contributors to our performances in the series, and at the top of that list are Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Kane scored 392 runs across the five games at an average of 79.2 and in the process was the fastest in international cricket to score 1000 runs in 2015. He deservedly was awarded the man of the series. At the same time, Ross rediscovered some of his best forms and their partnerships were our standout moments of the series. Ross became the first New Zealand batsman to score 1000 ODI runs against England during his innings of 47 at Durham.

Of course the tour isn't over just yet. We have our final match of the tour - a T20 at Old Trafford tonight (5.30am Wednesday NZT) and all of the guys are determined to finish the tour on a high note. We don't get too many opportunities to play T20 cricket so games like this are important as we countdown to the T20 World Cup next March in India. Being in Manchester is always a special experience and the guys were fortunate enough to have a kick around at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United Football Club. It is experiences like that which make the tour of England special.

After tonight's game, the team disperse to many different directions; some to county cricket, some to CPL and many of the squad have a few weeks off before the side heads to Zimbabwe and South Africa for a limited overs tour.

As always, we appreciate your support. The support from back home throughout this tour has been incredible and all of the lads love playing for New Zealand knowing the country is right behind them.