It was a day to cherish for all New Zealand fans at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, as the visitors completed a spectacular turnaround from losing the first Test match to winning the series 2-1. New Zealand fought like warriors and upstaged the hosts, England, by playing better cricket than them in all aspects. England were chaotic in the last two Tests on and off the field and deserved to lose in the end.
It was also the final Test match for England captain Ben Stokes, who announced his retirement on Day 4 of this Test match. There were spectacular performances from the whole New Zealand team, and it was the team game that helped them do well.
Devon Conway & Tom Latham’s brilliant 150s powered New Zealand to 438 in 114.5 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, captain Tom Latham and Devon Conway came out to open the batting for New Zealand while Gus Atkinson had the ball in hand for England. On a glorious day in Nottingham, the openers cashed in and drove home the advantage as they scored at a quick rate. They played the first two sessions out unscathed. The duo played through the final session as well, as they batted for 72 overs and put on a record 317 for the first wicket.
Both Conway and Latham got runs and converted their magical tons to 150+. Latham was the first to go for 151 off 214 balls with 15 fours to his name, to his opposite number Ben Stokes. Henry Nicholls walked out to bat next. Just two runs were added to the tally before Conway fell for 157 off 224 balls with 22 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Joe Root. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next.
England now had an opening after being thoroughly dominated for the first day. Nicholls and Ravindra managed to forge a partnership of 42 runs for the third wicket before Ravindra fell for 7 off 22 balls with one boundary to his name to Gus Atkinson. William O’Rourke, the night watchman, came out to bat next. The score stayed at 361 when Nicholls fell for 36 off 48 balls with 6 fours to her name to Jofra Archer. Stumps were called on Day 1, after which Daryl Mitchell came out to bat the following day.
Mitchell and the night watchman O’Rourke did a decent job on Day 2 and frustrated the hosts by adding 31 runs for the 5th wicket before Mitchell fell for 11 off 33 balls with one four to his name to Stokes. Keeper batter Tom Blundell came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before the night watchman O’Rourke fell for 19 off 38 balls with 4 fours to his name to Stokes. Mitchell Santner came out to bat next.
The duo added 20 more runs for the 7th wicket before Santner fell for 4 off 12 balls with one boundary to his name to Stokes. Nathan Smith came out to bat next. Smith and Blundell managed to add 21 runs for the 8th wicket before Smith fell for 6 off 28 balls to Shoaib Bashir. Blair Tickner came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before Blundell fell for 30 off 67 balls with 4 fours to his name to Bashir. Ben Sears came out to bat next.
Just 3 runs were added for the last wicket before Sears fell for a golden duck to Archer. Tickner remained unbeaten on 4 off 6 balls as New Zealand were bowled out for 438 in 114.5 overs. 13 extras were given by the fielding side.
Captain Ben Stokes was by far the pick of the bowlers for England with figures of 4/70 in 21 overs. Jofra Archer chipped in with 2/75 in 19.5 overs. Shoaib Bashir finished with 2/105 in 25 overs. Joe Root finished with 1/7 in 3 overs. Gus Atkinson chipped in with 1/79 in 21 overs. Josh Tongue finished with 0/75 in 21 overs. Jacob Bethell finished with 0/18 in 4 overs. England had done well to claw back into the match, and now it was the turn of their batting.
Ben Duckett’s swashbuckling ton gets overshadowed by Nathan Smith’s 4-wicket haul as England muster 354 in 88.2 overs
In pursuit of this first-innings total, Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay opened the batting for England while Nathan Smith had the new ball in hand for New Zealand. New Zealand struck early as the opening partnership yielded 8 runs for the first wicket before Gay fell for a 5-ball duck to William O’Rourke. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next. Bethell and Duckett got together to forge a partnership, and it was a significant one at that.
Duckett was the aggressor of the two while Bethell complemented him really well. The duo kept New Zealand at bay for most of Day 2 and 3. The duo put on an impressive 179-run stand for the second wicket, with Duckett completing his rip-roaring ton. Bethell was in his element. The score reached 187 before Duckett fell for 113 off 99 balls with 19 fours to his name, with Smith clean bowled. Joe Root came out to bat next.
Root and Bethell tried to forge a partnership as he got a start, and Bethell was looking good as well. The duo managed to put on 37 runs for the 3rd wicket before Root fell after getting a start, falling for 21 off 46 balls with 3 fours to his name to Smith. Harry Brook came out to bat next. The score remained at 224 when Bethell too fell for 74 off 133 balls with 9 fours to his name to William O’Rourke. Keeper batter Jamie Smith came out to bat next.
