New Zealand

Richardson returned to the international mix for three Twenty20s in South Africa, where the third and final game will be played on Wednesday, though the paceman has been overlooked for the first two clashes.

However, Richardson could feature in the 50-over format following his selection in Australia's ODI team to face the Proteas, starting in Paarl on Saturday.

Richardson, 23, will remain in South Africa after Australia announced their 14-man squad for a three-game series against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand from March 13-20.

"It has been a pretty tough road to get back, a few ups and downs, a few plateaus here and there. Just being here around everyone and this setup again is fantastic. Everyone is in a great frame of mind and extremely positive," said Richardson, who suffered a shoulder injury prior to last year's Cricket World Cup.

"I am absolutely ready to go. I feel I am bowling as well as I have for a long time. Hopefully there's an opportunity."

National selector Trevor Hohns added: "Jhye is performing exceptionally well, as we saw throughout the Big Bash. He has slotted back into the T20 squad in South Africa and is pushing for a place in that side.

"We are very fortunate to have such a deep pool of fast bowlers. Jhye has earned his place after the hard work he has done to get back into his best form after serious injury.

"Keeping him in South Africa with the one-day squad gives us another exceptional fast bowler who is ready to go."

Australia will face New Zealand in back-to-back ODIs at the SCG in Sydney on March 13 and 15 before hosting the Black Caps in Hobart on March 20.

Australia ODI squad to face New Zealand: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

Opening the batting, Rizwan hit 10 fours and three sixes in his maiden international half-century in the format, helping the tourists surpass the home team's total of 173-7 with four wickets to spare in the third and final game.  

Mohammad Hafeez contributed 41 to a second-wicket stand worth 72 and Pakistan appeared to be cruising at one stage, only to lose wickets in the closing overs.  

Tim Southee dismissed Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan – continuing to stand in as captain in the absence of injured Babar Azam – in successive deliveries in the 19th over, while Rizwan departed to Kyle Jamieson to leave the score at 171-6.  

However, left needing three from the final three balls, Iftikhar Ahmed sealed victory in style with a huge six. New Zealand were hampered by the absence of Ish Sodhi, the leg-spinner only sending down one over before suffering an injury in the field.

Devon Conway had earlier helped the Black Caps post what looked to be a competitive total at the halfway stage, hitting seven fours and a solitary six as he made 63 from 45 deliveries.  

Tim Seifert made 35 at the top of the New Zealand order, while Glenn Phillips (31) shared a 51-run partnership with Conway for the fourth wicket.  

Faheem Ashraf claimed 3-20 during his four overs, including dismissing home skipper Kane Williamson for one, bowled off an inside edge to a short delivery.   

There were two wickets apiece for Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, though both went at an economy rate above 10 an over in an innings that included 16 fours and six sixes.  

The two nations now switch their focus quickly to Test cricket, with the series opener getting under way at Mount Maunganui on Boxing Day. 

Pakistan confirmed on Monday that Babar will not recover from a broken thumb in time to play, though the batsman may yet feature in the second and final Test, which takes place in Christchurch.

Sussex pace bowler Robinson took 7-101 and scored 42 runs in the drawn first Test against New Zealand at Lord's.

However, while the Sussex seamer was in action on the field on the first day of the Test, comments he made in 2012 and 2013 – when he was aged 18 and 19 – emerged on social media.

The discovery of the comments came after England's players wore anti-discrimination T-shirts carrying messages regarding racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia and ageism ahead of play starting on Wednesday.

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison strongly condemned the posts and confirmed a full investigation would be launched as part of the governing body's disciplinary process.

A statement from the ECB on Sunday confirmed the 27-year-old will not be able to take part in international cricket until the investigation is complete.

The statement read: "England and Sussex bowler Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation following historic tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013.

"He will not be available for selection for the second Test against New Zealand starting at Edgbaston on Thursday June 10.

"Robinson will leave the England camp immediately and return to his county."

The West Indies have travelled with two squads that will play three T20 Internationals and two Test matches during the three-week tour.

