England

Stokes had just sat down to take questions ahead of the fifth Test against Australia when the opening bars of Aqua’s 1997 pop hit began reverberating around the Kia Oval’s indoor school.

Stokes, who was five years old when the novelty track became a UK number one, took the moment in his stride as he puffed his cheeks in deadpan fashion before before correctly guessing the culprit.

Looking up and over his shoulder towards the team gym, he shouted “Woody” as laughter from the assembled journalists replaced the music.

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, launched in cinemas in the UK last week.

Stokes proceeded to name an unchanged XI and spent 15 minutes speaking to reporters, but Wood’s DJ set was not quite complete.

As Stokes finished his appearance and stood up to leave, Wood reprised the prank by playing The Imperial March by composer John Williams – better known as the song that heralds the appearance of Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.

England’s captain threatened another trademark miracle to rival his efforts in both the World Cup final and the Headingley Ashes Test in the unforgettable summer of 2019, but on this occasion his 155 was not quite enough to get his side out of jail.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Stokes’ batting and bowling record since his appointment as captain.

Captain fantastic

Since taking on the captaincy full-time in June of last year, Stokes has been the figurehead for England’s new aggressive approach and his statistics reflect the shift in tone.

Most noticeable is his strike rate, up from 57.4 runs per hundred balls across 79 Tests prior to his appointment to a fraction over 70 in the 15 games since he took charge.

That has helped him average 39.40, compared to 35.89 before last June, scoring 867 runs in 24 innings with two hundreds and two fifties.

He ranks fifth among England run-scorers in that time with his and coach Brendon McCullum’s influence on the team even more pronounced – Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Duckett all have ‘Bazball’ strike rates north of 90, with Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Zak Crawley also in the 70s and ahead of Stokes.

That is even more pronounced in the current series, with the new approach experiencing its first questions amid a flurry of rash dismissals – particularly in the first innings at Lord’s as Duckett, Pope and Root all perished on the hook before Stokes demonstrated a willingness to duck the short ball.

Only bowlers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson have a lower strike rate in the series than Stokes’ still brisk 62.42 – even Josh Tongue has scored his 20 runs at 66.67. Stokes is England’s leading run-scorer with 216, four ahead of Duckett, while his average of 54 trails only Root’s 64.

Stokes’ bowling has taken something of a back seat as captain as he seemingly saves himself for the key moments, partly due to a lingering knee injury.

He has bowled in only 20 of 29 opposition innings, compared to 126 of 150 previously. That brings him down from 1.6 bowling innings per match to 1.3 and he averages 10.1 overs per innings compared to 13.3 previously.

His average and strike rate have both improved slightly to 31.69 and a wicket every 53 balls respectively, though he is yet to add to his four five-wicket hauls. His economy is marginally worse than before at 3.58 runs per over.

Six-shooter

Stokes leads England’s new era in six-hitting, with nine in his blistering Lord’s innings taking him ahead of Brook to 28 in 24 innings.

He recently claimed the overall Test record, moving ahead of none other than McCullum’s 107 with two in February’s Test against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui before stretching his total to 118 with Sunday’s efforts.

Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist is the only other man to hit 100 Test maximums and of the trio, Stokes has the highest ratio of sixes compared to fours – 14.4 per cent of his Test boundaries have cleared the ropes, compared to 12.1 and 12.9 per cent for McCullum and Gilchrist respectively.

The next two men short of 100 – Chris Gayle with 98 sixes and Jacques Kallis with 97 – each hit well over 1,000 fours, with 8.6 per cent of Gayle’s boundaries being sixes and only 6.1 per cent for Kallis.

Stokes hits a six every 85 balls on average in Tests, behind only Gilchrist’s 68 balls among that leading group.

India reached 294-7 thanks to a stunning 115-ball century from Rishabh Pant, who helped the hosts establish an 89-run lead, after surviving a big lbw shout from Bess shortly before tea.

Bess finished without reward, with figures of 0-56 in 15 overs pointing to a lack of threat from the 23-year-old off-spinner. He bowled with a lack of control at times, throwing in far too many full tosses, and will want to get among the wickets on Saturday morning and put a bad Friday behind him.

He was recalled for this contest in Ahmedabad having been left out for the second and third Tests, both of which England lost after making a winning start to the series in Chennai.

