Jonny Bairstow hammered 73 as he carried England to 175 for eight in their T20 series decider against New Zealand.
Bairstow was in bruising form at Trent Bridge, giving the Black Caps an unwanted reminder of last summer’s memorable Test century in Nottingham, nailing six sixes and five fours as he made the most of a 41-ball stay.
With England leading 2-1 at the start of this fourth and final match, Bairstow threatened to drag the game away from the tourists but his departure in the 12th over heralded a shift in momentum.
With captain Jos Buttler resting himself New Zealand snapped up four for 35 to chip away at the middle order and finished well as England managed just 38 off the last five overs. Six wickets fell to spin, with Mitch Santner claiming three for 30.
Bairstow began in electric form as he came out swinging and rendered his opening partner Will Jacks a virtual bystander.
The Yorkshireman, favouring the leg side, jabbed Matt Henry for six over midwicket, milked Santner’s first visit, then greeted Kyle Jamieson by twice heaving him over the ropes. When Tim Southee attempted to exert some contol with a fuller length, he was pumped over long-on.
Jacks, who would later nick Ish Sodhi for 16 to complete a quiet series, was confined to rotating the strike as his partner accounted for 43 of the first 50 runs.
No English batter has ever reached a half-century inside the six-over powerplay before but Bairstow came within two runs of the feat, all at a flamboyant strike rate of exactly 200.
With Jacks gone, Bairstow continued to carry the show, bringing up the England hundred by stepping back and lifting a Santner drag-down for his sixth six. He was gone next ball, looking for another big blow down the ground, but he had left a formidable platform.
England threatened to waste it somewhat as Dawid Malan and Harry Brook – the former in possession of a preliminary World Cup spot that the the latter covets – both failed to convince.
The Brook bandwagon has put pressure on the selectors since he was omitted from the provisional squad for next month’s tournament, but he made four from eight balls and was caught off a modest Sodhi delivery.
Malan made his way to a sluggish 26 but picked out deep square when he tried to pick things up against Santner in the 16th. Moeen Ali went the same way moments later as England threatened to fall away and Sam Curran also came and went quickly.
Liam Livingstone hit a couple of sixes as he chipped in 26 before Henry dismissed him with the closing ball of the innings, while Rehan Ahmed also cleared the ropes on his home international debut. But New Zealand finished strongly, keeping the total well below the predicted peak during Bairstow’s assault.
Bethell has proved doubters wrong, claims Stokes
Jacob Bethell has proved his critics wrong with his superb performances with the bat against New Zealand, so says Ben Stokes.
After hitting the winning runs in the first Test, new boy Bethell plundered 96 in the second innings of the second match.
The 21-year-old, who came into the team after Jordan Cox suffered a thumb injury, fell just short of what would have been his first professional century in what is only his 22nd first-class appearance.
And with the decision to place Bethell at three having come under scrutiny before the series started, Stokes feels the youngster has swiftly set about showing just what an exceptional talent he is.
"I'm pretty sure there were a lot of doubters about the role we brought him into for that first Test match," Stokes told BBC Sport.
"You've got a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest?
"I was devastated for him to not get that three figures. I said to him: 'It's only four runs, isn't it?'
"His response was: 'Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.'
"I think he's proved a lot and proved why we rate him so highly."
Stokes does not feel Bethell's performances have provided him with a headache when it comes to selection, though.
"No, I don't see it like that," he said.
"If it hadn't gone well for him in those first two Test matches, that wouldn't have changed anyone's mind in our dressing room of him as a player."
Joe Root plundered his sixth Test century of 2024 in England's second innings, matching the joint-highest total of tons in a calendar year by an England player.
Stokes then took 3-5 with the ball to skittle through New Zealand's tail, after Tom Blundell had offered some resistance for the hosts on Sunday with a brilliant 115.
"In this Test in particular, on day one we were 43 for 4 to be here on the winning side on day three is quite phenomenal," said Stokes.
"We got bowled out in fifty overs (54.5) but we had 270 runs on the board which was a good score on that day one-wicket, and then we obviously had time left with the ball to be able to make some inroads.
"To score 270 and take five wickets at the end of day one really set this game up.
