New Zealand tore through England’s batting Tuesday to crush the visitors by 423 runs in the third Test and send Tim Southee into retirement on a triumphant note. The hosts sealed a dominant performance in Hamilton by claiming seven wickets in 41.2 overs on day four as England crumbled for 234. It was New Zealand’s equal highest victory by runs and a complete reversal from the first two Tests, which England won easily to clinch the three-match series. Playing on his home ground at Seddon Park, seamer Southee finished with 2-34 in his 107th and final Test, ending the career of one of New Zealand’s finest players. 

He finishes with 391 Test wickets, second only to Richard Hadlee among New Zealanders.

“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,” said the 36-year-old Southee.

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

“And finally the fans. It is always great to turn out in front of numbers. This week has been pretty special to play at Seddon Park in front of a great crowd.”

New Zealand only needed to take nine second-innings wickets for an emphatic victory because England skipper Ben Stokes did not bat.

Stokes suffered a hamstring injury on Monday.

Stokes said it was disappointing to end the series in the manner England did.

“You can’t fault any of the energy or effort we put into the game,” he said.

“Obviously it’s not ideal to end a series on this note but New Zealand are a strong side and didn’t give up.

“We want to come out and win every game we play. We wanted to leave with three victories in the bag.”

England crumble

After resuming at 18-2, England never threatened their enormous target of 658, their hopes dwindling further when losing Jacob Bethell for 76, Joe Root for 54 and Harry Brook for just one before lunch.

They looked comfortable for the first hour before Root departed, having put on 104 for the third wicket with Bethell.

England’s greatest run-scorer was trapped lbw attempting to sweep left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.

Having been given not out, New Zealand successfully reviewed, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have hit the middle stump.

It left 33-year-old Root 28 runs short of becoming the fifth player to score 13,000 Test runs.

Brook, who scored match-winning centuries in each of the first two Tests, was out cheaply for the second time at Seddon Park, caught behind off a sharply rising Will O’Rourke delivery.

Left-hander Bethell batted fluently, striking 13 fours and a six, until he swung at a wide Southee delivery to be caught at deep point.

Ollie Pope (17) was bowled attempting to reverse scoop pace bowler Matt Henry before Gus Atkinson‘s hard-hit 43 ended when caught in the deep off Santner.

Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse fell cheaply, also trying to hit Santner out of the ground.

All-rounder Santner justified his recall by taking 4-85 to finish with seven wickets in the match, alongside scores of 76 and 49 with the bat.

NZ v ENG LIVE Updates, 3rd Test Day 2© X (Twitter)

New Zealand vs England 3rd Test Day 1 Live Scorecard© AFP

New Zealand vs England 2nd Test, Day 1 Live Score Updates© X/@BLACKCAPS

England Test captain Ben Stokes hit back at the International Cricket Council (ICC) following a slow-over-rate penalty on his team after the first Test against New Zealand at Christchurch, claiming that the match was finished with “10 hours of play still left”. The race to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final gained a lot of spice and intensity as New Zealand and England were docked three points each for maintaining a slow over-rate in the opening Test of their three-match series.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced sanctions against New Zealand and England for failing to maintain the required over-rate during the series opener in Christchurch.

As a result, both teams were fined 15 per cent of their match fees and penalised three crucial WTC competition points, adding another layer of intrigue to the race for the final.

Taking to Instagram, Stokes said, “Good on you ICC (accompanied by three shrugging emojis). “Finished the game with 10 hours of play still left.”

Ben Stokes’ Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/X2GYPilr2U

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 4, 2024

The ICC stated, “New Zealand and England were both found to be three overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration, with sides penalised one point for each over they were found short.”

England skipper Stokes and New Zealand captain Tom Latham accepted the charges and the proposed sanctions, negating the need for a formal hearing.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Rod Tucker, third umpire Adrian Holdstock, and fourth official Kim Cotton, while the sanctions were imposed by David Boon of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.

England, already out of contention for next year’s final, secured an 8-wicket victory in Christchurch. They are currently in the sixth spot with 10 wins, nine losses and a draw in 20 Tests, translating to a PCT of 42.50.

However, the sanctions dealt a significant blow to New Zealand’s chances. The inaugural WTC champions dropped from the joint fourth spot to fifth in the standings.

Following the penalty, New Zealand’s points percentage stands at 47.92 per cent. Even if they win their remaining two Tests against England, their best possible finish is a points percentage of 55.36 per cent. Their fate in reaching the WTC final will depend on the outcomes of other matches.

New Zealand skipper Tom Latham remained considerate even after the historic 3-0 Test series clean sweep against India recently, asserting that Rohit Sharma’s “quality” side has the ability to make a resounding comeback soon. The Kiwis, under Latham, became the first visiting side to whitewash India in a three-match home series, winning the Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai Tests. “Indian cricket in general is really special. We’ve played against them a lot. The guys play with them at the IPL. They were certainly gracious in defeat and they’re still a quality side,” Latham said after arriving from India.

