New Zealand thump England in series finale

Third Test, Hamilton (day four of five)

New Zealand 347 (Santner 76; Potts 4-90) & 453 (Williamson 156, Young 60, Mitchell 60)

England 143 (Henry 4-48, Santner 3-7) & 234 (Bethell 76, Root 54; Santner 4-85)

New Zealand won by 423 runs; England won series 2-1

Scorecard

England’s year ended with a thumping defeat by New Zealand, who sent seamer Tim Southee into retirement with a consolation victory in the third and final Test.

Set a fanciful 658, England were hustled out for 234 midway through the fourth afternoon to lose by 423 runs, their largest defeat by the Black Caps in terms of runs and fourth-largest by anyone.

Jacob Bethell further enhanced his growing reputation with 76, coming through an electrifying spell by New Zealand pace bowler Will O’Rourke.

Bethell added 104 with Joe Root, who made 54. When Root was out, Harry Brook perished to O’Rourke for one and wickets fell with regularity in Hamilton.

The nadir was vice-captain Ollie Pope being bowled for 17 attempting a reverse scoop at Matt Henry.

Captain Ben Stokes, who suffered a recurrence of a left-hamstring injury on day three, did not bat. He had been expected to have a scan prior to the fourth day but will instead be assessed on Wednesday.

England’s final demise, with their last four wickets falling for 19 runs, meant Southee was not required to bowl after lunch.

He instead led his team from the field, the 36-year-old ending a 16-year, 107-Test career with 391 wickets.

England still win the series 2-1. They embark on a white-ball programme after Christmas before the Test summer begins against Zimbabwe in May.

A 2024 that began with an all-time great victory over India in Hyderabad ended with a humbling in Hamilton. For the fourth time in five series, England have lost the final match, three of them dead rubbers.

A first series win in New Zealand since 2008 is a superb result, concluded with this meek surrender. England have a habit of not just losing, but getting hammered.

The decision to bowl first at the toss can slightly come into question, though this game was lost on a second day when England folded to 143 all out, including a collapse of 8-66.

England’s record for this year reads nine wins and eight losses. They probably deserve marginally more credit than the numbers suggest, given eight of their Tests were in Asia and they have revamped their side with the introduction of a number of young players.

Still, they enter a new year with a number of questions. The form of opener Zak Crawley is a concern and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir seems to have gone backwards. Can room be found for Bethell in the summer? Most importantly, can Stokes stay fit enough to function as an all-rounder?

India at home and an Ashes in Australia await in a defining 2025 for Stokes, Brendon McCullum and England.

An eyebrow-raising selection for the tour and an even bigger surprise to bat at number three, Bethell now has three half-centuries, enough to give England a selection decision.

Admittedly all of Bethell’s fifties have come in the second innings, yet this one was all the more impressive given the way he played O’Rourke, who discomforted Root and Brook, ranked the two best batters in the world.

From 18-2 overnight, England’s first hour was relatively calm, bar Root being dropped by second slip Tom Latham off Southee. Bethell, playing late, was handsome on the drive and quick on the pull, especially with a six off Southee.

Root’s missed sweep at Mitchell Santner, given lbw on review, opened up the game. Brook fended O’Rourke’s snorter and Bethell, having come through the O’Rourke barrage, sliced the first ball of a new Southee spell to deep point to waste the opportunity of a maiden hundred.

Pope’s dismissal was ludicrous, typifying England’s performance. Gus Atkinson and Matthew Potts holed out in the space of three Santner deliveries and Brydon Carse was last out, stumped off the same bowler.

In all, England batted for only 83 overs across the entire match.

From the high of a 3-0 win in India, New Zealand were well below their best for the first two Tests against England, by which time the series was gone.

They found a performance here, boosted by the recalls of India heroes Will Young and Santner. Kane Williamson made yet another century at Seddon Park.

The real focus was on Southee, completing his farewell tour on his home ground. He ends as New Zealand’s second-highest Test wicket-taker and his 98 sixes is bettered by only three men.

In reality, Southee was a bit-part player in the New Zealand attack, the work being done by the skilful Henry and exciting O’Rourke. The 23-year-old, born in Surrey, took three wickets in eight balls in the England first innings and produced a terrifying burst on Tuesday.

In an eight-over spell, O’Rourke hit Root in the groin and again had the number of Brook, whom he dismissed twice in four balls in this match. He touched 93mph and averaged 89.5. Only England’s Mark Wood has bowled a quicker eight-over spell in Test cricket in the past five years.

Southee was not needed for a fairytale finale, instead Santner ended with seven wickets in the match to go with scores of 76 and 49 with the bat.

New Zealand bowler Tim Southee: “I want to thank New Zealand Cricket for everything you have done. My family, who are there for the ride and see the ups and downs.

“And my team-mates. These guys have made the ride so much more enjoyable, I have loved every minute.”

England captain Ben Stokes: “We want to come out and win every game we play. We wanted to leave with three victories in the bag.

“We’d like to end on better terms, it’s not the best way to end a Test.”

New Zealand captain Tom Latham: “It is pleasing to finish the series in that fashion.

“We were not quite at our best in the first two games but the way we were able to adapt to the different surface here was very pleasing.”