The contingent that arrived in Auckland on Thursday travelled to Christchurch where they will be in quarantine before they begin preparing for the series against the Black Caps and Estwick believes the players need to seize the moment.

“I think we’ve got to win series now. We win the odd Test match – you can look at all the teams we’ve played in the last two years – we’ve won one Test match, but we haven’t won the series,” Estwick said.

“I think it’s big for us now that we start winning series. If we want to move up, we’ve got to win series. It’s important that we put two or three performances together, not one good performance and we tend to fade away. We’ve got to win series and there’s no doubt about that, and we’ve got to start here in New Zealand by trying to win this series by playing good, positive, hard disciplined cricket.”

Notwithstanding, the coach is aware of how difficult it will be playing against New Zealand on home soil.

“New Zealand is a very, very difficult side playing at home. We’ve got to be up and we’ve got to execute properly. We’ve got to sit down, and we’ve got to plan,” he said.

“We know what it was like last time and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready because nobody goes to New Zealand and wins easily. You’ve got to be prepared to scrap. Sometimes they can be very patient and you’ve got to match that patience as well. We’ve got to leave no stone unturned to make sure we can combat New Zealand.”

Six reserve players have traveled with the Test squad to prepare and ensure replacements are available in case of any injury and, along with other members of the T20I squad, will form an ‘A’ Team to play two four-day matches concurrently with the Test team.

All members of the squads passed first health test in on arrival and officials were very impressed and highly complimentary with the adherence to protocols.

The Blacks Caps looked primed to make it 2-1 with two matches to play after they were set 180 to win in Hamilton on Wednesday courtesy of Kane Williamson's highest T20I score.

New Zealand needed just three to win off five balls in the last of their 20 regulation overs after Ross Taylor hit Mohammed Shami for six, but Williamson fell for a magnificent 95 two balls later.

There was more much more drama to come, with Taylor bowled off the last ball to leave the scores level with the hosts 179-6.

Williamson and Martin Guptill posted 17 off the extra over from Jasprit Bumrah and it appeared that would be enough with Rohit ​– who earlier top scored with 65 in India's 179-5 – needing 10 off two deliveries from Tim Southee, but the opener hammered the paceman for two sixes in a pulsating finale.

The stunning victory sealed India's first T20 series win in New Zealand, with Williamson and his side left shell-shocked again six months after a Super Over loss to England in the Cricket World Cup final, with the same opponents beating by the same method in November.

Williamson must have been fearing the worst when India were 69 without loss after the powerplay, Rohit clubbing three sixes in a sixth over from Hamish Bennett (3-54) that went for 27.

Colin de Grandhomme ended an opening stand of 89 when he had the in-form KL Rahul (27) taken by Colin Munro at point and the powerful Rohit was caught by Southee at long-on attempting to launch Bennett for another six. 

Virat Kohli (38) became the expensive Bennett's third victim before Manish Pandey and Ravindra Jadeja dispatched slower balls from Southee for six in a final over that cost 18 runs.

Martin Guptill blasted the second ball of the run chase from Shardul Thakur (2-21) beyond the rope, but the fast bowler sent the opener packing for 31 after he had struck another two sixes.

Munro and Mitchell Santner missed out, but Williamson raced to a 28-ball half-century before punching Jadeja for back-to-back sixes with exquisite timing. 

The skipper also set about Bumrah after de Grandhomme fell to Thakur, but he was unable to see New Zealand home, edging behind to end a stunning 48-ball masterclass that included six sixes.

New Zealand must have felt a sense of deja vu when Taylor was cleaned up by Shami (2-32) to extend the match and Rohit proved to be the Super Over hero on this occasion as Southee was given the treatment.

The three-match home series, which begins on November 17, will be the first since Virat Kohli's decision to step down after the T20 World Cup.

Kohli, who will stay on as ODI and Test captain, led India in the short format for the final time on Monday, as the pre-tournament favourites bowed out of the World Cup with victory over Namibia.