Just 10 runs were added to the tally before Smith fell for 1 off 12 balls to Nathan Smith. Captain Ben Stokes came out to bat next. Harry Brook and Stokes tried to forge another important partnership to revive England’s innings, which was struggling now. Brook and Stokes added 56 runs for the 6th wicket with Brook scoring the majority of the runs. Stokes fell at this stage for 15 off 33 balls with one four to his name to Zak Foulkes. Gus Atkinson came out to bat next.
Brook and Atkinson managed to show more resistance as they added another 32 runs for the 7th wicket with Brook completing his half-century. Brook looked good but was the next man to depart for 58 off 80 balls with 5 fours to his name to Foulkes, who cleaned him up. Jofra Archer came out to bat next. Atkinson and Archer also added valuable runs and added 28 runs for the 8th wicket to bring up the team’s 350 before Archer fell for 15 off 33 balls with one four to his name to Smith. Josh Tongue came out to bat next.
Just 4 runs were added to the tally before Atkinson fell for a useful 23 off 86 balls with 3 fours to his name to O’Rourke. Shoaib Bashir came out to bat next. The score remained at 354 when Tongue was the last man to go for 2 off 10 balls to Foulkes. Bashir remained unbeaten on 0 off 3 balls as England were bowled out for 354 in 88.2 overs. 32 extras were given away by New Zealand bowlers.
The New Zealand bowlers bowled well as a unit. Nathan Smith was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/91 in 23 overs. William O’Rourke supported him well with 3/53 in 20 overs. Concussion Substitute Zak Foulkes came in place of Blair Tickner and finished with 3/35 in 15.2 overs. Blair Tickner bowled 3 overs for 21 runs before being subbed out of the game. Mitchell Santner finished with 0/59 in 10 overs. Ben Sears finished with 0/73 in 17 overs. New Zealand had a first-innings lead of 84 runs when they came out to bat in their second innings.
Daryl Mitchell’s ton and Rachin Ravindra’s 94 outpaced Jofra Archer’s 4-wicket haul as New Zealand declared the second innings at 288/9 in 94 overs.Â
In their second innings with a lead of 84 runs, Tom Latham, the captain, came out to open the batting with Devon Conway while Jofra Archer started things off for England. Archer began with a bang as Latham, after hitting a boundary with 4 runs on the board, fell for 4 off 6 balls with one four to his name, adjudged LBW. Henry Nicholls came out to bat next. Just 8 runs were added to the score for the second wicket before Conway fell for 5 off 16 balls to Archer yet again.
Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next. Nicholls and Ravindra tried to forge a partnership, with Nicholls getting a start but not being able to carry on. The duo put on 39 runs for the third wicket, which brought up the 50 for New Zealand. The score reached 51 before Nicholls fell for 16 off 41 balls with one four to his name to Gus Atkinson. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next.
Ravindra and Mitchell got together and put their head down to form a partnership that would change the complexion of the game and give an advantage to New Zealand. The duo added 129 runs for the 4th wicket, with both completing their fifties, with Ravindra near a ton. With the score at 180, Ravindra fell for 94 off 149 balls with 12 fours to his name, with Bashir pinged in front LBW. Keeper batter Tom Blundell came out to bat next.
Blundell scored runs at a brisk pace and added 24 runs for the 5th wicket to take the team total past 200. The score reached 204 when Blundell fell for 18 off 24 balls with 3 fours to his name to Archer. Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score before Santner fell for a golden duck to captain Ben Stokes. Nathan Smith came out to bat next. Just another run was added to the score before Nathan fell for 1 off 5 balls to Archer.
Concussion Substitute Zak Foulkes came out to bat next. Mitchell was not batting with the tail and changed his gear as he added 18 runs with Foulkes before Foulkes fell for 6 off 41 balls to Stokes yet again. Ben Sears came out to bat next. Mitchell and Sears forged a vital stand of initially 50 runs for the 9th wicket, with Mitchell closing in on a ton while Sears added valuable runs for the side. The score reached 274/8 when Sears retired hurt and walked off the field. William O’Rourke came out to bat next.
Mitchell managed to add just 5 runs with O’Rourke to take the score to 279 when Will fell for a bronze duck to Atkinson LBW. With Mitchell nearing a ton, Sears walked back out there to resume his innings. The duo of Mitchell and Sears added 9 runs for the final wicket, unbroken and as Mitchell reached his ton, Tom Latham called his players in and declared the innings.