England spin coach Jeetan Patel said Bess had "needed a break" and was "jaded" by his experience of that opening match.

But Patel trusts Bess is capable of troubling batsmen again, and said of his disappointing performance so far in this match: "It's no real one thing, it's just a fact it didn't work out for him today.

"There's still room for him to improve, like everyone in this group, but Bessy's still very young. He's still learning how to bowl red ball at Test level which is very difficult. He'll be better for these experiences going forward.

"There's some things with Bessy that we'd like to get into. He's got time after this Test match to get back and look at that, but right now he's got a job to do and that's getting those three wickets tomorrow.

"He would have liked to have bowled a lot better today and liked to have given a lot more to the group, and it didn't work out for him. They played him very well. They sat on him and looked for balls to score off when they could.

"Right now he will be quite down and quite tired, but the beauty of this game is the fact there is another opportunity tomorrow."

Ben Stokes, by contrast, was hailed as England's 'Superman' by Patel. 

Stokes took 2-73 in 22 overs to follow up his 55 with the bat on Thursday, and at stumps he appeared exhausted, having been running in amid searing heat.

"Stokesy's your man. He's the guy you want to go to for anything really," Patel said. "He's almost like a Superman with this sort of stuff. He really does enjoy the tough battles.

"He bowled a lot of overs today. He almost bowled the whole first session and he got some crucial wickets for us on the way.

"He's pretty cooked as you can imagine, but he's a warhorse and he loves it. He loves when it gets tough and he loves when it gets hot and tiring, and that's when he stands up most. Hopefully we see the best of him again tomorrow."

Patel said Pant's innings was "pretty special" but claimed the match was "still quite in the balance".

"He came out after that tea break and took it to us," Patel said of Pant's effort. "Hats have to go off to how they played that."

Captain Joe Root and the recalled Jonny Bairstow combined to put on an unbroken third-wicket partnership worth 110 in the final session, the duo finishing unbeaten on 66 and 47 respectively as the tourists dominated the opening day of the series.

As for Sri Lanka, their problems started prior to the game getting underway as skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was ruled out due to a fractured thumb. 

Stuart Broad (3-20) claimed two early wickets as Sri Lanka were reduced to 25-3; they never recovered and were bowled out for the lowest first-innings score in a Test staged at Galle International Stadium.

Angelo Mathews - back in the Sri Lanka XI - combined with stand-in skipper Dinesh Chandimal to put on 56 for the fourth wicket, but that was the only partnership of real note in an innings that spanned a mere 46.1 overs. 

Chandimal top-scored with 28 before he was superbly caught in the covers by Sam Curran off Jack Leach (1-55), leaving the score at 81-5 early in the afternoon session. 

Niroshan Dickwella (12) chopped a long hop from Bess to backward point, while the off-spinner also benefited from a lucky deflection off short leg Bairstow - who took the full brunt of a sweep shot - that allowed wicketkeeper Jos Buttler to catch Dasun Shanaka (23). 

Dilruwan Perera fell quickly for a duck and, after a Leach finger tip saw Lasith Embuldeniya run out at the non-striker's end, Bess bowled PWH de Silva to complete his second five-wicket haul in Tests. 

England's reply stuttered early as opening pair Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley fell cheaply, both dismissed by left-arm spinner Embuldeniya to leave the score at 17-2. 

However, Bairstow – who hit a century when batting at number three in England's previous Test on Sri Lankan soil, back in 2018 – capitalised on his opportunity back in a team minus top-order regulars Rory Burns and Ben Stokes.

Root had needed a review to overturn an lbw decision against him on 20, but otherwise made serene progress to a half-century that means his team trail by just eight runs heading into Friday's action.

England were bowled out for 578 and India, after initially toiling, closed 257-6 thanks to a sparkling knock from Pant at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium.

Bess snared home skipper Virat Kohli for 11 and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane for one, before putting an end to Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara's rearguard, leaving England in a strong position to take the lead in the four-Test series.

The tourists added a further 23 runs for their final two wickets in the opening hour of Sunday's session, with Bess (34) falling lbw to Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson missing a sweep against Ravichandran Ashwin for a single run.

India's task of chasing down England's tally was made all the more difficult when reduced to 154-4 at tea, including the loss of Kohli for just 11 when caught at short-leg by the bowling of Bess.

