England thrash NZ in third Test, win series 3-0: Stats
England bested New Zealand by seven wickets in the third and final Test to bag a 3-0 win in the nerve-wracking series. The Kane Williamson-led side managed 326 in the second innings, setting a target of 296 for the hosts. Ollie Pope (82) and Joe Root (86*) set the foundation for the chase before Jonny Bairstow added his touch (71*). Here are the stats.
NZ hoarded 329 after electing to bat. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell helped the cause, scoring a hundred and fifty, respectively. Jack Leach garnered the best figures for the hosts (5/100). England (360/10) laid a fight-back riding on Jonny Bairstow's 162. Fifties from Tom Latham, Mitchell, and Blundell helped NZ set a 296-run target. England eventually got the job done.
Blundell cashed in on his form and managed 55 and 88* at Headingley. He stayed put in the second innings, belting youngster Matty Potts for boundaries at will. His scores in this series read 14, 96, 106, 24, 55, and 88*. Versus England, the wicket-keeper batter has now piled up 417 runs at 69.50. He now has 1,192 Test runs at 41.10.
Mitchell signed off with scores of 109 and 56. Notably, those were his fourth ton and fifth fifty in this format, respectively. He hammered 21 boundaries during his stay in the middle. Mitchell's last six scores read 56, 109, 62*, 190, 108, and 13. Against England, the all-rounder has 617 runs from five Tests. Overall, he now has 941 Test runs at 62.73.
Mitchell has hammered 538 runs in this series while averaging a prolific 107.60. He struck three hundreds and two fifties. As per ESPNcricinfo, Mitchell has become the first visiting batter to score over 500 runs in a series involving three or fewer Tests in England.
Mitchell and Blundell fetched a 113-run stand for the sixth wicket in the second innings. They are only the fifth pair to post four 100-plus stands in a series in Test cricket. David Boon-Mark Waugh (Australia), Jack Hobbs-Herbert Sutcliffe (England), Vijay Hazare-Rusi Modi (India), and Mohammad Yousuf-Younis Khan (Pakistan) are the others to have attained the feat.
Bairstow continued his dominance after his exploits at Trent Bridge. He belted 24 fours en route to his 157-ball 162. It was his 10th ton in whites. Bairstow then clocked his 23rd Test fifty, a superb 44-ball 71* laced with nine fours and three sixes. Versus NZ, Bairstow has amassed 702 runs at 50.14. Overall, he has raced to 5,195 Test runs at 36.07.
It didn't seem like Overton was playing his maiden Test inning, given his timing and control (1st innings). The number eight batter scored runs in tandem alongside Bairstow. He smashed a 136-ball 97 laced with 13 fours and two sixes. Overton, however, fell short of his maiden Test hundred as he tried to push an away delivery from Boult that edged to the keeper.
The duo of Bairstow and Overton smashed 241 runs among themselves. As per ESPNcricinfo, it is the highest partnership by England for the seventh wicket. As per Wisden, Overton's 97 is the highest score by England's number eight batter in Tests in the last nine years. Former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior scored 110* against NZ in Auckland in 2013.
Leach, who claimed figures worth 5/100 in the first innings, was at the top of his game even at the latter stages. He reaped rewards off the turn on offer, scalping a jaw-dropping 5/66 in the second innings. Leach recorded his first 10-wicket haul in a Test match (10/166). The slow left-arm orthodox has now raced to 92 Test scalps at 31.64.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Leach has become the first English spinner to take two five-wicket hauls in a home Test since 1974. Derek Underwood had attained the feat against Pakistan at Lord's.
Tom Latham, who was dismissed for a duck earlier, cracked his best knock of the series in the second innings. The southpaw looked set for a ton but fell prey to Overton post the tea break. He hit 12 fours during his hostile-looking 76 off 100 deliveries. He now has 4,623 Test runs at 40.55. Against England, Latham now has 595 runs at 31.31.
Williamson must be gutted with his mode of dismissal on Day 3. The skipper went chasing a shorter one from Matty Potts that carried straight to the keeper. He hit eight fours in his 115-ball 48. Interestingly, Potts got the better of him for the third time in this series. Williamson's scores on this tour read 2(22), 15(34), 31(64), and 48 (115).
