New Zealand v England: third men’s cricket Test, day four – live | New Zealand v England 2024

December 16, 2024

This is it, then, the 65th and final day of a bumper year of Test cricket for England’s men’s team. They’ve saved the worst for last with a dismal performance in Hamilton, though we might cut them a bit of slack after such a draining year. England have played 17 Tests, one short of the all-time record, and the players look ready to put on a silly hat, pull some crackers and forget about the challenges of the wobble seam for a bit.

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It’s been a mixed year in terms of results, with nine wins and eight defeats after this game. But while there are still plenty of imperfections, England have emphatically achieved their primary objective of 2024: to regenerate the team ahead of a bumper 2025 in which they play a couple of five-Test series against… ah I can’t remember who it is now.

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Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse and Jacob Bethell all made their debuts in 2024 and have all caught the eye to differing degrees. Bashir’s regression is a worry but we shouldn’t lose sight of what he has achieved; had he taken one more wicket yesterday he would have become the second youngest player in Test history to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.

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You’ll notice we haven’t discussed the match situation. There’s no point. England will resume on 18 for two, needing 107 sixes to win the game. The main points of interest are how Jacob Bethell fares with another assault from the increasingly scary Will O’Rourke, whether Ben Stokes is fit to bat, whether Ben Stokes bats even if he isn’t fit to bat. And, most importantly, how many wickets the great Tim Southee takes on his final day as a Test player.

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He reminded Ben Duckett of a few eternal truths last night, bowling him neck and crop to pick up his 390th Test wicket. Southee, Trent Boult, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who share more than 2,000 Test wickets, have given way to the next lot. (I was going to say ‘next generation’ but as Matt Henry is 33 and Chris Woakes 35, that doesn’t seem right.)

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The future of both pace attacks, and of the beloved wobble seam, looks in pretty good hands.

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Right, let’s end on a positive note. These are England’s heaviest Test defeats by runs; they currently trail New Zealand by 639. For richer and poorer, this England team do things their way. Don’t go changing, lads.

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562 runs Australia, The Oval, 1934

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434 runs India, Rajkot, 2024

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425 runs West Indies, The Oval, 1976

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409 runs Australia, Lord’s, 1948

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405 runs Australia, Lord’s, 2015

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main events

7 overs: England 21-2 (Bethel 9, Root 2) Joe Root cut off Matt Henry's first ball, missed his mark and fired a drive that went just short of a point.

Root scored 1,506 runs in 2024, ranking eighth on the all-time list. Also, Root played like a god and they finished third after the 2021 game against Miravi Horibilis, where the team kept losing.

Henry finished the first over on a good note, one past Bethel's defensive push from the other side of the wicket.

Athletes strolling in the sunshine in HamiltonTim Southey is in the spotlight. Today is a wonderful day. If you want to chase 658, a day like this would be good.

Ben Stokes latest information from ECB Towers

Ben will be further evaluated at the end of the test. He is expected to come into bat in England's second innings if required.

Match starts 30 minutes earlyat 9:30pm BST, to make up for yesterday's lost time. This extra 30 minutes could be crucial for New Zealand to pick up their final eight wickets within two days.

preamble

Well, this is the 65th and final day of a bumper year of Test cricket for the England men's team. They saved the worst for last with a disastrous performance in Hamilton, but after such a draining year we might cut them some slack. England have played 17 Tests, one short of their all-time record, but the players seem ready to put on their silly hats, pull a cracker and forget about their wobble-seam challenges for a bit.

After this match, it was a mixed year with 9 wins and 8 losses. However, although there are still many imperfections, England have clearly achieved their main objectives for 2024. It's about regenerating the team for a great 2025 with several five-match Test series against each other…oh, I can't remember who it was right now.

Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, Brydon Kearse and Jacob Bethell all made their debuts in 2024 and attracted varying degrees of attention. While Bashir's regression is worrying, we must not lose sight of his accomplishments. Had he taken one more wicket yesterday, he would have become the second youngest player in Test history to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.

You will notice that we are not discussing the situation of the match. It makes no sense. England will restart from 2-18, needing 107 sixes to win the match. The main points of interest will be how Jacob Bethel will deal with the new and increasingly formidable attack from Will O'Rourke, whether Ben Stokes will be a good fit for a batsman, and whether Ben Stokes will be a good fit for a batsman. Even if he doesn't, whether he will step up to bat or not. And most importantly, how many wickets will the great Tim Southee take on his final day as a Test player?

Last night he reminded Ben Duckett of some eternal truths, bowling him neck and groin to pick up his 390th Test wicket. Southee, Trent Boult, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who share over 2,000 Test wickets, have made way for the next lot. (I was going to say “next generation,” but Matt Henry is 33 and Chris Woakes is 35, so that doesn't seem right.)

The future of both pace attacks and the popular wobble seam looks pretty good.

Well, let's end on a positive note. These are England's heaviest Test defeats by runs. They are currently 639 points behind New Zealand. This England team does things their way, rich or poor. Don't change your clothes, guys.