Kohli's dismissal came after Rohit Sharma was sent packing by Jofra Archer for six and Shubman Gill (29) was undone by Anderson's diving catch after averaging a run-a-ball up to that point.

Bess rammed home England's advantage by taking Rahane, who went to a superb Joe Root catch after chipping a drive to short cover, but India - 73-4 at that point - finally steadied the ship through Pujara and Pant.

Pujara racked up 11 fours from 143 balls en route to 73, though it was Pant who helped make a more telling dent in England's tally with nine fours and five sixes as he targeted the spin of Jack Leach.

However, Bess returned and took both Pujara and Pant, the latter being caught at deep extra by Leach for 91 from 88 balls.

Ashwin and Washington Sundar frustrated England late in the day, ending the session on eight and 33 not out respectively.

Yorkshire spinner Bess claimed 4-55 from 23 overs on the third day of the entertaining test at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The 23-year-old snared home skipper Kohli for 11 and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane for one, before putting an end to Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara's stand.

It was the wicket of Kohli, who flicked a bat-pad catch to Ollie Pope, that gave Bess the most satisfaction in his finest outing for England in a career spanning 13 Tests.

"It is certainly up there," he said. "The calibre of the player, who he is, is phenomenal. He is a world-class player so it was special, but more for what my process was. 

"What I'm learning, what I'm doing that is getting me to that. You are always looking to get batsmen out but it's not about bowling that magic ball. 

"It's about smashing in 10, 15 balls in a good area and then something will happen. That's what I was really pleased about. I thought I held my line and length really well.

"It's not about who you are getting out, it's the consistency of balls. I thought I bowled pretty well and I think I am bowling really well at the moment. 

"It was important to make sure I had real confidence in my mentality and process. I'm 23, I'm only going to keep growing. My journey is going to be up and down."

Responding to England's 578 all out, India initially toiled before a sparkling knock from Pant – ending with 91 run from 88 balls – helped them to 257-6.

Pant stepped in with India 73-4 but, targeting the spin of Jack Leach, he hit nine fours and five sixes before Bess took over and dismissed both Pant and Pujara.

However, Bess believes Pant's high scoring was more down to the his attacking batting display, rather than Leach's bowling, as he backed the left-armer to quickly respond.

"I thought he bowled really well and that's not just me saying that. If you look at the way he bowled to Pant and [Washington] Sundar I reckon there are balls hitting the exact same box," he said.

"Pant is just a completely different player who played a phenomenal innings. Really courageous, really bold. How Leachy came back and kept smashing out a length shows the qualities he has.

"People will look at the fact he was going for 10 runs an over at one point but it doesn't matter. It's going to bring you massive opportunities if [Pant] gets it wrong.

"Leachy is so strong mentally. He has been through a hell of a lot, and that isn't going to faze him at all."

Paine stepped down from his Test captaincy role last Friday over a historical investigation into lewd texts sent to a former Cricket Tasmania colleague in 2017.

The 36-year-old, who at the time was found not to have breached Cricket Australia's conduct code and remained captain, is still in Australia's Ashes squad to face England, though a new leader is yet to be announced.

Batter Marcus Harris previously stated Paine has "got all the support of the players" and Lyon has echoed that sentiment towards the wicketkeeper, who was appointed captain in 2018 following Steve Smith's ball-tampering scandal ban.

"I can 100 per cent guarantee he has the full support of the Australian changeroom," Lyon told reporters as Australia prepare for the first Ashes Test on December 8.

"I don't see him as a distraction at all. Come the Gabba Test match and throughout the whole series, we are professional sportspeople, and we will go out and do our job.

"Tim made a mistake, he's owned it, for me that shows great courage to be honest. Tim has got my full support. I am looking forward to catching up as soon as we get out of quarantine.

"In my eyes, Tim is the best gloveman in the country, in the world.

"The selectors said they were going to pick the best available XI and in my eyes Tim Paine is the best keeper in the world. I want him. This is very selfish, from a bowler's point of view, I want the best gloveman behind the stumps."

Off-spinner Lyon and wicketkeeper Paine have formed a strong partnership for Australia but failed to combine for a single wicket against India in the Test series loss last time out.

Since then, Paine has undergone neck surgery in September before returning to action for Tasmania's second XI against South Australia.

