It is difficult to imagine a more complete victory than the 323-run thrashing that secured England’s first series victory in New Zealand in more than 16 years.
With the bat, there was a high-class rescue act on the first day from Harry Brook and Ollie Pope, an inevitable century from Joe Root on the third and a very promising 96 from Jacob Bethell in the middle.
With the ball, a hat-trick from Gus Atkinson and another golden display from Brydon Carse, whose first four Tests yielded 25 under-17 wickets, and the sense that England have discovered an absolute threat.
The Ashes are still almost a year away, but England have spent 2024 reorganizing their puzzle. Over three days at Basin Reserve, the pieces came together with an ease that will not have gone unnoticed in Tasmania, even as Australia brushed aside India in Adelaide.
It’s been almost a quarter of a century since New Zealand lost three Tests in a home series, but that’s the carrot now being dangling in front of England as they head to Hamilton. And such is their dominance over a New Zealand team that they have beaten in six of their seven meetings during the Bazball era that only complacency can deny them.
For Ben Stokes, who now has 19 wins as captain, one more than Mike Brearley, another manager supreme, in the same number of Tests, it was an opportunity to reflect on a turnaround as rapid as it is remarkable.
Joe Root turned one hundred and put in an impressive performance in England’s victory over New Zealand.
Brydon Carse put in a performance of excellence and helped England secure success.
“The first day we were 40 to four,” he said. “To be here on the winning side on day three is absolutely phenomenal. Great credit to the bravery of Harry and Ollie in particular in taking on the New Zealand attack, which set up the game for us.”
England were already well ahead on the third morning but they did not relent in their bid to claim their first overseas series win since Pakistan two years ago.
Root raised a 36th Test hundred with the most brazen of reverse ramps for four that made Stokes, his partner, celebrate as if he had raised the century himself. When England declared 427 for six, they had scored more than five an over.
Then, as New Zealand embarked on a purely theoretical chase of 583, Chris Woakes, improving all the time with the Kookaburra ball that has so often been their undoing, produced a flawless opening spell to bowl Devon Conway and catch Kane Williamson behind . On a day when only a small gale blowing in from the harbor threatened to blow England off course, Carse pounced on the wickets of Tom Latham, who instinctively caught his own bowling, and Rachin Ravindra, who was falling behind moments before that a downpour brought an early lunch.
Carse is a captain’s dream and, with the wind at his back, he was a batsman’s nightmare.
Atkinson had Daryl Mitchell caught behind and when Shoaib Bashir bowled Glenn Phillips it was 141 for six. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell enjoyed a powerful century in which he dismantled Bashir and asked him to throw his breaks into the wind.
But after Ben Duckett cleverly anticipated Blundell’s ramp shot, going from slip to leg slip before parrying the ball and grabbing the bounce, Stokes (right with Bashir) concluded the innings for 259 with three of five, their best test figures since July 2022. .
The only black mark on England’s notebook is the form of Zak Crawley, who has made just 26 runs in four innings. But that will give Stokes and Brendon McCullum as much pause for thought as their decision to place Bethell at No.3, despite protests from those concerned about his first-class record.
Chris Woakes produced a flawless opening spell to bowl Devon Conway and catch Kane Williamson behind.
The only black mark on England’s notebook is the worrying form of Zak Crawley.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham was generous in praising England’s performance.
“Baz and I don’t think like that,” Stokes said. “You’ve got a young lad with a lot of potential and talent. Why not let him go out and expose himself to Test cricket?
“I was devastated it didn’t get three figures. But I walked in and said, “It’s only four races, right?” And his response was, “Yes, but it would have been great if I had punched it through the sheets to make it come out.” Class. “I think he’s shown a lot of people why we value him so much.”
After games like this, it seems crazy that Bazball still has its critics, but the audacity that informs England’s selection and stroke play has made Test cricket a livelier place. And philosophy was central to Brook’s decision to counter-attack on the first morning, hitting New Zealand’s seamers when the field was most useful. He immediately declared his 123 the best of his eight Test hundreds, and rightly so.
Latham, the New Zealand captain, was generous in his praise. “It’s the pressure they can put you under, especially with the bat,” he said. ‘The way Harry played was exceptional. He made some incredible shots that you don’t necessarily see on other teams. “We have seen how this attacks nature again and again.”
Brook didn’t take the field during the fourth inning after hurting his ankle in warmups, but said he would be fine for Hamilton, which starts Friday night. There will then be little respite for New Zealand, but this England team knows no other way.