England captain Eoin Morgan has hailed the match-winning display of Jonny Bairstow as he guided the Three Lions to their one-day series victory over New Zealand at Durham.
Bairstow scored an unbeaten 83 to ensure that England won the fifth one-day international to secure the series 3-2 against the Kiwis after his teammates had initially struggled to chase down the 192 victory-target set by the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Morgan feels that the team can use their success as a springboard to greater things ahead of the Ashes, which begin next month.
He told Sky Sports News: "We've come out of left-field with a new-look side. Joe Root, Jos Buttler and various names have put their hands up on various days. Jonny Bairstow was no different today – he was incredible. It was probably our worst batting display of the series and he won us the game.
"Everything that's happened in this series is stuff we've strived for over the last couple of years and it hasn't quite happened. With this group of players, it's turned things around and the attitude and skill level has been extremely high against a quality side.
"There's a great feel-good factor going around cricket that started in the Test series. It regained interest and let's hope we maintain that going into the Ashes and it makes a little bit of a difference to the result!"
The first Ashes Test starts on July 8 at Sophia Gardens.
Simon Sinclair