Pat Cummins and Steve Smith have reportedly been interviewed by Cricket Australia amid ongoing speculation the pair will step in as captain and vice-captain respectively, much to Lyon's excitement.

"You have a bowler's mindset and a batter's mindset rather than two batters; they can come together and really come up with some good guidance," Lyon said. "I am excited by the fact we are potentially going to have a bowler as captain."

Australia will head to the Gabba with added confidence as well after their T20 World Cup win in the United Arab Emirates, and Lyon claimed there is still a buzz around the camp despite Paine's resignation.

"The mood is incredible," he said. "On the back of the boys winning the World Cup, there are only nine guys here who were part of that, but the staff too, there is an unbelievable feeling in the Australian cricket changerooms right now.

"Our preparation is flying along. I'm ready to go."

After hitting the winning runs in the first Test, new boy Bethell plundered 96 in the second innings of the second match.

The 21-year-old, who came into the team after Jordan Cox suffered a thumb injury, fell just short of what would have been his first professional century in what is only his 22nd first-class appearance.

And with the decision to place Bethell at three having come under scrutiny before the series started, Stokes feels the youngster has swiftly set about showing just what an exceptional talent he is.

"I'm pretty sure there were a lot of doubters about the role we brought him into for that first Test match," Stokes told BBC Sport.

"You've got a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest?

"I was devastated for him to not get that three figures. I said to him: 'It's only four runs, isn't it?'

"His response was: 'Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.'

"I think he's proved a lot and proved why we rate him so highly."

Stokes does not feel Bethell's performances have provided him with a headache when it comes to selection, though.

"No, I don't see it like that," he said.

"If it hadn't gone well for him in those first two Test matches, that wouldn't have changed anyone's mind in our dressing room of him as a player."

Joe Root plundered his sixth Test century of 2024 in England's second innings, matching the joint-highest total of tons in a calendar year by an England player.

Stokes then took 3-5 with the ball to skittle through New Zealand's tail, after Tom Blundell had offered some resistance for the hosts on Sunday with a brilliant 115.

"In this Test in particular, on day one we were 43 for 4 to be here on the winning side on day three is quite phenomenal," said Stokes.

"We got bowled out in fifty overs (54.5) but we had 270 runs on the board which was a good score on that day one-wicket, and then we obviously had time left with the ball to be able to make some inroads.

"To score 270 and take five wickets at the end of day one really set this game up.

"We back ourselves to be able to go out there and change games and we feel that there needs to be a bit of impetus put into the game, particularly with the bat.

"As a bowler you want to be able to plonk it on a length and plonk it onto the top of off stump over and over again. But sometimes when a batter is brave enough to take you on and knock you off your length, it's very hard to commit to still doing that."

New Zealand captain Tom Latham, meanwhile, credited England's dominant display, and handed particular praise to Harry Brook, who scored 123 in the first innings and 55 in the second.

"It's the pressure they are able to put you under, especially with the bat," said Latham.

"I think on day one it was offering enough for our bowlers and the way Harry played in that innings was outstanding.

"Credit where it's due. The way he played puts you under pressure from ball one. He played some incredible shots that you don't necessarily see from other teams around the world."

Bethell, who made his T20 and ODI debuts against Australia last month, replaces Jamie Smith who misses out due to paternity leave.

However, the 21-year-old has played just 20 County Championship games in his career, and has yet to make a first-class century.

He averaged 25.44 across those matches, with his highest total of 93 coming against Nottinghamshire early in the 2024 season.

Bethell made some impressive middle-order cameos with the bat against Australia in September, and also starred for the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. 

Bethell also bowls left arm-spin - he struck four times across the five ODIs versus Australia - and will support the frontline trio of Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed. 

His inclusion is the only change to the squad that suffered a 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan, with Jordan Cox poised for his Test bow as he deputises behind the stumps for Smith.

Vice-captain Ollie Pope keeps his place in the squad despite a difficult tour of Pakistan in which he averaged just 11, with a highest score of 29, across the three Tests.

The first Test in Christchurch begins on 27 November with matches in Wellington and Hamilton to follow in December.

England squad for Test series against New Zealand: Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Bryson Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

Kent captain Billings was drafted in as a COVID substitute for Ben Foakes on the fourth day of England's third Test against New Zealand, which concluded on Monday.

