With England staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat against NZ, Brendon McCullum could perhaps be forgiven for starting to look ahead to his newly-extended role as he takes the reins of the white-ball set-up from 2025.
Harry Brook and Joe Root both hit centuries as England won the second Test by 323 runs in Wellington to secure a first series victory in New Zealand since 2008. Dom Harris rates the players out of 10 following a fine all-round performance.
Bad light brought about an early finish for the second successive day in the third and final Test at The Oval, frustrating an England side seeking to complete their first men’s summer Test whitewash since 2004.
“It’s like watching Jacques Kallis play,” said a beaming Joe Root having had a front-row seat for the latest instalment of Gus Atkinson’s dreamy first summer as a Test cricketer.