"We back ourselves to be able to go out there and change games and we feel that there needs to be a bit of impetus put into the game, particularly with the bat.
"As a bowler you want to be able to plonk it on a length and plonk it onto the top of off stump over and over again. But sometimes when a batter is brave enough to take you on and knock you off your length, it's very hard to commit to still doing that."
New Zealand captain Tom Latham, meanwhile, credited England's dominant display, and handed particular praise to Harry Brook, who scored 123 in the first innings and 55 in the second.
"It's the pressure they are able to put you under, especially with the bat," said Latham.
"I think on day one it was offering enough for our bowlers and the way Harry played in that innings was outstanding.
"Credit where it's due. The way he played puts you under pressure from ball one. He played some incredible shots that you don't necessarily see from other teams around the world."
Cummins' five-for propels Australia to dominant win over India
Australia wrapped up a dominant 10-wicket victory over India to level the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Adelaide.
Captain Pat Cummins was the star of the show on Sunday for the hosts, as he took 5-57 to ensure Australia got the job done inside three days.
Having resumed play on 128-5, India were dismissed for 175, with Cummins spearheading Australia's bowling attack.
After Mitchell Starc, who took six wickets on day one, sent Rishabh Pant packing on 28, Cummins took over, dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin (seven), Harshit Rana (zero) and India's top-scorer Nitish Kumar Reddy (42) to complete his five-for.
Set a total of just 19 for victory, Australia sealed the win in just 20 deliveries, with openers Nathan McSweeney (10 not out) and Usman Khawaja (nine not out) chasing down the total with the minimum of fuss.
The defeat dealt a blow to India's hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship final. They must now win all three of their remaining matches in the series to do so.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
Australia have now won 11 of their last 12 Tests at the Adelaide Oval, where they have reeled off six victories in a row for the first time and won all eight of their day-night Tests.
They also collected a ninth Test win over India at the venue.
India have now played five day-night Tests, meanwhile, winning three and losing two, with both of those defeats coming in Adelaide.
Blundell's ton fruitless as England seal series win
Tom Blundell's scintillating century was not enough for New Zealand as England sealed a series win by wrapping up a 323-run victory inside three days.
England resumed play at Basin Reserve on Sunday on 378-5, with Joe Root on 73.
The tourist's former captain plundered his way to a 36th Test century, which he brought up with a reverse scoop from Will O’Rourke (1-104), who at least gained a measure of revenge when Root edged through to Blundell in the same over when on 106.
Ben Stokes left himself unbeaten on 49 as he declared with England on 427-6, setting New Zealand a daunting 583 to win.
Stokes' decision swiftly paid off, with Devon Conway (0), Kane Williamson (four) and Black Caps skipper Tom Latham (24) sent packing within the first 10 overs.
Brydon Carse (2-53) dismissed Rachin Ravindra (six) in the 14th over, bringing Blundell to the crease.
After being dropped when on a duck, Blundell offered resistance, smashing his way to a fifth Test ton in rapid time, though Daryl Mitchell (32) and Glenn Phillips (16) fell around him.
Four of Blundell's five sixes came from Shoaib Bashir's bowling, but his stand came to an end when he edged the spinner through to Ben Duckett, who palmed the ball up to take the catch at the second attempt.
That England breakthrough came in the 49th over of New Zealand's second innings, and it was game over by midway through the 55th, with Stokes rattling through the hosts' tail to finish with exceptional figures of 3-5, his best in over two years in a Test.
Now 2-0 up in the three-match series, England will aim for a whitewash when the final Test begins in Hamilton next week.
Data Debrief: Root ties for tons
Root has now scored six Test centuries in 2024. No player has ever scored more than six tons for England in one calendar year, with Root himself having previously done so in 2021. Denis Compton - 1947, Michael Vaughan (2002) and Jonny Bairstow (2022) have also struck six hundreds in one year for England.
His efforts helped England claim their biggest win in terms of runs against New Zealand, while this is their first series win in the country since 2008.
The Black Caps, meanwhile, have now lost their last two Tests at Basin Reserve, having previously gone on a seven-match unbeaten run at the venue. It is the first time New Zealand have lost back-to-back matches in the longest format in Wellington since 2010.
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