Billings' main contribution in the seven-wicket triumph was a bizarre caught-behind off Neil Wagner that he wedged between his knees.

He is now in line for a third Test appearance, though Foakes may yet feature as he is due out of isolation on Thursday, a day out from the India Test beginning in Birmingham.

The addition of Billings is the only change made by England, who have kept faith in Crawley at the top of the order, despite some unconvincing showings against New Zealand.

Crawley finished the three-match series with 87 runs and was at fault for the comical run-out of opening partner Alex Lees in his side's second innings of the final Test.

India lead England 2-1 ahead of the final Test, which originally scheduled to be played last September but was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

The tourists announced on Monday that Mayank Agarwal has been called up after captain Rohit Sharma tested positive for coronavirus.

Without Steve Smith – who suffered a blow to the head in training on Thursday – Australia still managed to set a target of 295, leaving England facing a record run chase in an ODI at Old Trafford to secure victory.

Marsh (73) and Maxwell (77) were in superb form with the bat, with their century stand taking the tourists from 123-5 to 249-6.

Maxwell eventually succumbed to an excellent ball from Jofra Archer, who had dismissed David Warner (6) with a magnificent delivery early on.

Marsh was pinned lbw by Mark Wood as Australia lost late wickets, though hosts England were then reeling at 57-4 in the 17th over of their reply, with Hazlewood (3-26) in fine fettle.

Jonny Bairstow (84) and Billings (118) took the fight back to Australia, yet England ultimately fell short on 275-9 as the world champions succumbed to a second defeat from the last three 50-over meetings with their great rivals.

Archer's wicked bowling sent Warner's stumps flying in the fourth over, and Wood had Aaron Finch (16) walking soon after when Australia's captain clipped an edge to Jos Buttler.

Wood and Buttler combined again to dismiss Marcus Stoinis for 43 in the 16th over, with Adil Rashid dismissing Marnus Labuschagne (21) lbw soon after.

Alex Carey fared little better against Rashid four overs later, yet Marsh and Maxwell steadied the innings.

While Marsh ticked over, Maxwell wasted little time in getting into his stride, and moved to 50 two balls after hitting Rashid for a huge six over midwicket.

Archer was the recipient of similar treatment for back-to-back sixes in the 44th over, yet he had his revenge the next ball when Maxwell dragged a slower delivery onto his stumps.

Pat Cummins (9) fell in Archer's next over, with Wood sending Marsh back to the pavilion and Chris Woakes dismissing Alex Zampa (5), before Mitchell Starc hit a six from the last ball of the innings as Australia finished on 264-9.

Hazlewood started impressively with the ball, taking a wonderful one-handed catch to dismiss Jason Roy (3) from his own bowling in the fourth over, and the paceman had his second wicket when Joe Root edged to Carey on one.

Two fours and a big six from Eoin Morgan (23) got England back on track, though the home captain soon picked out Maxwell from a Zampa delivery.

Zampa had a second wicket when Labuschagne took a smart catch to dismiss Buttler, and it was then that Bairstow and Billings began to unleash some thumping shots.

Bairstow, after hitting four fours and four sixes, was out in the 36th over – Hazlewood racing around in the outfield to take a fantastic diving catch – with Moeen Ali following quickly.

With Billings still in, England had hope, and despite losing Woakes and Rashid, he played some inventive shots as he moved beyond 100.

However, with 28 needed from the final over, England did not have enough fire-power – Marsh having the final say as he ended Billings' defiance to wrap up an impressive win.

England's defence of their World Cup crown came to a dismal end, crashing out at the group stage and suffering defeats to the likes of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

The miserable elimination has led some to criticise Key, England's managing director, but Billings has come to his defence, praising the work he has done since being appointed in 2022.

"I think Rob Key has been phenomenal," Billing told Stats Perform, speaking on the Pro Am Padel Tour. 

"People have ridiculously short memories. He's accountable for everything that's been a positive change over the last 15 months.

"So yeah, I think people always like to shoot people at the top. I think it's all just paper talk, but you look at where English cricket is at the moment – it's an interesting time for cricket as a whole.

"There are so many options. There are so many different competitions around the world, and so multifaceted where you're trying to juggle everything so I think they're doing a fantastic job."

