England completes clean sweep
Contours of a new age in English cricket are now visible after it secured a 3-0 series win over New
Zealand, the World Test champion, with a sevenwicket win at Headingley. Fittingly, local boys Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were there at the end to take the team across the finish line, adding 111 runs together as the target of 296 was eclipsed comfortably.
It was the third-highest successful run chase by England at the ground, and fifth-highest overall. Bairstow scored 394 runs in the series, but it was the manner of scoring that made an impression: he finished with a strike-rate of 120.12!
England’s resilience could be seen in its recovery. After being reduced to 55 for six in the first innings by Trent Boult & Co, Bairstow struck 162 to take the team’s total to 360, with a lead of 31.
Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell were the chief contributors with the bat for New Zealand. The Kiwis were very much in the contest till the final day but England’s relentless positivity meant they were conquered.