England Suffers Humiliating 423-Run Defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton, Stokes Injured
England faced a massive defeat by 423 runs against New Zealand in the third and final Test. Despite captain Ben Stokes being unable to continue due to injury, he stated that the extra bowling workload was not the cause of his injury.
Speaking after the match on Tuesday, December 17, Stokes said, "There is always a risk every time you step onto the field. I have worked hard on my body, and unfortunately, I have had to face this situation."
New Zealand's 423-run victory was their largest-ever Test win, while it was England's fourth-largest margin of defeat.
Chasing a huge target of 658 in their second innings, England's entire team collapsed for just 234 runs. Jacob Bethell made 76 runs and Joe Root scored 54, but the rest of the team failed to contribute. England's hopes of a comeback ended when they lost three wickets in 12 balls.
Mitchell Santner was outstanding for New Zealand, taking seven wickets in the match and scoring 76 and 49 runs with the bat. He was named the Player of the Match. Additionally, Kane Williamson's second-innings 156 set the foundation for New Zealand's victory.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said after the match, "In the first two games, we didn’t give our best. But in this match, we were able to adapt correctly."
In his final Test match, Tim Southee took two wickets to finish his career with 391 wickets, the second-highest for New Zealand. After the match, legendary Richard Hadlee honored Southee.
Although England won the series 2-1, this heavy defeat left them disappointed. However, the brilliant batting of Harry Brook and the performance of new players give hope for England's future.
Stokes remarked, "We played our best cricket in the first two Tests. While this performance in the final match was disappointing, the team's effort throughout the series was positive."