Billings believes England's terrible World Cup campaign is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in sport, saying: "Without stating the obvious, it's hugely disappointing.

"But it's just a reminder of how brutal sport is. There are no guarantees, we prepare the best we can as athletes, the best we can as a team, but ultimately, there are no guarantees and every single team, regardless of how good they are or how good they've been, can have off days that can kind of mount up.

"It's just been one of those things – I think it's important to keep perspective in a time like this where it's been five weeks, probably, of poor cricket over an eight-year period. When you put it in perspective like that, I think that's pretty much all I can say about it. I just think it's important to keep perspective."

Australia's 72-run win in Sydney on Saturday gave them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, with one match to go in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Billings top-scored for England as they chased a target of 281, but his 71 runs along with 60 from James Vince in a partnership of 122 were two of only five scores in double figures for the tourists, who were skittled for 208.

After Steve Smith hit 94 for the hosts, enjoying big partnerships of his own with Marnus Labuschagne (58) and Mitchell Marsh (50), England's reply started poorly as Mitchell Starc (4-47) dismissed Jason Roy and Dawid Malan in the first over before the visitors had scored a single run.

"Those early wickets pegged us back so we had to rebuild and I think Australia's score was probably above par on that pitch," Billings told BT Sport.

"It was pretty two-paced and up-and-down at points. It was a real shame Vincey and I couldn't go on for another 10 overs. It was a disappointing loss."

Adam Zampa took 4-45 to clinch the series win, a relief for Australia after they failed to make the semi-finals of their home T20 World Cup, which was won by England.

Billings believes that despite many players in the 50-over team having already played through that tournament, they will find energy once more on Tuesday, while players like him who arrived more recently can use it as another opportunity.

"For more than half the group who have obviously been out here for a long time, it is about trying to muster up the energy for one last game," he added.

"For the five of us who have had limited opportunities and came in a week ago, it is a huge opportunity for us to stake a claim and be that energy for the group.

"It's not every day you play at the MCG against Australia so there shouldn't be any lack of ambition for that last game."

Blackwood crafted a crucial 95 from 154, to provide the backbone of the team’s second innings, in a four-wicket win over England.  Despite the player's herculean effort, there was a ting of disappointment as he was caught by James Anderson, off Ben Stokes, just five runs short of what would have been a second Test century.

“He (Russell) was very proud but he said he had mixed feelings.  He was happy and sad at the same time because he really wanted me to score the hundred, but happy that I scored some runs and eventually the team won,” Blackwood told members of the media during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.

The batsman also credited his improvement to a newly acquired fierce work ethic, which has seen himself and compatriot Russell putting in the required hours on and off the pitch.

“Over the past year or so I have been working hard with Andre.  Andre Russell is like my mentor, so we work every single day, seven days a week.  So, I am just pleased now to come and score some runs.  It shows that once you put in the work you will get the runs,” he added.

England resumed play at Basin Reserve on Sunday on 378-5, with Joe Root on 73.

The tourist's former captain plundered his way to a 36th Test century, which he brought up with a reverse scoop from Will O’Rourke (1-104), who at least gained a measure of revenge when Root edged through to Blundell in the same over when on 106.

Ben Stokes left himself unbeaten on 49 as he declared with England on 427-6, setting New Zealand a daunting 583 to win.

Stokes' decision swiftly paid off, with Devon Conway (0), Kane Williamson (four) and Black Caps skipper Tom Latham (24) sent packing within the first 10 overs.

Brydon Carse (2-53) dismissed Rachin Ravindra (six) in the 14th over, bringing Blundell to the crease.

After being dropped when on a duck, Blundell offered resistance, smashing his way to a fifth Test ton in rapid time, though Daryl Mitchell (32) and Glenn Phillips (16) fell around him.

Four of Blundell's five sixes came from Shoaib Bashir's bowling, but his stand came to an end when he edged the spinner through to Ben Duckett, who palmed the ball up to take the catch at the second attempt.

That England breakthrough came in the 49th over of New Zealand's second innings, and it was game over by midway through the 55th, with Stokes rattling through the hosts' tail to finish with exceptional figures of 3-5, his best in over two years in a Test.

Now 2-0 up in the three-match series, England will aim for a whitewash when the final Test begins in Hamilton next week.

