How the Black Caps pulled off a series win for the ages in England and overcame the odds

Thursday, 2 July 2026

Black Caps coach Rob Walter has detailed the masterplan for their tenacious test series win over England – staying in the moment amid the chaos in the host’s camp.

New Zealand fought back from a first test loss at Lord’s to win the decider in Nottingham to claim a momentous 2-1 series win – just their second series win over England in a series of three or more tests since a 2-1 triumph from four tests in 1999.

They became the fourth New Zealand side to win a test series on English soil, joining the teams of 1986, 1999 and 2021.

The Black Caps’ journey to a series win started from their pre-tour Lincoln training camp on the outskirts of Christchurch, where they prepared under the all-weather marquee on similar pitches and honed their bowling with the Dukes ball.

Playing tough, gritty cricket was their calling card for the series, being prepared to dig in with the bat and occupy the crease. Even if England’s aggressive top order went after their bowling they vowed to stick to their plans knowing wickets would come.

Despite losing the opening test at Lord’s on a shocking pitch that made batting treacherous for both sides, Walter said they never wavered from their approach.

“We had such a simple plan and that was never going to change. After the first test and losing in the first test it probably reaffirmed if we did it well it would put us in a good position and obviously their own issues in their camp started to develop.”

England imploded with skipper Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson stood down for the second test at The Oval after a nightclub incident, where they broke a midnight curfew. Stokes then stunned the cricket world with his shock retirement shortly before tea on the fourth day.

England’s makeshift line-up were outclassed in the second test before struggling to produce their best cricket in Nottingham after losing a critical toss.

New Zealand in contrast never flinched. Led by unflappable captain Tom Latham they were never rattled by key injuries to Glenn Phillips or Matt Henry, who were scratched for the third test. Blair Tickner, who cannot seem to catch a break, was then forced out of the match after copping a nasty Jofra Archer bouncer. His concussion replacement, Zak Foulkes, starred with six wickets, three in each innings.

“I think it just came back to right at the start we said we need to be prepared to play the long game. We need to be prepared to invest time into the game and what does the game require from us, what are the conditions telling us, what is necessary, but we knew if we could just keep executing our skills for long periods of time something would happen in the game,” Walter said.

“I think when you set yourself up with that mindset right from the start and the word go it kind of requires some resilience and grit and determination because you’re not trying to do it quickly. You understand it’s going to take a long time.”

There were no shortage of Black Caps’ heroes in the memorable series win. To think Kane Williamson also surprisingly pulled the pin on his glittering international career after the first test with his replacement Henry Nicholls scoring a ton in the very next test.

Few would have tipped Nathan Smith as the player of the series leading into the tour, but he was integral to New Zealand’s success with bat and ball. Smith took a series-leading 16 wickets at an average of 23, also chipping in with a stoic 38 at The Oval.

“He’s a massive player for us. I tell him he’s one one of my warriors that needs to go out there and keep coming. In this game where you’re a few players down we needed him to step up and keep running in, which he did all series.”

Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, who had his critics heading into the series, showed his worth with his glovework and batting, again thriving in English conditions. Blundell contributed valuable runs and was excellent with his keeping, regularly standing up to the stumps and unsettling the English batters.

“Ultimately, there’s no column on Cricinfo [statistics] for the impact he’s had on this test series and there probably should be,” Walter quipped of Blundell’s glovework in tricky conditions throughout the series, especially at Lord’s.

Walter estimated there were about 20 little moments across the series where his side had stood tall in challenging circumstances, which had an impact on the final outcome.

They could have easily got down on themselves after losing at Lord’s and Williamson’s sudden retirement, but only grew in strength. Even in the final match where they briefly handed the ascendancy back to England, slipping to 393-6 after a 317-run opening stand they never buckled, summing up the character and resolve in the group.

“In our mind we always thought of winning the series on the last session on the last day and gearing ourselves up for that because we knew playing the long game was going to be a competitive advantage for us.”