The 33-year-old captained his nation in 50 T20Is – winning 30 and losing 16 – while scoring 1,570 runs, including 114 boundaries and 59 sixes.

Kohli is one of several notable absentees from the squad to face the Black Caps next week along with Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan are among the players to come into the squad.

Rohit will take over as skipper – with KL Rahul as his deputy – although it is yet to be confirmed whether he will be given the role on a permanent basis.

Following his knock of 56 against Namibia, Rohit became one of only three players – along with Kohli – to reach 3,000 T20I runs, while he has averaged 32.66 in 108 innings.

India T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj.

Sachin Tendulkar was in his home city to witness first-hand Kohli set a new benchmark in ODIs with a typically assured 117 off 113 balls which laid the foundations for India’s mammoth 397 for four.

New Zealand then battled hard in the chase, but hopes of a third successive World Cup final appearance were dashed despite Daryl Mitchell’s fine 134 as they were all out for 327 as Mohammed Shami took a career-best seven for 57.

Rohit, though, admitted he had never taken victory as assured as the 1983 and 2011 champions kept on course for victory on home soil.

“I have played a lot of cricket here, any score on this ground, you can’t relax. Got to get the job done quickly and stay at it,” Rohit said in his post-match presentation interview.

“We knew there would be pressure on us. We were very calm, even though we were a bit sloppy on the field.

“These things are bound to happen, but glad we could get the job done.

“The form all the guys are in, top five or six batters, whenever they’ve gotten an opportunity, they’ve made it count.”

Rohit added: “Being the semi-final, I won’t say there was no pressure, whenever you play there’s pressure, but a semi-final adds a bit extra.

“We wanted to not think too much about it, just do what we’ve been doing like in the first nine games. Things came off for us nicely in the second half.”

After moving to three figures off 106 balls, Kohli leapt and punched the air, briefly sunk to his knees before rising and soaking up the acclaim from a frenzied crowd which included Tendulkar and David Beckham.

Tendulkar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, he “couldn’t be happier that an Indian broke my record” as Kohli moved into a class of his own in his 291st ODI – 172 fewer than his former team-mate.

Reflecting on his achievement, Kohli said: “It is the stuff of dreams.

“It is very difficult for me to explain this, but if I could paint a perfect picture, I would want this to be the picture.

“My life partner, the person I love the most, she’s sitting there (in the stands). My hero (Tendulkar) he’s sitting there. And I was able to get the 50th in front of all of them and all these fans in such a historic venue. It was amazing.”

India gained a measure of revenge for being dumped out at the same stage of the 2019 tournament by the Black Caps.

Shami said: “It feels amazing. In the last two World Cups, we lost (in the semi-finals), so who knows when or if we will get a chance again.

“We wanted to do everything for this, one chance we didn’t want to let go.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was proud of his side’s efforts.

“Firstly, congrats to India, they played outstandingly well, probably their best game today,” he said. “400 was naturally going to be tough, but credit to the guys, proud effort to stay in the fight.

“It is disappointing to go out, but I am super proud of the effort that has gone in for the last seven weeks.

“The effort was there, but India are top class, have world-class batters who didn’t give us a sniff really.

“You come in and get 400, it’s a tick in the box. They deserve to be where they are, played outstandingly well.

“It wasn’t to be today, but it was nice to be out there to give ourselves a chance.

“It was a fantastic crowd, unbelievable atmosphere, slightly one-sided in the support, but special to be part of the tournament.”

This comes as all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the upcoming tour due to a groin injury. The experienced 37-year-old sustained the injury on Saturday, October 17, while playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Bravo, the two-time T20 World Cup winner, will now return to Trinidad to continue his rehabilitation.

The 25-year-old Romario Shepherd made his international debut last year against Afghanistan and has so far played five One-Day Internationals and two T20 Internationals (T20Is). Shepherd said he intends to make the most of the opportunity.

