James Anderson puts seal on England’s crushing 267-run victory over New Zealand

England 325 for 9 dec (Brook 89, Duckett 84, Wagner 4-82) and 374 (Root 57, Brook 54, Foakes 51, Tickner 3-55) beat New Zealand 306 (Blundell 138, Conway 77, Robinson 4-54) and 126 (Mitchell 57*, Anderson 4-18, Broad 4-49) by 267 runs

Anderson’s surging burst of 4 for 18 in 7.3 overs dovetailed with Broad’s overnight 4 for 21, to provide a fitting denouement to a match of many milestones for the veteran seam pairing – 15 years and now 1009 wickets after their partnership was launched in this very country on England’s 2008 tour.

Those first two matches together, at Wellington and Napier in 2008, also happened to be England’s last two victories in New Zealand. But after this latest display of poise and dominance, Ben Stokes’ men can head back to the Basin Reserve next week with their sights set on another series victory, having now won 10 of their 11 Tests since the start of his tenure last June, and claimed ten wickets in every one of their 21 fielding stints in that period.

Despite Broad’s heroics on the third evening, Stokes opted to turn to the spin of Jack Leach for the day’s first over, and it took just three balls of his second for Leach to make the first dent in New Zealand’s remaining resistance. Faced with a hint of turn into the body from over the wicket, the left-handed Michael Bracewell flicked limply off his pads for Harry Brook to pocket the simplest of chances at short midwicket.

Nine balls later, the match was as good as over, thanks to an Anderson double-whammy. First in his sights was the debutant Scott Kuggeleijn, a nuggetty presence in the first innings, but a deer in the headlights second time out, as Anderson pinned him on the knee-roll with an inch-perfect nipbacker to claim his 250th wicket in overseas Tests.

One ball later, Tim Southee was gone as well – caught on the crease as Anderson dragged his length back, and opening the face on impact to offer catching practice to Joe Root at first slip. That dismissal will have provided Anderson with an additional measure of satisfaction, for it took his average in overseas Tests below 30, a further debunking of the long-disproved notion that he loses his impact when removed from English conditions.

Mitchell, New Zealand’s form player from last summer’s tour of England, did his best to shore up his side, and the second of his two straight sixes off Leach at least guided them past the ignominy of a double-figure total – a fate that befell England in their last pink-ball Test in this country, at Auckland in 2017-18.

Broad duly returned with a five-for up for grabs, but neither Mitchell nor Blair Tickner, fresh from his tail-end heroics in the first innings, was ready to go down without a fight. Mitchell duly launched Broad through midwicket to reach his fifty from 94 balls, while at the other end, the debutant Tickner hung around for 8 from 29, adding another tenth-wicket stand of 35 to the 59 he had contributed with Tom Blundell in the first innings. Anderson, however, returned for another burst in the second hour, and fired a match-winning inswinger through his defences.