New Zealand legendary pacer Tim Southee retired from Test cricket with New Zealand’s joint record-margin win in Test cricket. Hosts New Zealand set a massive target of 658 runs for England in the Hamilton Test. It was the 11th-highest fourth innings target set in Test cricket history (the third largest in the 21st century). Visitors England were all out for 234 runs in the fourth innings as the hosts won by a massive 423 runs. 

Three batters managed to reach the 20-run mark

England started the fourth day of the Hamilton Test at 18/2, as the visitors lost both their openers last evening. Jacob Bethell and the former English skipper Joe Root had a partnership of 104 runs for the third wicket. Once that partnership was broken with Joe Root’s dismissal for 54 off 64 balls (10 fours), the visitors lost their wickets at regular intervals. 

The no.1 Test-ranked batter Harry Brook was dismissed for one run, and Bethell lost his wicket soon after scoring 76 off 96 balls with the help of 13 fours and one six. 

In the next batting orders, only the no.7 batter Gus Atkinson reached the 20-run mark as he scored 43 off 41 balls with the help of seven fours and one six. Ollie Pope and Brydon Carse managed to score 17 and 11 runs, respectively. Captain Ben Stokes didn’t come to bat due to a hamstring injury. 

The left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner picked up four wickets as he had bowling figures of 14.2-1-85-4.

Matt Henry got two wickets for 62 runs, while Southee picked up two wickets for 34 runs in his last Test innings. On the last day of his Test career, the right-arm pacer dismissed the highest run-scorer in the innings, Jacob Bethell. Also, Will O’Rourke claimed a wicket (1/37).

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Tim Southee took 391 Test wickets

Tim Southee retires from Test cricket after picking up 391 wickets in 107 Tests. He ended his Test career with 98 sixes, the joint fourth most sixes in Test cricket history. 

Earlier, in the Test match, New Zealand scored 347 runs in the first innings after Mitchell Santner scored 76 and captain Tom Latham scored 63 runs. In reply, England were bundled out for only 143 runs. 

In their second innings of the match, the Blackcaps scored 453 runs and set up the fourth innings target of 658 runs, after Kane Williamson scored 156, opener Will Young and middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell both scored 60 runs. 

Mitchell Santner won the Player of the Match award

Mitchell Santner won the Player of the Match award for his all-round performances. After scoring 76 runs, the left-arm spinner picked up three wickets for just seven runs. Later, the left-handed batter scored 49 more runs in the second innings and claimed a four-wicket haul for 85 runs. 

New Zealand won the Test match by 423 runs. It was their joint largest Test win by runs, as they previously won by 423 runs against Sri Lanka in the 2018 Christchurch Test. It was the joint 10th-largest Test victory (by runs). 

England won the first two Tests of the three-match Test series by eight wickets at Christchurch and 323 runs at Wellington. With this Hamilton Test win, the series ended with 2-1 in the favour of the visitors.