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New Zealand Crush England By 423 Runs As Santner Shines, While Stokes Vows To Continue All-Out Approach

New Zealand completed a dominant performance on the fourth day of the third Test against England at Seddon Park, clinching a massive 423-run victory to end the series with a 1-2 scoreline. The win, New Zealand’s biggest-ever in terms of runs, served as the perfect send-off for veteran star Tim Southee, who led the team off the field clutching a stump as a memento after England lost their ninth and final wicket in the second session.

With the injured Ben Stokes opting not to bat, England began the day already a batter short, facing an imposing target of 659. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root started positively, taking the attack to the opposition in a boundary-filled 104-run partnership. Both batters reached welcome fifties, but their fun was short-lived as Mitchell Santner and Will O’Rourke struck crucial blows.

Root fell LBW attempting to sweep Santner, while Harry Brook was caught in the slip cordon off O’Rourke. Bethell continued his counterattack, racing into the seventies, but his rush of blood cost him dearly as he hit a Southee delivery straight to deep point, leaving England reeling at 166/5.

Gus Atkinson and Ollie Pope kept up the aggressive approach, but Pope’s dismissal, bowled by Matt Henry while attempting a reverse-lap, signaled the beginning of the end. Santner then ran through the tail, claiming the wickets of Atkinson, Matthew Potts, and Brydon Carse to finish with a four-wicket haul and seven for the match, earning him the Player of the Match award.

Despite the disappointing end to the tour and the year, England captain Ben Stokes remained committed to his all-out approach to the game, even in the face of a recurrence of his left hamstring injury. Stokes, who pulled up on day three and sat out the final day’s play, will undergo a scan on Wednesday morning to assess the extent of the damage.

“I ain’t holding back,” Stokes said when asked if he would consider scaling back his workloads as an all-rounder. “Every time you walk out to field as an athlete, you’re putting yourself at risk of getting injury. Whether you feel great or you don’t feel great. I worked my arse off to get to where I was in this game in particularly with my body. It’s just sod’s law – the first time in a while I feel like I’m young again, something happens.”

Stokes acknowledged the emotional toll of leaving the field on Monday, just two balls into his third over of the day, but remains confident that a full return should come quicker this time around, having already undergone rehabilitation following knee surgery in November 2023.

The England captain also expressed satisfaction with the team’s third series win of 2024, particularly given it was their first in New Zealand since 2008. “We came here to beat New Zealand,” Stokes said, “a team who wherever they go in the world are very competitive and knew they were going to be full of confidence after their historic win in India. To play the cricket that we did in the first two games was very, very pleasing.”

As Stokes prepares for another period of rehabilitation, his determination to continue playing his all-out brand of cricket remains unwavering, even in the face of injury setbacks. Meanwhile, New Zealand can celebrate a well-deserved victory and bid farewell to the legendary Tim Southee in style.

Third Test Scores: New Zealand 347 (Mitchell Santner 76, Tom Latham 63; Matthew Potts 4-90, Gus Atkinson 3-66) and 453 (Kane Williamson 156, Will Young 60, Daryl Mitchell 60; Jacob Bethell 3-72) beat England 143 (Joe Root 32, Ben Stokes 27; Matt Henry 4-48, Mitchell Santner 3-7) & 234 (Jacob Bethell 76, Joe Root 54; Mitchell Santner 4-85) by 423 runs.

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