“They certainly don’t become a bad team overnight and I’m sure they’ll turn things around in time,” he added.

Latham said the series victory became much sweeter because New Zealand suffered 0-2 defeat against Sri Lanka before landing in India.

“When we were in Sri Lanka a few weeks, where things didn’t necessarily go our way, so, I think it makes these times extra special when you’re able to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved before.

“It is just about enjoying everyone’s company, celebrating together. We had a couple of extra days to recover over there, so that was great,” he said.

New Zealand will now face England in a three-match series at home, and Latham said fronting up to the ‘Bazball’ brand of cricket will offer his team a vastly different challenge.

“I think it’s an exciting one. I guess you look at the Test matches in the past against England, whether it be home or away, they’ve always tended to be reasonably exciting. So, I’m sure this series will be no different.

“They’ve got an attacking brand that they like to play and I’m sure it will be no different in terms of how they like to approach it. So, yeah, we’re looking forward to it. Yeah, it’ll be a great challenge,” said Latham.

File image of Tom Latham and Tim Southee© BCCI

New Zealand’s (NZ) historic 3-0 series whitewash against India has been met with high praise, particularly for the leadership of new captain Tom Latham. Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond commended Latham’s captaincy, crediting both his individual performance and the foundation laid by former captain Tim Southee. “Great start to your captaincy reign! I think you’ve got to pay some credit to Tim Southee, who was magnanimous enough to step down and say, ‘look, it’s someone else’s time’, and Tom would have reaped the rewards of a lot of the work that Tim’s done over the last few years. But I know Latham’s a very good captain, good man, and good leader. I thought the innings he played in the Pune Test was the best innings I’ve seen him play, leading from the front,” Bond said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Bond also highlighted the strategic changes that contributed to New Zealand’s success in India. He pointed out the importance of having versatile bowlers like Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra, who have developed their spin bowling to add depth to the team’s attack.

“I think New Zealand have come to India this time with part-time spin bowlers. In the past, we’ve had the part-time medium-pace bowlers. And now when you look at someone like Glenn Phillips, who has really worked hard over the last four years to develop his bowling, even Rachin Ravindra… just having those options has allowed New Zealand to have much more depth in the spin-bowling department and that’s led to having depth in their batting, which has really helped them,” Bond explained.

Reflecting on the overall achievement, Bond expressed his delight and acknowledged the significance of the series win, particularly after the team’s recent performance in Sri Lanka.

“Delight is the first reaction. New Zealand coming off the back of that series in Sri Lanka where they played pretty well, probably could have won the first Test, but lost the series 2-0. I don’t think anyone, anywhere, especially at home, thought we could win this series, let alone a 3-0 sweep. I gave a little fist pump when Ajaz [Patel] went through the gate to get that last wicket [of Washington Sundar] and I’m absolutely delighted for the players, for Gary [Stead], the head coach,” Bond said.

“It’s always nice to see history created and for a team like New Zealand to beat India and become the first team to sweep them in a three-match series at home is something pretty remarkable,” Bond added.

Akash Deep made a sensational start to the second innings of the third Test against New Zealand. Opening the bowling, Akash Deep clean bowled New Zealand captain Tom Latham in the very first over. In the fourth ball of the first over, Akash Deep had trapped Latham on the pads, to which the umpire gave out LBW. However, the decision was overturn after Latham took a DRS Review. The very next ball, Akash Deep responded with aplomb, completely dismantling Latham’s stumps.

Watch: Akash Deep demolishes Tom Latham’s stumps

Early strike Familiar sight! 

Courtesy: Akash Deep #PlayBold #INDvNZ

pic.twitter.com/doqcFiIuQ3

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) November 2, 2024

Ever since making his debut against England in February 2024, Akash Deep has impressed in his few Tests for India. After dismissing Latham, Akash Deep had picked up nine wickets in eight innings with the new ball, averaging under 12 in the early stages.

The pacer has also been selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia later this year, and is expected to play a crucial role in the seaming and bouncy conditions Down Under.

His delivery left fans on social media very impressed.

He has been phenomenal throughout this home season

— Ramniwas Meena (@Ramniwas2001) November 2, 2024

RCB blood on fire

Will see him during BGT , hope he performs well

— Michael (@a_n_um) November 2, 2024

Akash deep ..RCB blood

— Bujjigadu (@moviebufffy) November 2, 2024

Coming out as India’s final batter, Akash Deep got run out without facing a ball as India were bowled out for 263. It was the first time India took a first innings lead in the Test series. 

The 27-year-old’s Test form may also play a role in deciding his future in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) between 2022 and 2024, he was released ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

However, with Indian pacers being prized assets, Akash Deep’s good form in Test cricket, particularly with the new ball, could convince franchises to spend big on him in the auction.

RCB chose to retain only three players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Stalwart Virat Kohli was retained for Rs 21 crore, batter Rajat Patidar for Rs 11 cr and uncapped pacer Yash Dayal for Rs 5 cr.

New Zealand lead 2-0 against India in the three-match Test series© AFP