An impressive batting display from Stephen Fleming's men saw the homeside take the advantage to gain an important win and draw the series.

At 112-2 before lunch the tourists looked favourites to win, but Hussain's men slipped to 223 all out chasing a victory target of 312.

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew believes England's aggressive stance produced 'reckless strokes' that eventually led to their downfall.

England have had a long winter compounded by the tragic loss of Ben Hollioake and the loss means England have failed to win their last four Test series.

What can Hussain and co do to get back on track?

Englands' tactics where ok. It was the poor umpires and very bad pitches that where mainly to blame. I do not like those drop in pitches, they can give you an exciting game, but mostly they are a lottery.
Kurt, Lancashire

When will we ever learn that you cannot go into Test matches with 10 players, it used to be Hick we carried, now it is Ramprakash, is there any number in the batting order he has not failed in?
Geoff, England

England's tactics have always been wrong when it comes to cricket. Seems like every time I turn on the TV England have failed a Test match. We will never be victorious because we invent the sports and then other countries slaughter us at them. Bring back Ian Botham!
Matt, England

I think that England set about their task in exactly the right fashion on the final day of the tour. It would have been suicidal to sit back and try to bat out a full day on a pitch with uneven bounce. In those conditions the batsmen were always likely to be surprised by either a steepling delivery or one with no bounce at all.

Mark Butcher could have done nothing more than he did to a ball that jumped at him and caught the neck of the bat. To sit back would have been frivolous and would have only allowed Stephen Fleming to set more attacking fields and crowd the bat.

The match was lost on the evening of the fourth day when Nasser Hussain did not use his bowlers wisely allowing New Zealand to build up a lead, which always looked out of reach.
Paul Lamming, England

It may not what people want, but England should have gone for a draw. England do not have enough quality players for attacking cricket, or batsmen who are able to seize the initiative.

Hussain claims that this will not have a great impact on the summer, but their summer opponents are better than New Zealand - especially the ever improving Sri Lankans. So I feel the summer is going to be full of heartache for the English boys - but then what is new?
Kajam Maheswaran, England

I think boring the pants off everyone would be perfectly acceptable if it won us a Test series. However, there was no guarantee it was going to. A shame, but that's cricket. And can we now, please, give up once and for all on Ramprakash, like we did on Hick. Not good enough never has been, despite all the protests from the southern media. He is useless at Test level and must never play for England again.
David, UK

If you have to play under floodlights, and I applaud the ICC for taking this initiative then at least let's give the fielding side a chance by playing with a white ball as happens in the one-day game. Playing with a worn red ball in poor light is crazy.

You also have to take away the option for the batsmen to come off for bad light if floodlights are available. New Zealand were happy to come off in the first innings when the situation suited them but were happy to play on under floodlights when they got a sniff of a chance of a result in the second. Either its playable or it isn't.
Alan Dickenson, UK

We shouldn't have drawn the series but at least we were attacking. Given the off-field difficulties I think we did pretty well overall.

As for floodlights, nobody has a problem with it, it's just that before Monday, the umpires took the players off as soon as shadows appeared and yet played in the dark a couple of days later. What we need is consistency.

As for the comments below regarding one-day internationals being played under lights; the ball is white and the clothing coloured - it's a lot easier to see the ball!
Steve, UK

Why do we always think that a drawn Test series is progress? The England cricket hierarchy continues to accept such low standards.
Ron Aston, Belgium

It seems that England will be slammed by the critics whatever tactics they use. If we had adopted defensive tactics to get a draw we would be condemned as boring. When we attack and try to win we are classed as reckless.

People are also saying that NZ were 'decimated' by injuries. They basically had two or three injuries and if that decimates their team then they haven't got much depth .We went in without our best bowler Gough and didn't complain about it.

If we had won the series than I expect critics would claim we got lucky because of NZ's injuries. Face facts people, we cant win whatever we do.
Jim, UK

Nasser Hussain had a choice - bore the pants off everybody as Fleming did in the second Test or go for it, which he did. It might have come off if the players had been a little less gung-ho but I believe the resulting draw was a fair one with both sides sharing the honours.

