New Zealand 347 (Santner 76, Latham 63, Potts 4-90) and 453 (Williamson 156, Young 60, Mitchell 60) beat England 143 (Henry 4-48, Santner 3-7, O’Rourke 3-33) and 234 (Bethell 76, Root 54, Santner 4-85) by 423 runs
England produced their second ignominious collapse of the match as New Zealand marked Tim Southee’s Test retirement by equalling their biggest Test victory by the margin of runs. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root put on a century stand but the innings unravelled in a flurry of shots thereafter, New Zealand barely detained beyond lunch on day four.
With Ben Stokes opting not to bat after injuring his hamstring, New Zealand only needed to take seven wickets to seal a crushing win. Mitchell Santner pocketed four of them, while Southee dismissed England’s top-scorer, Bethell, to finish with 2 for 34 on his final outing. He led New Zealand from the field at Seddon Park, his home ground, to bring down the curtain on a storied Test career – England’s rapid demise meaning extra time to toast his departure.
England had already claimed the series – their first in New Zealand since 2007-08, when Southee made his debut – but ended a bumpy 12 months in Tests on a low note. Defeat by 423 runs was only their second-heaviest this year, after a similar thrashing in Rajkot, and meant they ended 2024 with a record of P17 W9 L8.
