5 Players Whose Stock Tumbled During England vs. New Zealand Test Series

England and New Zealand produced some scintillating cricket during their Test series—but not every player was able to shine.

While the hosts won at Lord's in a dramatic final session, it was the Black Caps who were celebrating on the fifth evening at Headingley, meaning honours finished even.

It left many wondering why only a pair of matches had been scheduled, with the series perfectly set up for a third and final Test.

Instead, however, the teams switch their focus to one-day cricket. They play each other in five ODI matches, followed by a one-off Twenty20 fixture.

But, before then, here are five players who saw their stock tumble at the start of the summer.

Gary Ballance had a sensational start to his Test career, becoming the third fastest England player to reach 1,000 runs.

However, his form dipped alarmingly at the start of the summer: He managed only 36 runs against New Zealand.

Trent Boult certainly had his number, the left-arm seamer dismissing the Yorkshire batsman three times in four innings.

He was, worryingly, also bowled on three occasions. His dismissal in the first innings at Headingley was particularly tough to watch, as he was castled by Boult when appearing to be playing French cricket.

Ballance's technique always looks a little odd, considering he has such a big movement backwards before the ball is delivered.

That's not going to be changed just because of three failures, but the left-hander will be desperate to return to domestic cricket and get some runs under his belt before coming up against Australia.

Ian Bell made a century for England in the first Test against the West Indies in April, the 22nd of his career.

Since then, the stylish right-hander's run of scores reads like this: 11, 1, 0, 0, 1, 29, 12, 1.

He has been nicking full deliveries to the waiting slips, while his dismissal in the second innings of the second Test saw him turn a catch to leg slip—straight after the fielder had been placed there.

The 33-year-old is viewed as a cornerstone of the side's batting order, but he looked bereft of confidence when he dragged himself off the field on the final day at Headingley.

Bell is no longer part of England's one-day plans, so he will return to Warwickshire to play county cricket.

He scored three centuries in the last Ashes series on home soil—England will be hoping he can recapture that form before he comes up against Australia again.

England must have thought they had found a spinner with real potential when Moeen Ali took 19 wickets against India last summer.

However, the all-rounder struggled against New Zealand, picking up five wickets at an average of 50. Even more concerning was his economy rate of 4.09.

It is asking too much for Moeen to become the new Graeme Swann. But England does need a slow bowler capable of holding an end up, allowing their seamers to get valuable rest.

The left-handed batsman has also been shunted down the order, batting behind both Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.

The problem for the selectors is that there are hardly a queue of spinners waiting for an opportunity.

It is telling that Moeen has been left out of England's ODI squad to play the Black Caps, allowing him instead to go back to Worcestershire and play four-day cricket.

It might be a little harsh to include Brendon McCullum in this list, but New Zealand's captain did not meet his lofty standards with the bat.

He averaged 34.50 in four innings, though his highest score was the 55 he made (at a sedate pace) in his side's second innings of the second Test.

It seemed the right-hander was still in Twenty20 mode at the start of the series, batting as if he was back at the Indian Premier League in the first innings at Lord's.

A first-ball duck followed second time around, though he made sure that didn't happen at Headingley by hitting the opening delivery he faced for six!

Still, McCullum never hit the heights he managed in Test action against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, when he averaged 69.40 and 72.33 respectively.

England, though, will hope they can keep him shackled in the upcoming one-day series. The last time they faced McCullum in the 50-over format, he hit 77 from just 25 deliveries in the Cricket World Cup.

While Trent Boult was superb with the ball, Tim Southee wasn't able to quite hit the same heights.

The seamer picked up eight wickets in the two Tests, though half of his haul came in the first innings of the match at Headingley.

He came under fire from Ben Stokes in the second innings of the series opener at Lord's, leaking 162 runs from his 34 overs.

It was all a far cry from the last time Southee played a Test at the home of cricket—he took 10 wickets in the match at the famous venue in 2013.

Bowling in English conditions should have suited the 26-year-old, particularly in the early stages of the summer.

His preparations were not helped by arriving late to the tour from the Indian Premier League, though new-ball partner Boult did not seem to have a problem switching quickly back to red-ball action.