“This is a great opportunity for me, and I want to take it with both hands. I was in the team before, last year and earlier this year, so I have a good feel of the game at this level. I’ve been training hard and working at all areas of my game so I’m ready,” he said.

Bravo, meanwhile, said he is disappointed that he will not be able to travel to New Zealand with the team.

“I was really looking forward to the tour of New Zealand as it has been so many months since I last wore maroon in Sri Lanka back in March and we are all so excited about building towards defending our T20 World Cup next year,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the injury I sustained on Saturday playing for CSK has not only ruled me out of the IPL but also the tour.  I’m making arrangements to return to Trinidad over the next few days where I will continue my rehab and treatment. I’m fully committed to representing the West Indies and I just need to get myself stronger again.”

The defending ICC T20 World Cup champions will visit New Zealand from November 27 to December 15.  They will start the tour with three T20Is, followed by two Test matches as part of the ICC World Test Championship.

FULL SQUAD:

Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King,

Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr and Kesrick Williams.

MATCH SCHEDULE

November 27: 1st T20I at Eden Park, Auckland

November 29: 2nd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

November 30: 3rd T20I at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui

December 3-7: 1st Test at Seddon Park, Hamilton

December 11-15: 2nd Test at Basin Reserve, Wellington

Ollie Robinson's Test debut at Lord's last week was marred when offensive Twitter posts by the paceman – posted in 2012 and 2013 – were highlighted.

The 27-year-old had an impressive debut on the field in the series-opening draw with New Zealand, but is now suspended while the ECB conduct an investigation.

It has subsequently been reported that posts from several England players across the Test and one-day set-ups are also being looked into.

However, Root is now hoping for a full switch of focus back to the matter at hand, which is England attempting to clinch a series win over the Black Caps at Edgbaston.

"We want to move forward in a really positive way," Root told BBC Sport.

"We've had to face up to some ugly truths this past week or so and there will be challenges moving forward.

"But the group of players we have now is very much committed to moving the game forward, to making it a better place, making it more inclusive and educating ourselves further.

"We're going to have to front up to what has happened, but ultimately we want to move forward in a really positive way, to keep going on this journey we've started of trying to better our sport.

"We will continue to do that because that's how we all feel."

A near-capacity crowd of 17,000 will be allowed at Edgbaston as coronavirus restrictions are relaxed, and Root is aiming to put on a show for the spectators, after his team received some criticism for holding out for a draw on the final day at Lord's, rather than attempt to mount a 273-run chase.

"We're all very aware we're in the entertainment business," Root, who wants to dispel any notion of his team being negative, told reporters.

"We all want to be part of those games, those special games that provide that entertainment. They're the ones that you remember.

"The ones that stick in my mind are the World Cup final, Headingley, Cape Town – the ones that go to the wire, they're the ones you remember as a player, and want to have big contributions in.

"I look at the situation we found ourselves in and I still feel we made the right decision [at Lord's]. We've turned up here with an opportunity to win the series, albeit it is not part of the Test championship, but it is a Test match and that means a hell of a lot to the players and the group.

"We're very keen to put in five days of strong cricket this week and win the series. If the opportunities arise, we'll definitely look to be aggressive.

"I don't want us to be considered a negative team who play a boring brand of cricket.

"We have some very exciting players who are capable of some wonderful passages of cricket and hopefully that will come to light this week."

Another entertaining match between the sides continued on Sunday, as the tourists – resuming on 168-5 in their second innings – were bowled out for 326, courtesy of Jack Leach's first 10-wicket Test haul.

That set England a target of 296 – a significant score but not even the largest Ben Stokes' newly confident side have chased down in this series.

And they will resume in a commanding position on day five, with Ollie Pope (81 not out) and Joe Root (55 no) firmly set and within sight of victory on 183-2.

The latest century stand between Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell – their fourth of the series – had earlier appeared to swing momentum back in New Zealand's favour following the late flurry of wickets on Saturday.

