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New Zealand secure No. 3 spot in ICC WTC table: The England vs New Zealand third and final Test match has ended as the Kiwis have defeated the Three Lions by 160 runs at Trent Bridge. The win in England ended a 27-year major drought. Their win at Trent Bridge was their first overseas series win of three or more Tests in England since 1999.
Tom Latham has now won Test series in England and India as captain. Under his leadership, the Kiwis became the first visiting team to defeat India 3-0 in a three-match Test series on home soil, which was part of the ICC WTC cycle. He joined an elite club, becoming only the sixth captain to win overseas Test series in both India and England.
England’s batsmen collapsed on the fourth day
On the final day of the third and deciding Test, England were 103–4 and needed 270 more runs to win on the poor ground at Trent Bridge, chasing an apparently hopeless target of 373 runs. All hopes rested on Joe Root, who opened with 9 not out, and Emilio Gay (6 not out) in the middle, England’s only specialist batsman left.
However, Joe Root could not trouble the scorers much as he was out for 18 runs, adding just 9 more runs on the 5th day from his night’s score. Emilio Gay was out for just 10 runs. There was a change in the batting order of the home team after the announcement of Ben Stokes’ retirement on Sunday.
Jamie Smith’s fight ends in vain as England move to 7th in ICC points table
In place of Gay, Ben Stokes opened with Ben Duckett. This came as a shock, as the English captain scored 30 runs in 20 balls and returned to the pavilion. Duckett scored 36 runs on 42 balls. Vice-captain Harry Brook was also out for 21 runs. England almost lost the match on the fourth day itself, losing four wickets for 100 runs.
Later Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson made a partnership of 75 runs for the 7th wicket. The latter was out for 19 runs; Jofra Archer followed up the chase for two runs, and Joshua Tong did the same. Smith’s last wicket fell at the score of 60 runs, due to which England lost the series 2–1. This is the first time that the Kiwi team has made a comeback after losing the first match and won a three-match series.
New Zealand secured third place in ICC WTC table
There is no change in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-207 table after the defeat. As New Zealand remained at no. Despite securing a landslide victory with 72.22% PCT. England also did not move forward and remained in 7th place with 24.36% PCT. Out of the 13 matches the Three Lions have played in the ICC WTC cycle, they have lost 8, won only 4 and drawn one.
After this victory, Tom Latham’s team is once again in the race to qualify for the WTC finals. The last time they qualified for the final, they won against India and earned their first WTC title. New Zealand has played 6 matches, out of which they have won four, drawn one and lost one.
ICC WTC cycle 2025-2027-England vs New Zealand after 3rd Test
| Team | m | w | l | Tea | D | n/r | public telephone | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 87.50 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 75.00 |
| new zealand | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 72.22 |
| bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 58.33 |
| India | 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 48.15 |
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 44.44 |
| England | 13 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 24.36 |
| west indies | 9 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 14.81 |
| Pakistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8.33 |