Ben Stokes’ final day as an international cricketer has arrived as England near defeat against New Zealand after their captain’s shock retirement.
Stokes announced that he would bow out at the end of the third Test just before tea on the fourth day, striking immediately with the ball after the news was confirmed. The departing skipper seemed determined to go down in a blaze of glory with the bat, promoting himself to open and swinging from the hip before being dismissed for 30.
His cavalier charge rather set the tone as England played with reckless abandon, leaving themselves in a real hole at 103/4 overnight chasing an unlikely target of 373. Joe Root followed Emilio Gay quickly on the last morning as their hope of avoiding a series defeat faded, while there will be plenty more digesting to be done of Stokes’ decision – which could (and perhaps should) have wider ramifications within the hierarchy as an era ends.
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NEW ZEALAND WIN BY 160 RUNS!
Skied to long-on, and that’s that! A tidy diving catch from Nathan Smith as Jamie Smith holes out off Mitchell Santner, and series victory is New Zealand’s!
England 212/9 (target 373)
Bashir survives! A solid back foot block to close the over and give Jamie Smith another chance to add to his tally. Just the 161 to win – it’s not exactly Stokes/Leach territory.
England 212/9 (target 373)
Out comes Shoaib Bashir for the last rites. How much longer can he and Jamie Smith last? Five balls from Nathan Smith might challenge England’s No 11 enough…
OUT! Josh Tongue run out (Santner) 2 (14b 0x4 0x6), England 212/9
Fabulous fielding again and a wandering Josh Tongue is run out!
Unbelievable stuff from Mitchell Santner, running around the ball to get it to his left side and then flicking a wrist to nail the one stump he can see. Tongue had ambled down the track in search of a single and been sent back, but even his lunge for the line doesn’t save him. A dismissal to sum up the series, really.
Jumper covered in dirt, off he trudges – superb from Santner, New Zealand one wicket away.
50 for Jamie Smith! England 212/8 (target 373)
And there it is, a hard-handed crunch through the offside to go to his half-century. Six four and a six in Jamie Smith’s 87 balls – well judged, though ultimately futile, one presumes.
He celebrates with a slog to cow corner for four more, and then a mistimed heave straight of mid-on to collect another boundary. No point sticking in now…
England 200/8 (target 373)
Two more balls whistle past the wood of Josh Tongue as he fails to put bat on ball. Just too good for the tail-ender.
Right, Jamie Smith finally on strike and just a couple away from 50. Does he now chance his arm?
England 200/8 (target 373)
Nicked…but short! Some snag by Daryl Mitchell on the bounce, but Josh Tongue’s outside edge had just pitched before his paw snared it. Mitchell has been sublime in the slips all series, and Nathan Smith keeps bringing that outside edge into play.
England 200/8 (target 373)
Josh Tongue prods and pokes without much conviction or confidence through a testing over from Mitchell Santner – and then pinches the strike with a tight single to midwicket. 200 up for England.
England 199/8 (target 373)
A regretful look back from Jofra Archer after he played that shot. It looked like he went to duck, briefly, and then sway, and in the end did nothing in particular.
Josh Tongue is in and off the mark with a nurdle. Jamie Smith still on 48.
OUT! Jofra Archer c †Blundell b Smith 2 (19b 0x4 0x6), England 198/8
Oh, what a strange and wretched way to go! Jofra Archer shimmies down and then decides to leave a back-of-a-length ball, but fails to extract his bat from the channel.
A run off the face of the bat is catching practice for Tom Blundell.