Data Debrief: Root ties for tons

Root has now scored six Test centuries in 2024. No player has ever scored more than six tons for England in one calendar year, with Root himself having previously done so in 2021. Denis Compton - 1947, Michael Vaughan (2002) and Jonny Bairstow (2022) have also struck six hundreds in one year for England.

His efforts helped England claim their biggest win in terms of runs against New Zealand, while this is their first series win in the country since 2008.

The Black Caps, meanwhile, have now lost their last two Tests at Basin Reserve, having previously gone on a seven-match unbeaten run at the venue. It is the first time New Zealand have lost back-to-back matches in the longest format in Wellington since 2010.

England’s unbeaten pair of captain Joe Root (84) and Zak Crawley (117) started the day attempting to add on to England’s overnight 217-1 and eventually got to 225 before Crawley became the first scalp of the day, falling to Holder for 121.

Root carried on and brought up his 24^th Test match hundred, the second-most by an Englishman only behind former skipper Alastair Cook’s 33.

Dan Lawrence, who joined Root after Crawley’s dismissal, made a breezy 37 before he was removed by Alzarri Joseph to leave England 295-3 off 78.3 overs.

With a declaration looming, England’s batsmen tried to step up their scoring rate but kept losing wickets quickly, including Root for 109 and Ben Stokes for 13.

Joseph finished with 3-78 off 23.2 overs while Kemar Roach picked up 2-53 off 19 overs.

They eventually declared on 349-6, leaving the West Indies needing 286 for victory.

The West Indies started their pursuit just before lunch, eventually reaching 4-0 at the break.

After lunch, Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell continued their fruitful partnership at the top of the order with a second 50 partnership of the match.

They got to 59-0 before Brathwaite was trapped in front by Stokes for 33. Campbell was then dismissed in the next over by Jack Leach for 22 to leave the hosts in a spot of bother at 59-2.

Shamarh Brooks (5) and Jermaine Blackwood (2) then quickly became Leach’s next two victims to leave the West Indies struggling at 67-4 in the 35^th over.

Thankfully for the West Indies, Bonner (38) and Holder (37) safely negotiated the final 36.3 overs to lead the West Indies to 147-4 off 70.1 overs.

Jack Leach was the pick of the England bowlers with 3-57 off 30.1 overs.

Final Scores: England 311 and 349-6 declared, West Indies 375 and 147-4.

The second test gets underway on March 16^th in Barbados.

The Windies are set to face England in three Tests behind closed doors, the first beginning at the Ageas Bowl on July 8 before two matches at Old Trafford.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, which brought professional cricket grinding to a halt in March, West Indies are using Old Trafford for training and quarantining.

However, head coach Simmons is not concerned about his side keeping entertained, believing the hunger to play cricket again will help combat any feelings of boredom.

Speaking on a conference call on Saturday, Simmons said: "There's always dominoes - as you can imagine if you've been to the Caribbean that is a highly explosive form of entertainment.

"We have a golf simulation centre, we have cards, a few things the guys are enjoying. When you have characters like Jason Holder everyone is always laughing and enjoying themselves.

"The biggest challenge is boredom, but saying that in this scenario - because of doing nothing, no cricket being played for the last however many months - that will take a while to come into play.

"The guys are hungry, they want to play and practice."

Not since a 4-0 win in 1988 have the Windies won a Test series in England, but the current crop have not had to look far for inspiration, with Gordon Greenidge's double-hundred at Lord's in 1984 recently broadcast on British television.

"I saw the Test at Lord's where Gordon scored a double [hundred] on the last day," Simmons added.

"I'm not too sure how close some of the younger players are [to the past] but we're trying to bring that back, get younger guys to understand where we've come from in terms of being top of the world for such a long time.

"Sometimes when you know the whole West Indies saga is coming from, it gives you more impetus to be pushing forward to get the team back on top."

Rabada will miss the last match of the series at The Wanderers after being sanctioned for his reaction to dismissing Joe Root on day one of the third Test at St George's Park.

The paceman roared in celebration after bowling the England captain and that resulted in him being found guilty of a level one breach of the ICC code of conduct.

It earned Rabada a fourth demerit point in a two-year period, a tally that triggers a one-match ban.

Boucher felt Rabada should have known better, but suggested the punishment was harsh after watching England take charge in Port Elizabeth by posting 499-9 declared before the Proteas were reduced to 60-2 in reply on Friday.

