England lost by one run in the second and final Test against New Zealand (Picture: Getty)
Brendon McCullum says his England players could not help but smile after ending up on the losing side in one of the all-time great Test finishes.
England lost a Test match after enforcing the follow-on for the first time in history as New Zealand produced a sensational comeback in Wellington.
Ben Stokes’ side led by 226 runs after posting 435-8 declared and then bowling New Zealand out for 209, but the decision to enforce the follow-on backfired as the hosts then made 483, setting 258 to win the match and series.
The tourists slipped to 80-5 on day five but a 121-run partnership between England captain Stokes (33) and his predecessor Joe Root (95) made McCullum’s side favourites.
Another collapse of 3-14 provided a twist, however, and James Anderson was caught down the leg side off Neil Wagner with just two needed to win.
It was just the fourth time in history a team has lost after enforcing the follow-on and ended a run of six straight victories under Stokes and McCullum.
Despite the agonising defeat, New Zealand legend McCullum says his England team were grateful to be involved in an ‘epic’ match and happy to bring ‘excitement’ and ‘relevance’ to the Test game.
James Anderson was caught down the leg side with two runs to win (Picture: Getty)
‘Obviously it would’ve been nice to have won the Test match and the series but right at the start of this campaign we said that we wanted to entertain and bring fans into the game, bring relevance to Test cricket,’ McCullum said.
‘Even being on the wrong side of it today, I think we achieved that. Credit to New Zealand, they were epic in their defence of that total but we certainly played our part.
‘It was a great game to be a part of.’
Asked to describe the mood in the dressing room after the narrowest of all defeats, McCullum added: The guys were really calm, even after we lost.
‘Walking into the dressing there were still smiles on faces because we achieved a small part of what it’s about: making Test cricket exciting. It’s still disappointing to lose obviously.’
While England were denied a seventh straight Test win – a feat last achieved in 2004 – New Zealand’s win maintained an unbeaten home run that stretches back to 2017.
New Zealand centurion and former captain Kane Williamson said: ‘What a fantastic game of cricket to be a part of.
New Zealand battled back to draw the series 1-1 (Picture: Getty)
‘For us as a team, we’ve been fighting away in the Test format for a while so it was nice to get it across the line in this one.
‘England are playing incredible cricket at the moment and we were up against it coming into this match. To find a way to wrestle our way back and get across the line is a really nice feeling.’
England, who won the first Test in New Zealand by 267 runs, have one more Test match – against Ireland – before hosting Australia in a five-match Ashes series.
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It was just the second time a Test has been won by one run.
