Had Ben Stokes remained in his usual spot down the order, the England supporters who took up the offer of free final day tickets here would have at least had a crackle of anticipation when he came out to bat.
Defeat was pretty inevitable chasing 373 on a cracked pitch that was increasingly throwing up tricks. Stokes had not produced a miracle with the bat for a while. But there might not have been such a downbeat vibe as New Zealand wrapped up a 2-1 series victory 30 minutes after lunch.
