New Zealand Clinch 3-0 Series Sweep After Edging England in a Tight Wellington Finish

Rain stayed away in Wellington, but England’s top order kept leaking. New Zealand, efficient and calm, closed out a tense 2-wicket win to seal a 3–0 sweep. What an impressive performance this is! The numbers told a familiar story: England’s batting failure, New Zealand’s nerve, and one man, Jamie Overton, fighting to make a broken innings count.

Overton’s 68 from 62 balls, fierce and defiant, dragged England from 44 for 5 to 222. Without him, they might have been gone in just 25 overs. His stand with Brydon Carse restored shape after another early collapse under New Zealand’s seam barrage. But the runs, though spirited, never looked enough. 

Blair Tickner’s 4 for 64 and Jacob Duffy’s 3 for 56 carved through England’s top five. Zak Foulkes, who has quietly been the find of this series, opened the cracks early with his seam movement. England’s top four managed a combined 84 runs across the series. It is a record, but one they won’t frame.

The start was chaos. Jamie Smith got out in the 2nd over. Ben Duckett slogged one straight to mid-on. Joe Root trapped by an inswinger. By the 10th over, the scoreboard screamed 31 for 4. Buttler and Curran tried damage control, adding 50, but Blair’s sharp seam work broke them apart. Overton then launched his counterattack, 10 fours and 2 sixes, tearing through New Zealand’s middle overs. His stand with Carse added 58 and some pride.

Yet 222 never looked heavy on a flat deck. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra took 64 from the first 10 overs, handling Jofra Archer’s pace without fuss. Ravindra, smooth through cover, looked set before Sam Curran cut one through him. Conway’s run-out, a freak deflection off Overton’s wrist into the stumps, cracked the door open for England.

Tom Latham fell the same way. It was another deflection, another moment of disbelief. England’s bowlers stayed in it through grit, not menace. Overton and Curran’s persistence had New Zealand wobbling at 196 for 8. Daryl Mitchell, steady as ever, scored with 44 before edging behind. When he fell, silence rippled through the Basin.

But Tickner and Foulkes finished the job. They didn’t panic. They blocked, ran hard, waited. Boundaries came late, and so did the relief. New Zealand got home with 5.2 overs to spare, but a heart rate to remember.

Mitchell’s calm summed up New Zealand’s campaign, which was measured, efficient, and unfazed. He followed 78* and 56* from earlier games with another innings that felt heavier than the scorecard showed. For England, though, this was another exercise in déjà vu. Another collapse. Another rescue act. Another defeat.

It wasn’t about conditions or luck. It was about execution. Foulkes’ debut series turned heads, Duffy’s new-ball control never wavered, and Tickner delivered his second straight four-for. England, meanwhile, looked brittle, searching for rhythm before their next red-ball chapter across the Tasman.

Overton, the unlikely hero, left the field with bat raised, eyes calm, shoulders heavy. He had fought harder than most, but fighting alone couldn’t shift the outcome.

As the teams shook hands under a cooling Wellington breeze, New Zealand had its clean sweep. England had their questions. The scoreboard didn’t flatter or exaggerate. It told the truth. New Zealand 226 for 8. England 222. Series gone, lessons overdue.