New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has conceded that his side were beaten by the "better team" in their 3-2 series defeat to England.
Jonny Bairstow scored a match-winning 83 to guide the Three Lions to a three-wicket victory in the fifth one-day international at Durham to earn his team the series win.
The 33-year-old believes that the series was played at an extremely high level by both sides, but feels that Eoin Morgan's men fully deserved their victory.
McCullum told Sky Sports News: "It's been a tremendous series. The Tests were keenly fought and some of the cricket we've seen over the last five ODI games has been nothing short of sensational and both teams have played their part in that.
"Credit to England for holding their nerve today with the series on the line. They've got a lot of talent in their group and they're going to be an exciting team over the next few years.
"We've got some tremendous talent within the group and also some guys back home. Cricket in our country's in a good space and we've got to keep striving forward and getting better. It's tough when you run second but sometimes you get beaten by a better team."
England and New Zealand face off for the final time this summer in a Twenty20 match on Tuesday.
Simon Sinclair
