Monday 22 June 2015 17:04, UK
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum will take some time to decide on his one-day international future after the dramatic climax to a 3-2 series loss in England.
McCullum, 33, has a long-standing back complaint and there has been speculation that, after 254 matches at this level, he could miss New Zealand's limited overs tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August with the aim of giving heir apparent Kane Williamson more captaincy experience.
Having led New Zealand to a maiden World Cup final on March 29, where they suffered a seven-wicket defeat by Australia in Melbourne, McCullum may decide he has few more peaks left to climb in the one-day game.
"I don't know. We'll wait and see," said McCullum when asked about his one-day future after England's three-wicket win in a rain-affected clash at Chester-le-Street on Saturday gave England a 3-2 victory in the five-match series.
"We'll let the dust settle on this. It's been a great year, an incredible summer for us.
"We've scaled some heights that hadn't been done before by our country and we're starting to build a soul to how we play."
"I'm lucky enough to be in a position of leadership to give guys the freedom to play that brand. I've enjoyed the last two years. The body's a bit sore but we'll see what happens."
Injuries to the likes of Trent Boult and Corey Anderson meant that the Black Caps had to introduce a number of new players to the international game, something McCullum sees as a positive.
"We've been lucky enough through the series to be able to introduce some people to international cricket, and you can't help but think there's going to be a whole lot of learnings from this series," he said.
McCullum said that while Williamson and fellow batsman Ross Taylor had been "outstanding" during the series, other core members of the World Cup squad, including himself, hadn't been at their best.
"As whole we probably just weren't quite there, and there were some key players - myself included - who just weren't quite where we needed to be to continue the momentum that we built up through that World Cup," explained McCullum, bowled for six by Steven Finn on Saturday.
At the World Cup, New Zealand thrashed England by eight wickets but found themselves up against a transformed one-day team this tour.
England are the hosts of the next World Cup, in 2019, and McCullum said: "I think England's an exciting group - fast-forward four years, provided they stay true to that style, they'll be a dangerous team."
New Zealand's tour concludes with a one-off Twenty20 international against England at Old Trafford in Manchester on Tuesday, live from 6pm on Sky Sports 2 HD.
A few tickets are still available for the match and can be obtained at www.lccc.co.uk/tickets
