Bazball Sun sets: Ben Stokes bowls out as New Zealand beat England 2-1 | Cricket News
England’s hopes of ending Ben Stokes’ captaincy with a win were dashed at Trent Bridge on the fifth morning as New Zealand won the three-match Test series 2-1 with a 160-run victory.The visitors also registered a fourth Test series win in England, following two series victories in 1986, 1999 and 2021.England started the day with their hopes pinned on Joe Root and Emilio Gay, but both departed in the fourth over of the day. Gay trailed by 10 points while Root scored 18 points thanks to sharp defense from Henry Nicholls. Boundary boards around the pitch read “Thank you Ben Stokes” as the England captain watched from the dressing room after being dismissed for 30 on the fourth night.Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson delayed New Zealand’s attack with a 75-run stand for the seventh wicket. Atkinson made 19 before Mitchell Santner capped his lbw before lunch.Smith continued to fight after the break but his innings ended in the 60th over when Nathan Smith bowled a long delivery off the bowling of Santner. The penalty effectively ended England’s resistance and sealed victory for the visitors.Nathan Smith is New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker with 15 wickets. He is the only player from the New Zealand pace attack to feature in every match of the series.“It would be nice to get a series and a win, but that would be in a perfect world, which of course is not perfect,” Stokes said.Four years ago, on this very ground, Stokes-McCallum combined to score 299 against New Zealand. This victory started what is known as Bazball in cricket circles. It promised fearless cricket and a team willing to risk defeat in pursuit of victory.New Zealand won the series on Monday. The team, who had been swept 3-0 at the birth of the Bazball era, returned to Trent Bridge to end the campaign with a 2-1 series victory.The defeat also marked the first time since 2012 that England have lost three or more Test matches in a home series. They have now lost seven of their last nine Test matches, increasing scrutiny on coach Brendan McCullum and general manager Rob Key.
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