England beat New Zealand to seal Test series win (2:1)
Mar 26, 2008
Monty Panesar spun England to a crushing 121-run victory as New Zealand went down despite a late flourish by teenager Tim Southee in the third and deciding cricket Test at Napier Wednesday.
The win, to give England the series 2-1 and their first away series win in three years, cemented a determined fightback after they were three wickets down for four runs early in their first innings before reaching 253.
When they destroyed New Zealand's first innings for 168, taking the last nine wickets for 65 in 25 overs, and followed with centuries by Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell to set a 553-run target, the outcome was never in doubt.
After losing the first Test in Hamilton by 189 runs, England won by 126 runs in Wellington before wrapping up the series at McLean Park in Napier, although captain Michael Vaughan noted both victories came from poor starts.
New Zealand resumed the final day at 222 for five in their second innings but with Panesar proving near unplayable they struggled through to lunch at nine for 360 in their second innings, still 193 runs short of victory.
With only 19-year-old Southee and one of the world's worst tailenders in Chris Martin at the wicket the match should not have lasted much after lunch.
Third Test, Napier, day five (close): England 253 & 467-7d bt New Zealand 168 & 431 by 121 runs
Umpires: D J Harper, R E Koertzen New Zealand: How, Bell, Fleming, Sinclair, Taylor, Elliott, McCullum, Vettori, Southee, Patel, Martin England: Cook, Vaughan, Strauss, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Panesar, Anderson
England vs New Zealand Third Test at Napier
Venue
McLean Park is a cricket ground in Napier, New Zealand. It is one of the 10 proper Cricket Grounds of New Zealand. McLean Park is an outstanding sportsground of international standards which includes an indoor stadium and Centennial Hall. The home team for this ground is Central Districts Cricket Association. Also the names of two ends of this stadium are Centennial Stand End and Embankment End.
The ground is used for hosting both ODIs and Test Matches. Apart from this, the McLean Park Complex also hosts rugby matches, including one match at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. It has hosted a total of 5 Tests and 26 ODIs. The ODI played here was between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Rothman's Cup of 1982/83. In this match New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets.