But that three-hour, 252-ball stand was ended with the Black Caps on 274-5. Four balls after Blundell (88 no) was saved by DRS, Matthew Potts (3-66) rapped Mitchell on the knee roll to see him depart lbw for 56.

Leach (5-66) took over from there, soon accounting for Michael Bracewell and then both Tim Southee and Neil Wagner in the same over.

When his second five-for of the match was completed bowling to Trent Boult, England – who replaced Ben Foakes with COVID substitute Sam Billings – had a realistic shot at victory.

Those hopes were dented when Zak Crawley's cover drive was cut off by Kane Williamson, who brilliantly picked out Boult to remove the stumps with Alex Lees well short.

Crawley (25) was perhaps at fault for that run-out and was caught by Williamson soon after, but Pope and Root steadied the ship, each passing 50 with an array of superb shots late in the day.

Root leading latest chase

If England complete the job on Monday, they will become the first team in Test history to successfully chase a target of at least 250 three times in a single series.

The hosts have made a habit of digging deep and entertaining in equal measure in this series, best epitomised by Root's knock, in which he survived hopeful-at-best Williamson reviews from consecutive balls and then got to work – the highlight a remarkable reverse-scoop for six.

Brilliant Blundell

Blundell became the highest-scoring visiting wicketkeeper in a Test series in England, this time doing the heavy lifting opposite regular partner Mitchell.

The pair have scored over half of the tourists' runs across the three matches.

England were set a target of 277 for victory on Saturday and reached 216-5, helped by Root (77 not out) and Stokes (54), to leave them needing 61 runs on Sunday.

Stuart Broad helped spark England's fightback in the opening session, which was delayed by 30 minutes by rain, with the hosts taking three wickets in three balls. 

Daryl Mitchell (108) was dismissed by Broad, shortly after reaching his second Test century, before Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson both went for golden ducks.

Tim Southee looked to keep the runs ticking over for New Zealand, but Tom Blundell was pinned lbw by James Anderson just four runs short of a century.

England maintained that momentum thanks to debutants Matt Potts and Matt Parkinson, who trapped Ajaz Patel (four) and caught Southee (21) at slip respectively.

That left England chasing a target of 277, but they were 99-4 at tea after losing Alex Lees (20), Zak Crawley (nine), Ollie Pope (10) and Jonny Bairstow (16) cheaply.

Jamieson was responsible for the quick wickets of Lees and Crawley, with the openers only able to put up a 31-run stand as the contest again swung back in the Kiwis' favour.

Pope, promoted to number three, was unable to make any significant inroads before being bowled by a Trent Boult beauty, with Bairstow next to fall to Jamieson.

That put the onus firmly on Root and Stokes, who did a good job of keeping New Zealand's bowlers at bay.

The resolve of Stokes, who was saved by a no-ball after chopping on to his own stumps from De Grandhomme on one run, eventually ended when snaffled by Blundell.

Root made it to 77 alongside Ben Foakes (nine) come the end of play, though, meaning England are still in with a big shot of victory heading into day four.

Kiwis collapse at Lord's

Blundell and Mitchell put on a 195-run partnership for New Zealand's fifth wicket. Either side of that, the tourists scored just 191 for 16.

The Kiwis lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs, in fact, opening the door for England to pounce.

Root on verge of milestone

Not for the first time, England's hopes of claiming victory on Sunday will likely come down to Root, who added 43 runs from 42 balls after the dismissal of Stokes.

He is now just 23 runs short of becoming the second England player after Alastair Cook to reach 10,000 and the 14th player overall in men's Tests.

England started a new era with Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach by chasing down a target of 277 at Lord's on day four to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

The prolific Root became only the second England batter to score 10,000 runs in the longest format with a majestic unbeaten 115, combining with the excellent Ben Foakes (32 not out) for an unbeaten stand of 120 under grey skies in London.

Root is the 14th player to reach that milestone and got there at exactly the same age - 31 years and 157 days - as his former team-mate Alastair Cook.

Man of the match Root was untroubled as he made a 26th Test hundred in his first international since stepping down as skipper.

