New Zealand v England: third men’s cricket Test, day four

Play will start half an hour early, at 9.30pm BST, to make up some of yesterday’s lost time. That extra half hour could be crucial for New Zealand as they push to take these last eight wickets inside two days.

Preamble

This is it, then, the 65th and final day of a bumper year of Test cricket for England’s men’s team. They’ve saved the worst for last, though we might cut them a bit of slack after such a draining year. England have played 17 Tests, one short of the all-time record, and the players look ready to put on a silly hat, pull some crackers and forget about the challenges of the wobble seam for a bit.

It’s been a mixed year in terms of results, with nine wins and eight defeats after this game. But while there are still plenty of imperfections, England have emphatically achieved their primary objective of 2024: to regenerate the team ahead of a bumper 2025 in which they play a couple of five-Test series against… ah I can’t remember who it is now.

Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse and Jacob Bethell all made their debuts in 2024 and have all caught the eye to differing degrees. Bashir’s regression is a worry but we shouldn’t lose sight of what he has achieved; had he taken one more wicket yesterday he would have become the second youngest player in Test history to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.

You’ll notice we haven’t discussed the match situation. There’s no point. England will resume on 18 for two, needing 107 sixes to win the game. The main points of interest are how Jacob Bethell fares with another assault from the increasingly scary Will O’Rourke, whether Ben Stokes is fit to bat, whether Ben Stokes bats even if he isn’t fit to bat. And, most importantly, how many wickets the great Tim Southee takes on his final day as a Test player.

He reminded Ben Duckett of a few eternal truths last night, bowling him neck and crop to pick up his 390th Test wicket. Southee, Trent Boult, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who share more than 2,000 Test wickets, have given way to the next lot. (I was going to say ‘next generation’ but as Matt Henry is 33 and Chris Woakes 35, that doesn’t quite seem right.)

The future of both pace attacks, and of the beloved wobble seam, looks in pretty good hands.

Right, let’s end on a positive note. These are England’s heaviest Test defeats by runs; they currently trail New Zealand by 639. For richer and poorer, this England team do things their way. Don’t go changing, lads.