New Zealand secured a 160-run victory over England at Trent Bridge on Monday, June 29, 2026, to win the Test cricket series 2-1.
The win spoiled the final international match of English captain Ben Stokes.
Decisive Day Five
The Black Caps completed the series win on day five of the third and deciding Test.
England collapsed to 212 all out during a difficult run chase on a deteriorating wicket affected by baking heat.
England slumped to 103-4 by the close of day four before any sense of a prolonged fight was extinguished early on Monday.
Emilio Gay departed and Joe Root was run out by Henry Nicholls.
Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson staved off immediate humiliation with a battling stand of 75, which ended when Atkinson was out just before lunch.
Smith completed his second half-century in 11 months, scoring 60 runs, before being caught at long-off.
Historic Series Win
The result marks only the fourth series win for New Zealand in England.
The Black Caps are now the first tourists to win a series of three or more Tests in England in 14 years.
They achieved this despite playing without Kane Williamson after the first Test.
The defeat ends the four-year captaincy reign of Ben Stokes with his first home series loss.
It concludes a 15-year international career amid seven defeats in England's last nine Tests.
"It was a hard fought game. A pretty tough one to be involved in.
The game going down to the fifth day they are mentally and physically tiring.
I think the way both teams stuck at it, kept coming in pretty testing conditions, I think we testament to the hard w..."
said Ben Stokes, England captain.
England will begin a white-ball series against India on Wednesday.
The team requires a new captain for their next Test against Pakistan in August.