Root was delighted to step up for his former vice-captain Stokes, who made an important half-century on Saturday, and seal England's first win in 10 matches in the longest format.

He said during the post-match presentation: "The number of times Ben has won us Tests under my leadership, it's a great chance for me to give back to him. I love batting.

"I want to score as many runs as I can and win us as many Test matches as I can. As long as I've got the energy and the drive to do it, I'll do it. I couldn't wish for a better person to be leading this team."

He added: "It feels fantastic, more than anything for us to have won this Test match after such a long time. It's been so enjoyable.

"Hopefully we can use this as a way to step forward."

Stokes saluted Root for ensuring his reign got off to a dream start.

"Scoring a hundred and 10,000 runs - what a player, what a man," he said. 

Stokes knows England remain a work in progress after they edged in front in the three-match series.

He added: "It was a great Test match. It always seems to be, England v New Zealand - especially at Lord's. Regardless of being captain, the first Test of the summer always has a special buzz about it.

"It was a special week with all the build-up and to come away with the win makes it even better. We're happy leaving here with a win but one thing that everyone needs to take into account is that it's a change of mindset for everyone and it's not something that's going to happen overnight."

The Yorkshire and England batter succeeded Alastair Cook as red-ball captain in 2017 and resigned last April after a torrid run of one win in 17 Tests, with a 1-0 series defeat to West Indies the final straw.

Root still delivered remarkable returns with the bat in 2021, despite England's struggles, scoring 1,708 runs in 15 matches, including two double centuries and a further four tons.

A new Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era has somewhat transformed England's red-ball cricket, with two convincing series triumphs over New Zealand and South Africa either side of victory over India to secure a draw in the rescheduled meeting.

Root has still played a vital role, scoring three Test centuries since stepping down as captain, though he admitted the change was necessary after the role had started to impact him.

"The captaincy was starting to take a toll on me," Root told the Mail on Sunday.

"The limited time I did get to spend with family, which should be enjoyed and treasured, I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't really there. I came to realise that that had been the case for a little while.

"There were times when I was thinking about something I couldn't control or something that hadn't happened previously. You go in on yourself.

"We would still do what we would normally do as a family, but I would not be listening. I just felt like a bit of a zombie almost.

"I could start seeing it have an impact on me as a person. You want to bring your personality to the role, not bring the role to your personality. It was reversing into something slightly unhealthy."

Root will hope to continue to support Stokes' England as McCullum's side head to Pakistan for a three-Test series, which starts on December 1 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Joe Root was replaced as skipper by Ben Stokes ahead of the series but maintained a key role against the Black Caps and was named England's player of the series.

He was far from alone in standing out, though, and far from alone in enjoying himself, as England became the first Test team to chase down 250 three times in a single series.

The third win was completed at a canter on day five at Headingley, with Root joined in the middle by the destructive Jonny Bairstow, illustrating a complete shift from what had gone before.

Prior to Root – the world's top-ranked batsman – giving up the captaincy, England had just one win in 17 Tests.

"One of the great things about this series was guys keep getting more and more confident, more and more at ease with how they want to go about things," Root said.

"It's such fun to play in and be part of. For Ben to start as he has under Brendon [McCullum, the new head coach] as well, we're all loving playing it; it's great.

"It's important that we enjoy this series win. It has been a rocky road for the Test team for a little while now, and if you can't enjoy a series like this, then what do you play for?"

Those words would be music to Stokes' ears, with results secondary to the enjoyment of his team, he says.

"For me, when I took over this job, it was more than results; it was about changing the mindset of the lads towards Test cricket, about having fun and enjoying the fact you're out there representing your country, and the results will look after themselves," Stokes said.

"But to say that we have done it so quickly is just unbelievable.

"I can only do so much; I've got to show a huge amount of credit to Brendon and the way that he's came in and influenced this group as well, the backroom staff and everyone else who's played a part in the series as well – it's been absolutely phenomenal."

