New Zealand complete comeback to beat England and win series

NOTTINGHAM: New Zealand completed a 160-run win over England at Trent Bridge on Monday, becoming the first side to lose the opening match of a three-Test series in England and still go on to take the series.

England resumed on 103-4 overnight in pursuit of 373 and were dismissed an hour after lunch on the fifth day. Jamie Smith made 60, but New Zealand wrapped up the innings to secure only their fourth Test series win in England, following successes in 1986, 1999 and 2021, the last of those in a two-match contest.

The result sealed a notable turnaround for the tourists after a heavy defeat in the first Test at Lord’s. The series win also came after Kane Williamson retired from international cricket following that opening loss, while New Zealand had to manage several selection and injury setbacks across the remainder of the contest.

Injuries and disruptions during the series

New Zealand had already been weakened for the decider at Trent Bridge. Matt Henry and Glenn Phillips, who had played major roles in the 253-run win in the second Test at the Oval with 11 wickets and a century respectively, were unavailable because of injury. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson was also rested over workload concerns.

The visitors then suffered more disruption during the final Test when Blair Tickner withdrew with concussion. On Monday, Will O'Rourke also sustained a hamstring injury, leaving the bowling attack stretched further.

Zak Foulkes, brought in as New Zealand’s first concussion substitute in Test cricket, made a strong impact and finished with match figures of 6-87. During the match, he said New Zealand had "just tried to stay as boring as possible really and try to dry out the runs".

Latham praises old-school approach

New Zealand captain Tom Latham, whose 151 in the first innings was one of three centuries by his side in the match, said the team’s method was built on patience and discipline rather than high-risk cricket. Asked whether teams now had to be brave to play that way, he told reporters "Yeah I think so, I guess when you need to go a little bit old-school that's something that we pride ourselves on".

New Zealand’s fielding also proved important on the final day. Henry Nicholls and Mitch Santner both produced direct-hit run-outs to dismiss Joe Root and Josh Tongue, adding to England’s problems as they tried to force a chase.

Daryl Mitchell, who was named player of the match after making an unbeaten century in New Zealand’s second innings despite taking several blows, said "Those two run outs today show the guys are engaged and giving everything they’ve got".

He added "We put a lot of work into that" and said "This series win is very special for our group."

England fall short in Stokes farewell

New Zealand’s measured style stood in contrast to England’s aggressive approach under the Bazball philosophy. England were unable to send captain Ben Stokes off with a victory after his surprise announcement on Sunday that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the match.

England coach Brendon McCullum, a former New Zealand captain, credited the tourists for executing the fundamentals consistently. He said "New Zealand are a side that do simple things really well for a long period of time".

He added "They also seize really key moments and I look at even two direct hit run-outs today, it's a significant impact on the final day of a Test match".

McCullum also defended England’s attacking strategy on Sunday, which included promoting Stokes to open the innings, saying it was the only realistic option in pursuit of such a large target on a deteriorating surface. He said "Anywhere between 250 to 290 on the last day is achievable, anything over that and you're going to start to be a little bit in danger so we knew we had to take a risk because we far behind the game"