England have jumped to the fifth spot on the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table after humbling New Zealand in the 2nd Test of the ongoing three-match series by 323 runs. New Zealand have dropped down to the sixth position and have only one match left in the ongoing WTC 2023-25 cycle.
England also have one match left in the ongoing WTC cycle and the third Test of the series at Seddon Park in Hamilton starting December 14. Both New Zealand and England are highly unlikely to make it to the final of the ICC World Test Championship final.
WTC Points Table after England humiliate New Zealand in Wellington
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | India | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 110 | 61.11 |
| 2. | South Africa | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 59.26 |
| 3. | Australia | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 90 | 57.69 |
| 4. | Sri Lanka | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 50.00 |
| 5. | England | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 114 | 45.24 |
| 6. | New Zealand | 13 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 44.23 |
| 7. | Pakistan | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
| 8. | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 9. | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 24.24
|
Meanwhile, England's 323-run win is their largest over New Zealand in terms of runs in Test cricket. They have won their first Test series in New Zealand since March 2008. Michael Vaughan was England's captain when they had beaten the Blackcaps 2-1 in a three-match Test series in March 2008.
Coming back to the game, Tom Blundell scored a fine century (115 runs off 102 balls) for the Kiwis on day three at Basin Reserve in Wellington. Blundell's century delayed the inevitable but England bowlers clawed their way back into the contest. Ben Stokes was the pick of all the England bowlers as he finished with figures of 3/5.
Shoaib Bashir, Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes claimed three wickets each. Harry Brook was adjudged the Player of the Match (POTM) for his hundred (123) and fifty (55) in the first and the second innings respectively.