Stokes described this series as "a pretty special start" and picked out the third Test as his highlight, impressed England did not "come back into our shell" when they were 55-6 in their first innings.

Those bad habits have been forgotten, it seems, and Root was not interested in reflecting on what had gone wrong during his tenure.

"I think we should leave what's happened where it is," he said. "I think we should concentrate on looking at what this team has done over the last few weeks.

"What Ben's done has been brilliant in these three games, and I'm sure he'll have a plan for the next series and this game against India as well.

"As I say, I'm absolutely loving being a part of it all at the moment. Long may it continue."

That India match concludes a series that was started last year with Root at the helm, but Stokes intends to attack it in the same manner England did world Test champions New Zealand.

The new skipper added: "It's obviously completely different opposition and we've still got a series to try to draw, but we'll be thinking about us, and trust me when I say this: we'll be coming out with exactly the same mindset."

England looked destined to start a new era with Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as head coach with another defeat when they slumped to 69-4 after being set 277 to win on Saturday.

But Root, playing his first Test since stepping down as skipper, and Ben Foakes sealed England's first win in 10 matches in the longest format with an unbroken stand of 120 under grey skies in the morning session on day four.

Root (115 not out) made a crucial 26th Test hundred - and his first in the final innings of a Test - and the composed Foakes offered great support with an unbeaten 32 to make it a dream start to Stokes and McCullum's reign.

The prolific Root and Foakes were untroubled on the penultimate day after resuming on 216-5, needing another 61 runs to win, as the New Zealand bowlers failed to get anything out of an old ball under the floodlights.

Foakes hit a glorious on-drive for four and Root moved into the 90s by sumptuously punching Kyle Jamieson down the ground to the boundary.

Wicketkeeper-batter Foakes then pulled Tim Southee for four and Root moved to 96 with a more fortunate boundary, almost chopping the ball onto his stumps.

There was a great ovation for Root when he clipped Southee into the leg side and scampered back for two to bring up another hundred and become only the 14th player to score 10,000 Test runs in what was his 118th match.

Root fittingly finished off the job in style, dispatching Southee for three boundaries in an over to give England a first Test win over the Black Caps in eight matches.

Root has enjoyed a brilliant 2022, posting his fourth red-ball international century of the year against New Zealand in the second Test.

It took Root just 116 balls to reach three figures at Trent Bridge, the fewest he has ever scored a century in his Test career, and he has now converted 10 of his last 14 fifties into 100s (71 per cent).

The Yorkshire batter would go on to make 176 in the first innings, hitting 26 fours – the most recorded in an innings by an English batter since Zak Crawley hit 34 in his 267 versus Pakistan in 2020.

That helped England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead over the World Test champions New Zealand, after Jonny Bairstow scored the second-fastest red-ball century for his country on Tuesday.

Root's second century of the series came after his heroics at Lord's, in which he passed 10,000 Test runs with a majestic unbeaten 115, his first fourth-innings international hundred.

The 31-year-old, who stepped down from captaining England in April, has been rewarded with top spot in the world Test batting rankings as he reached the summit for the first time since December 2021.

Labuschagne has dropped down to second, with Australia team-mate Steve Smith in third, while Pakistan captain Babar Azam and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson make up the top five.

Black Caps number five Daryl Mitchell has also enjoyed a big rise up the rankings after his 190 and 69 not out in the second Test against England, jumping from 50th to 17th.

Meanwhile, in the bowling ratings Australia captain Pat Cummins remains top ahead of India's Ravichandran Ashwin, whose team-mate Jasprit Bumrah is in third.

That is due to Kyle Jamieson dropping three places down to sixth, with Pakistan quick Shaheen Afridi and South Africa star Kagiso Rabada moving up a place to fourth and fifth respectively.

The former captain, in his first game since stepping back from the role, hit 115 not out to give new skipper Ben Stokes a five-wicket win over the Black Caps at Lord's on Sunday.

In the process, the Yorkshire batsman joined Sir Alastair Cook as only the second England player to bring up the milestone mark.

In a remarkable coincidence, both Root and Cook reached the 10,000 figure at the exact same age - 31 years and 157 days.

They are not the only impressive numbers posted by the former in his record-breaking day at the crease, however...

1987- the year the first player posted 10,000 runs in Test cricket, when Sunil Gavaskar achieved the figure for India.

218 - the number of innings it has taken Root to join the 10,000 run club in Test cricket.

118- the number of matches it has taken Root to achieve it.

85 - the number of runs Root needs to move to 13th in the all-time Test runs rankings, currently trailing Pakistan's Younis Khan (10,099).

26 - the number of Test centuries scored by Root, a figure exceeded only for England by Cook, with 33.

2 - the number of other players to break the 10,000 mark while scoring a ton - Australia's Steve Waugh (Jan 2003) and India's Rahul Dravid (Mar 2008).

1 - this is the first Test century Root has scored in the final innings of a match, and therefore also his highest score in the same period of play.

Taylor made history when he reached 21 in New Zealand's second innings against Australia in the third and final Test at the SCG on Monday.

The 35-year-old reached the milestone when he hit Nathan Lyon for three to move past Fleming's record of 7,172 Test runs.

Taylor moved top of the all-time list in his 99th match and 175th innings, however, his celebration was short-lived on another tough day for the Black Caps.

An angling delivery from Pat Cummins steamrolled Taylor and knocked over the stumps to dismiss the record-breaker for 22.

Taylor's dismissal left New Zealand reeling on 38-5 on day four of the final Test, having already lost the trans-Tasman series following back-to-back defeats to Australia.

In 11 matches, 10 of which he batted, Powell scored 106 runs at an average of 11.77 and had a top score of 33. His strike rate was an anemic 86.88.

As the West Indies prepares to take on New Zealand in the first of three T20 matches on November 27, Powell said he wants to put the poor CPL behind him and rebound to the form he knows he is capable of.

“It’s an important tour, not just for the West Indies but also for me,” Powell said while addressing the media during a virtual press conference from Christchurch, New Zealand where the team is in quarantine.

“Not scoring a lot of runs in CPL, that is behind me. It was a difficult competition for me but, I have brighter things now. I have three T20 games that I am looking forward to so hopefully I can put my best foot forward with quality training sessions leading up to this game.”

During the tour, the West Indies could end up playing before crowds, something Powell has not been able to for some time now. The CPL was played before empty seats in Trinidad and Tobago. He said he was looking forward to see people return to the stands and praised the authorities for doing what was necessary to make it possible.

“It’s been a while. It’s been a few months, maybe the longest cricket has gone without playing in front crowds. It’s good that New Zealand has dealt with the Covid situation the way they have so that we can be able to play in front of crowds here in New Zealand.”

The co-hosts looked to be on course for their first defeat of the tournament when they slipped to 22-4, Trent Boult finishing with a team-best 3-16 for the Black Caps.

Rutherford had little support and initially made slow progress, only to dial it up in the dying stages, smashing three maximums off Daryl Mitchell in the 19th over then hitting two fours and another six off Mitchell Santner in the 20th.

New Zealand's chase never really got going as their middle order collapsed, Windies paceman Alzarri Joseph finishing with figures of 4-19 and Gudakesh Motie going 3-25.

Joseph's delivery saw Glenn Phillips caught by Rovman Powell at long on for the innings' crucial wicket, the all-rounder hitting 40 off 33 balls as none of his team-mates managed above 26.

While West Indies retain a perfect record at the top of Group C, New Zealand are on the brink of an early exit. They must win their remaining matches against Uganda and Papua New Guinea and hope other results go their way to advance.

Data Debrief: Rutherford's rescue act

When West Indies found themselves teetering in Trinidad and Tobago, Rutherford bailed them out.

His 68 runs at number six represents the second-best score ever recorded by a batter coming in at six or lower at the T20 World Cup, after Cameron White managed 85 versus Sri Lanka in 2010.