Wellington: Ben Stokes-led England cricket team recorded their first-ever series win in New Zealand after 16 years and went 2-0 up with a game remaining. England beat the hosts New Zealand in the second Test by 323 runs at the Basin Reserve here on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The last time they clinched the Test series against the Kiwis in New Zealand was in 2008.
Harry Brook was the man who turned things around for the visitors with a magnificent century in the first innings that came after England had lost four early wickets. Brook's impressive century set the stage for the visitors, while the bowling spells from Carse and Atkinson put England in control, giving them a substantial 155-run lead in the first innings.
Test victory. Series victory. pic.twitter.com/kEtytT6sMM
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 8, 2024
The crucial contributions from Jacob Bethell and southpaw opener Ben Duckett laid the foundation for a significant target, followed by the half-century from Harry Brook and former skipper Joe Root's 36th Test century that provided the finishing touch. New Zealand was tasked with a humongous 583-run target, and in overcast conditions, the England pacers quickly dismissed the New Zealand top-order batters.
Joe Root... That is RIDICULOUS! 🤯
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 7, 2024
He reaches three figures in style, ramping his way to a THIRTY-SIXTH Test century! pic.twitter.com/EFNXzRlatp
Tom Blundell, who had been dropped on 0 by Bethell, scored his fifth century in Test cricket. However, apart from Blundell's innings and Nathan Smith's valuable contributions lower down the order, the rest of the Kiwi batters struggled, falling short of the target by over 300 runs. England won the first Test by 8 wickets and followed up with another clinical victory in the second Test. This is England's largest victory by runs against New Zealand.
500,000 reasons to love England ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yvm1wRogeE
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 7, 2024
Captain Stokes ended with 3 wickets for 5 runs off 2.2 overs cleaning up the tail. Chris Woakes set it up with two early wickets while Brydon Carse and Shoaib Bashir chimed in with two wickets apiece and Gus Atkinson one. Notably, Atkinson had taken a hat-trick in the first innings, becoming the 15th Englishmen to achieve the significant feat.
Meanwhile, during the second innings, England became the first team to score over 5 Lakh runs in the longest format of cricket. England has amassed over 500,000 runs across 1,082 Test matches. The second-best team on the list is Australia, who have racked up 428,794 runs. The Indian cricket team holds the third position with over 278,700 runs.
