England under a new captain, Ben Stokes, and new head coach Brendon McCullum, came out with renewed vigor in the recent Test series against New Zealand and clean-swept them 3-0 after the home side won the third and final match by 7 wickets in Headingley on June 27, 2022.
Resuming their chase on 183/2, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and then Jonny Bairstow ensured that England scored the remainder of 113 runs in quick time. Pope was the only wicket to fall on fifth day, as he got out for 82 runs.
Root remained unbeaten on 86 with 11 fours and 1 six, while Bairstow raced off to 71* in 44 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes, as England romped home in 54.2 overs with 7 wickets to spare.
New Zealand had made 329 in their first innings thanks to 129 from Daryl Mitchell. Though England found themselves in trouble at 55/6, Jonny Bairstow with 162, and Jamie Overton with 97 on his debut, took the home side to 360 runs.
New Zealand then responded with 326 with Tom Latham making 76 and Tom Blundell making 88*, while Daryl Mitchell contributed with 56 and ended up with 538 runs to his name, the most by a New Zealand in a Test series ever.
Jack Leach repaid England’s faith in him by picking two fifers in the match and his maiden 10-fer in Test cricket.
Set 296 to win, England went about the chase easy despite openers Alex Lees (9) and Zak Crawley (25) failing to give a good start. But Ollie Pope and Joe Root managed to keep England away from any more damage as the fourth day came to an end.
ENG v IND 2022: Ben Stokes wouldn't mind if Virat Kohli leads India in Edgbaston Test- Graeme Swann
Jack Leach got the Player of the Match, while Joe Root was Player of the Series for England with 396 runs to his name. Daryl Mitchell was named the Player of the Series for New Zealand for his three centuries in three Tests and 538 runs.
The cricket fraternity was ecstatic as England white-washed New Zealand 3-0 and Ben Stokes started his captaincy tenure on an auspicious note and lauded the team on Twitter.
Here are the tweets:
