Kane Williamson bemoaned Colin Munro's early dismissal and some soft wickets in the middle order as New Zealand were easily beaten by England in the one-day series decider.
The Black Caps were bowled out for 223 in the fifth and final ODI in Christchurch before Jonny Bairstow's 104 powered England to a seven-wicket victory with 104 balls remaining.
Having been put into bat, New Zealand suffered a huge early blow when Munro went for a duck with the third ball of the match.
With Munro and Martin Guptill (47) unable to form an early partnership, New Zealand faltered without Ross Taylor - whose 181 inspired them to a fourth-ODI victory - in the middle order due to a thigh injury, with Mitchell Santner (67) and Henry Nicholls (55) the only players to pass fifty.
Speaking afterwards, Williamson said of Munro and Guptill: "Both of them are match winners at the top. Both have played innings that contribute a long way towards winning games.
"It's just a shame this series, that they weren't able to put it together at the same time.
"The disappointing thing was too many soft dismissals through that middle order.
"We failed to adapt over a period of time on a good surface that was a little soft to start and the ball stood up. There were definite decision-making errors on our part."
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