The Flintoff decision could have been the deciding factor but who will ever know? I've enjoyed the series very much although am obviously disappointed at the result! Nasser Hussain is a tough cookie and he and Fletcher have galvanised English cricket but there is still some dead wood to root out and much work to be done. Good luck to them
Margaret Terry (Mrs), UK

The views expressed by Aggers I believe are representative of a past, which has seen England fail to keep pace with modern sport (on many fronts and cricket in particular). The desire not to lose no matter how unattractive it may be, never take a risk, don't attack etc, should be buried along with the timeless Test match and "a draw is as good as a win".

The England team will probably have done more for the enthusiasm and interest of the youngsters in their approach in the final Test than had they ended the day on 100 for 1. Most youngsters, those allowed to watch through the night would have switched off or fallen asleep before lunch.
Terry Plume, England

England have at last realised that with the right encouragement talent will emerge; witness the success of Flintoff. However, some tough decisions have to be made as we still collapse at the first sign of pressure. But please do not revert to the OAPs, like Stewart, who although they have the experience are not the future and should not go to the World Cup.
Keith, England

Once again, England snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I think we just have to accept that our cricket team is mediocre, at least that way we are not disappointed.
Peter, England

I was interested in hearing Graham Thorpe say that Test cricket should not be played under floodlights, because it creates difficulties for the fielding side. This is, of course, the same England fielding side that have been quite content to play under floodlights in the money spinning one-day internationals for the past five years or so.

And the same England side that demand that modern technology should be used in the modern game as standard practice. Presumably then, floodlights do not qualify as modern technology. Or does 'modern technology' mean anything that can get the decisions of 'incompetent' foreign umpires overturned whenever England feel hard done by/every time they lose a match abroad - delete as appropriate.
Garry Waddell, UK

As England have now not won a Test series for a year, principally through not making enough runs, some of the batsman must be concerned if they're going to be selected again. Top of this last to be dropped is Ramprakash, who sadly hasn't made one decent score throughout the winter and endured a particularly torrid time in New Zealand.

All credit to the Kiwis for their win, but you can't help but thinking that England have missed a great opportunity to win a Test series away from home.
Rob, Belgium

I think there is something to be said for taking the attack to the opposition. Not so long ago England were criticised for trying to bat out a draw after lunch against Pakistan last summer, when Trescothick had been taking them apart in the morning. Look what happened then.

I think England have come on leaps and bounds over the last two years. The media can be too critical at times. Don't forget that New Zealand won this match with their squad decimated by injury. That deserves genuine praise. They are a good side, which held Australia on the back foot for most of their drawn series away from home.
James Schouten, UK

To all those who have called England boring in the last season or two: faced with 311 to win, what did England do? Try and win. When faced with a lower score in the second test, Fleming blocked his way to a record 11 off 108 deliveries. Although it cost them in the end, all credit to England for being entertaining and attacking, and but for the weather and the umpires, it would have been at least 2-0.
Dave, NZ

It was Mark Ramprakash's turn to lift the team up, but he failed. Everyone needs to chip in when a need arises. If mark had scored 89 runs in total from both innings, England would have won the match.
Namasi Navaretnam, USA

The victory in the first Test was the biggest fluke of recent times. If England cannot beat New Zealand without Cairns, Nash, Bond and effectively Vettori they do not deserve to play Test cricket!
Yagya, USA

But for the weather, light and dodgy umpires, England would have won this series 3-0. Granted, NZ were missing a few key players, but England missed not having Gough, by far the best English bowler. For all of these reasons (but mainly the weather, including bad light) the entire series has been a farce. Why are we even playing at this time of year when it is virtually winter in New Zealand?

Questions must also be asked about the wicket. England 12-3 and New Zealand 19-4 doesn't sound right.
Andrew Stevenson, New Zealand

To win Test series you need bottle, England have not got that yet. They are trying to run before they can walk.
Imran, UK

This is the difference between Australia and rest of the teams. Australia has excellent back-up players. Recent games suggest teams like New Zealand, South Africa, India, West Indies and England don't have very good back-up players. Injuries to a couple of top players, and these teams suddenly become novice teams.
Naveen, USA