"I think KG has a bit of a history, he probably shouldn't have done it, but it is what it is," said the South Africa head coach.

"The level one is a slap on the wrists but unfortunately he's got too many demerit points. We played in days when bowlers used to swear at batsmen, you want to be nice and aggressive.

"He didn't look at Joe Root, but it's about how you determine the laws. KG is best when he's nice and aggressive. We'll get him to run to square leg rather than the batter. But the laws are there and you have to abide by them.

"I wasn't aware of all the demerit points [Rabada has] and how the whole system works, so to hear this morning he's going to be banned for the final Test is a massive blow for us.

"He's a world-class performer, especially at The Wanderers, where I think he would be very effective."

The former South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman added: "We spoke to the match referee [on Thursday] and we did voice our concerns over the rule and a couple of variations of the rule.

"It's a tough one to gauge about excessive celebrations in the area of the batter and making contact with the batter.

"I don't feel that he made any contact with the batter whatsoever. Yes, he was in his space, but the two put together there is probably different ways you can look at it. Bottom line is the match referee has made up his mind."

Despite a late wobble with the bat, England claimed victory with 40 balls unused on Sunday to ensure the three-match series finished level at 1-1, the second game in Durban having been washed out.

Boucher felt his team were "30 to 40 runs short" when making 256-7 with the bat, while they then made an abysmal start with the ball as Jonny Bairstow (43 off 23 balls) got stuck into Lungi Ngidi and Beuran Hendricks.

Although South Africa fought back, dropped chances from Joe Denly and Tom Banton hindered their hopes of turning things around.

"We were probably 30 or 40 runs short and then, with the ball, we just started off really, really poorly and we were playing catch-up after that," said Boucher in a news conference.

"We had chances and we didn't take our opportunities. When you are 30 to 40 runs short, you have got to bowl well, especially up front, and you've got to take your opportunities.

"We didn't do that. That's why we lost."

South Africa and England both rested frontline players for the ODI series, and Boucher indicated the Proteas would continue to experiment in their next 50-over matches against Australia.

"It's a long time until the next [50-over] World Cup, so we can afford to do that," he added.

"There are a lot of good things that happened and a couple of things we need to work on, obviously, but it is quite difficult to judge over two games.

"We'll probably use the next three games against Australia to find out some answers and ask some questions. We do believe we're going in the right direction."

Former skipper Faf du Plessis is likely to return against Australia, though, after being rested and replaced as captain by Quinton de Kock for the ODI and T20 series with England.

"We feel at this point in time he [Du Plessis] needs a bit of a break away from the game," Boucher explained.

"I would like to think, against Australia, the rest will be enough and they [Du Plessis and Kagiso Rabada] can come back and play."

England captain Joe Root took 4-31 in Port Elizabeth after Mark Wood struck twice to ensure England require just four wickets on the final day to take a 2-1 lead with one match to play.

The Proteas were all out for only 209 after losing their last four first-innings wickets for only one run early on the penultimate day and they were in deep trouble on 102-6 - trailing by 188 runs - following on at stumps.

South Africa head coach Boucher offered a frank assessment of his side's shortcomings following a painful rain-affected day, which left them surely relying on the weather to save them on Monday.

"I think we were outskilled, to be honest," he told Sky Sports. "You can blame different things for the situation but I've got to look at myself and find a way to get the players up mentally and upskill them in a short space of time.

"I do think Joe Root was difficult to play at the end there. It's difficult to get down to the pitch of the ball - one slides on, one turns and it's like quicksand, the harder you try the deeper you sink.

"But we've created this situation for ourselves. No excuses - we've got to man up now and take this forward and learn from these lessons.

"When you're under the pump for a long time, every side has its breaking point and today we broke quite early, which is disappointing."

Faf du Plessis went 54 balls without scoring at one point before he was sent packing by part-time spinner Root for 36, but Boucher insisted it is not time to discuss his future as captain.

"That's not a call to make a this moment in time," Boucher said. "He's trying really hard and working really hard away from the game. 

"If he's not scoring runs there's that extra pressure. The best way to answer that is putting runs on the board.

"There's no hiding place in Test cricket. He's disappointed from a team perspective. He spent a bit of time in the middle, which is good for his confidence."