- New Zealand beat England by 160 runs in the third Test.
- The defeat marks England’s seventh defeat in nine Tests.
- New Zealander Daryl Mitchell is named player of the match.
Injured New Zealand beat England by 160 runs in the third Test at Trent Bridge on Monday as Ben Stokes’ final international cricket match ended in a crushing defeat.
The victory meant New Zealand won a three-match campaign 2-1 – it was only their fourth series success in England in 20 attempts and only the second time they had triumphed after going 1-0 down following their success in England in 1999.
It was also England’s seventh defeat in nine Tests and a first home series defeat in three or more Tests since 2012.
The Test was overshadowed by England captain Stokes dramatically announcing his retirement from international duty on Sunday.
The 35-year-old all-rounder said he felt “burned out” after four years as England captain, although Stokes added he would continue to play for Durham County.
His decision came after he returned to England after being left out of a crushing 253-run defeat in the second Test, having broken a midnight curfew following the hosts’ victory in the series opener.
“Emotions”
“It would have been great to have a winning series, that’s in a perfect world,” Stokes told the BBC. “But I am very happy with what I managed to achieve as a player and captain.
“There are quite a few emotions knowing that you won’t do this again.”
New Zealand’s victory was just reward for their professional bid, with the Black Caps beating England in all departments in Nottingham.
Their approach was summed up by Daryl Mitchell, named player of the match, for a courageous second innings of 100 without outs, during which he was hit repeatedly by England’s pace attack.
“It’s very special for our group,” Mitchell said. “We came with the goal of winning the series. It’s really cool.”
Stokes opened England’s run chase despite normally being a middle-order batsman, with the hosts setting a stiff target of 373 to win.
He battled his way to 30 from 20 balls, including two sixes, before holed out, his outing meaning he had no role on the field on Monday, his last day in international cricket.
England had dramatically chased down a target of 299 to beat New Zealand at Trent Bridge four years ago, just at the start of the team’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ era under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum with Jonny Bairstow scoring a blistering century.
But the current New Zealand attack held firm, with England losing three more wickets before Sunday’s close to find themselves in dire straits at 103-4.
And they were in further trouble at 116-6 after losing two wickets in five balls early in Monday’s match.
Nathan Smith had Emilio Gay caught for 10 and then Joe Root, one of England’s greatest batsmen, was superbly bowled out for 18 by Henry Nicholls’ brilliant direct hit from behind.
New Zealand lost a bowler after just 35 minutes of play on Monday when Will O’Rourke suffered a hamstring injury.
Gus Atkinson, also back after breaking curfew alongside Stokes, and Jamie Smith kept New Zealand at bay with a stand of 75 before Atkinson was out in weight for 19 off left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.
Jamie Smith went to fifty when he hit Santner for four after lunch.
But another excellent direct hit was produced for defender Josh Tongue, with Santner on target this time, before Jamie Smith (60) was caught in the deep by Nathan Smith to seal a well-deserved success for the Black Caps.
“We put a lot of work into our lineup, both outings today showed the guys are committed and showing everything they have,” Mitchell said.
This match was a triumph for several New Zealand players, with captain Tom Latham (151) and Devon Conway (157) sharing an opening stand of 317 from a first innings total of 438.
New Zealand went into this match without injured pacer Matt Henry, their 11-wicket hero at the Oval, and without the in-form towering quick Kyle Jamieson, who was rested as a precaution.
And at Nottingham, Blair Tickner could only manage three overs before retiring following a concussion suffered when he was hit by a bouncer from Jofra Archer’s bat.
But Zak Foulkes, New Zealand’s first concussion substitute, performed superbly to take six wickets in the match.
