England clinched a series win over New Zealand with a 323-run hammering of the hosts in the second Test in Wellington, their seventh-largest victory all time in terms of runs.
Joe Root (106) opened the third day by notching his 36th Test ton – brought up with a reverse-ramped four – to see him join Rahul Dravid in a tie for fifth among the game’s most prolific century makers.
England, having resumed the morning on 378-5 in their second innings, ultimately declared on 427-6 with the fall of Root’s wicket and immediately set about the New Zealand top order with the ball.
Set a record 583 to win, Chris Woakes (2-20) and Brydon Carse (2-53) combined to reduce the Black Caps to 59-4 on the stroke of lunch, before Tom Blundell (115) enjoyed himself in the afternoon with a thrilling 96-ball hundred.
New Zealand never came close to threatening a most epic of comebacks, though, with Shoaib Bashir (2-110) eventually accounting for the wicketkeeper-batsman, before England skipper Ben Stokes (3-5) fittingly ran through the tail in a devastating three-over burst to wrap up the most emphatic of victories.
It is Stokes’ side’s first away series win in two years since their 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan in 2022, and their first victory in New Zealand since 2008.
The third and final Test in Hamilton begins on Saturday, December 14.
How did England secure their series-clinching win in Wellington?
Heading into day three at the Basin Reserve, England already had the match well within their grasp, leading by 533 and seemingly opting against declaring overnight only to allow Root to push for yet another Test hundred.
Resuming on 73 not out, the 33-year-old duly did just that, requiring less than seven overs to reach the milestone, brought up with the most audacious of shots off Will O’Rourke (1-104) before the Black Caps quick dismissed him two balls later to trigger the declaration – Stokes unbeaten on 49.
Woakes’ superb new-ball spell saw the back of the desperately out-of-nick Devon Conway, bowled through the gate for a duck, and also claimed the key wicket of Kane Williamson (4), caught behind.
Carse made further inroads prior to the lunch interval, taking a terrific return catch off Tom Latham (24) and nicking off Rachin Ravindra (6), to take his tally for the series to a staggering 16 wickets at an average of 12.8.
Gus Atkinson (1-68), fresh from his hat-trick in the first innings, saw off Daryl Mitchell (32), while Bashir bowled Glenn Phillips (16) through the gate for his first wicket.
At the other end, however, Blundell was taking a liking to the off-spinner, with four of the five sixes from his scintillating century coming against Bashir as he and Nathan Smith (42) delayed England’s push for victory with a 94-run partnership.
Blundell’s fun was finally ended by Bashir, a great bit of work from Ben Duckett – running around from slip to claim a terrific catch as the the Black Caps batter looked to sweep – and from there, the New Zealand tail subsided rather meekly to Stokes.
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Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain reflects on Harry Brook’s blistering ton and how New Zealand crumbled on day one of the second Test against England
One minor concern for England heading into the third Test in Hamilton could be Harry Brook’s fitness as he was missing from the field for all of Sunday’s action as a precaution over a sore ankle.
It was the England batter’s magnificent 123 from just 115 balls on day one that helped set up their thumping victory, he and Ollie Pope (66) leading the recovery from a wobbly 43-4 start to the Test match for the tourists.
They’d ultimately be bowled out for 280, with Atkinson’s hat-trick – just the 15th for England in Tests – then helping to secure a sizable first-innings lead, before the likes of Root, with his 36th ton, and Jacob Bethell (96), dismissed four runs shy of a first, set things up on the second evening and into day three.
Stokes hails ‘phenomenal’ Brook innings to set up win
England captain Ben Stokes:
“It’s amazing to be stood here winning the series, especially after being [43-4] on day one.
“Looking back to the start of this game, Harry Brook and Ollie Pope were just amazing on day one to go out and play like that.
“In cricket terms, that wicket is what we call a snake pit. It was doing plenty on day one, a lot of assistance for the bowlers, but to have the bravery, backing your own ability, and also the skill to go out and play like that was absolutely phenomenal.
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Ian Ward was impressed by Jacob Bethell’s composure after he scored 96 for England on day two of their second Test in New Zealand and believes his form could cause selection headaches
“We’ve been unbelievable with the ball but the way Harry Brook played on day one set the game up for us.
“We see giving guys the opportunities to go out and express themselves in tough conditions as the best way to see what they’re about.
“Jacob Bethell has certainly shown us what he’s about – and shown the world what he’s about as well.”
Latham: It hurts that we didn’t play our best
New Zealand captain Tom Latham:
“We’re hurting. It’s disappointing to lose in that fashion, we only put up around 120 in the first innings and that put us on the back foot.
“Credit where credit is due. That was fantastic from England, they had one guy [Brook] that took it away. The way in which he took it in put us under pressure; he played some unbelievable shots.
“They kept their foot on the throat. We haven’t been able to absorb that pressure and put it back on them.
“It hurts that we didn’t play our best. The guys tried really hard; I’m not doubting the effort. We came in today with the hope of putting up some good partnerships but that didn’t happen.
“We’ll turn up [in Hamilton] with the aspiration of winning the last Test match. We know we haven’t been our best, but we’ll try and turn that around.”