Mitchell remained unbeaten on 100 off 241 balls with 10 fours and one six to his name while Sears was unbeaten on 19 off 40 balls with 2 fours to his name. New Zealand finished with 288/9 declared in 94 overs with 25 extras given by the fielding side.
For England, Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/53 in 20 overs. Gus Atkinson chipped in with 2/50 in 22 overs. Ben Stokes, the captain, finished with 2/49 in 25 overs. Shoaib Bashir finished with 1/42 in 13 overs. Josh Tongue finished with 0/75 in 14 overs. This meant that England needed 373 runs in their second innings to pull off an incredible win in Ben Stokes’ final international game.
All-Round New Zealand, led by Zak Foulkes’ 3-wicket haul, overshadowed Jamie Smith’s 60 as England were bowled out for 212 in 51.2 overs.Â
Chasing 373 for the win, Ben Duckett and captain Ben Stokes came out to open the batting for England while Nathan Smith had the ball in hand for New Zealand. Stokes came out all guns blazing in his final innings and took the attack to the Kiwis. Duckett was still being steady, but Stokes batted as if the chase had to be completed within a session on Day 4. The two Bens put on 50 for the first wicket in 7 overs before Stokes, in his final innings, fell for 30 off 20 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Zak Foulkes.
Jacob Bethell walked out to bat next and did not last long. The score stayed at 50 before Bethell fell for a 4-ball duck to Foulkes again as he was pinged in front LBW. Harry Brook came out to bat next, and he too played a counter-attacking knock. Brook was playing T20 in Tests as a preparation for the 5-match T20I series against India starting Wednesday, 1st July 2026 at Durham.
The fun lasted for a while as the duo of Duckett and Brook added 22 runs for the third wicket, with Brook scoring all of them. Brook departed for 21 off 9 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Foulkes. Joe Root came out to bat next. Duckett and Root added 23 more runs for the 4th wicket before Duckett fell for 36 off 42 balls with 6 fours to his name to Ben Sears. Emilio Gay, the original opener, now walked in at 6. England made sure they went into close of Day 4 at 103/4 needing 270 runs more to win on the final day of the series with 6 wickets in hand.
Root and Gay resumed proceedings for England earlier today and started decently. The duo added 21 runs for the 5th wicket before Gay fell for 10 off 17 balls with one four to his name to Nathan Smith. Keeper batter Jamie Smith came out to bat next. The score remained at 116 when Root fell for 18 off 17 balls with 3 fours to his name as he was brilliantly run out by Henry Nicholls from backward point. Gus Atkinson came out to bat next.
Jamie and Atkinson began to show resistance, with Jamie scoring most of the runs while Atkinson also showed his grit. The duo added 75 vital runs for the 7th wicket before Atkinson, at the stroke of lunch, fell for 19 off 70 balls with 2 fours to his name to Mitchell Santner. Jofra Archer came out to bat, and the score at Lunch was 191/7 for the hosts.
Post-lunch, just 7 runs were added to the score before Archer fell for 2 off 19 balls to Nathan Smith. Josh Tongue came out to bat next. Smith and Tongue added 14 runs for the 9th wicket, with Smith scoring the bulk of the runs before Tongue fell for 2 off 14 balls, run out thanks to a direct hit from Santner. Shoaib Bashir came out to bat at 11.
Jamie had completed his fifty and went for the big one and had no choice really but fell as he was the last man to fall for 60 off 91 balls with 8 fours and one six to his name to Santner, with Nathan taking a good catch at long-on. Bashir remained unbeaten on 0 off 5 balls as England were bowled out for 212 in 51.2 overs. 14 extras given by the fielding side.
For New Zealand, Zak Foulkes was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/52 in 11.1 overs. Nathan Smith chipped in with 2/64 in 16 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 2/54 in 14.2 overs. Ben Sears finished with 1/12 in 6 overs. William O’Rourke finished with 0/16 in 3.5 overs. So, New Zealand beat England by 180 runs to win the series 2-1 after being 1-0 down and win a series of 3 matches or more against England in England for the first time since 1999. Daryl Mitchell was awarded the Player of the Match while Nathan Smith and Jofra Archer were awarded the Player of the Series.
So, with this, the 3-match Test series between England and New Zealand comes to an end with New Zealand winning 2-1. England will play white-ball cricket with India in July before returning in August to face Pakistan in a 3-match Test series. New Zealand will go to the West Indies to play white-ball cricket and will return to the Test Arena in Oct-Nov against India at home. So, plenty to look forward to for both teams, albeit in white-ball cricket.
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