New Zealand vs England, 2nd Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

So, that brings us to the end of the New Zealand summer. What a finish! As the captains said, barring that 58 all out at Auckland, it was a closely fought Test series which was a fine follow up to what was an excellent bilateral ODI series earlier. England tried hard but their winless streak abroad continues. They'll be pondering how to get that done but that's for another time as it's the home summer coming up in a few months time. The Kiwis will be proud of the home season, they've put in some really sterling efforts. Hope you enjoyed our coverage of this series. We certainly loved bringing you all the action. On that note, this is a weary Hariprasad Sadanandan signing out of the Cricbuzz comm box on behalf of my mates Varun Dixit, Pratyush Sinha and our scorer Shashikant Singh. Cheers!

New Zealand's 2017-18 home season summary:
Tests: Series wins against Windies (2-0) and England (1-0)
ODIs: Series whitewashes of West Indies (3-0) and Pakistan (5-0), lost to England (2-3)
T20Is: Series win over West Indies (2-0), lost to Pakistan (1-2) and lost the Tri-Series final to Australia

Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain: "Was an amazing day of Test cricket. Want to thank Joe and his team. Was a hard fought series, nothing in it really. We were fortunate enough, especially in the first innings at Auckland. We didn't get off to the best start today, knew that it would be a tough day but plenty of resolve shown by Latham and de Grandhomme. Special mention to Ish and Wagner for sticking it out. They dealt with a lot of short stuff and hung in there. Great effort from the side, we kept chasing the game and had a chance of winning the game if all went right of drawing it. Good to be on the right side of the result. Been a great summer, would have been nice to have more Test cricket maybe."

Joe Root, England captain: "We threw absolutely everything at NZ today. Absolutely proud of the bowling unit. Fair play to NZ, they were too good. Barring that first innings at Auckland, it's been a really close series. We let ourselves down in that innings but have shown a lot of character ever since. You want to play in big series and we got that opportunity in this winter. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan but we need to pick ourselves up for the summer. Yeah, we would have loved a third Test. I think this series was a great advert for Test cricket. As I said earlier, we threw everything at them, few edges fell just short of the fielders but that's how it goes."

Trent Boult, Player of the Series: "Phenomenal way to end the season. Full credit to the English boys. Great last day of the season for us to get over the line. It was very memorable for all of us. Me and Southee have played a lot of cricket together already and as a bowling unit we found ways to get wickets under these conditions and put the batting side in a good position. Big summer for all of us, we will celebrate the victory today. Test Cricket is my favorite format, it will be nice to have few more Test matches in the season. Not too much time off as I will going for the IPL soon."

Tim Southee, Player of the Match: "Rough couple of days but all good in the end. It's nice to put the whites back on. Pleasing to close a pretty good summer. There's been a little bit of assistance off the wicket -- more seam and swing -- but don't know the reason for that. Played a lot of cricket together with Boult and it's a partnership we enjoy and look forward to doing on most occasions. Slip fielders have done a good job. Some of the catches taken in the series were outstanding. Even BJ (Watling), who didn't play for a while and to come back and show his worth with the gloves is pleasing to see."

Ish Sodhi: "Bit of drama at the end. Wagner was with me in the tough periods. He's a bit of a fighter with the ball and he showed with the bat too today. They started bowling bumpers and it was hard to pick up, but it was a pretty true wicket. Wagner kept me going .. '5 more mins to go .. 2 more mins to go.' I got one on the fingers that's pretty sore now. It kept ringing for a while but that's the beauty of the game. You take it on the chin. We've only done this once before. Quite disappointed with my performance with the ball this series. To be able to contribute with the bat (means a lot)."

Joe Root as captain after 14 Tests:
Home: W L W W W L W (5 W, 2 L)
Away: L L L D L L D (5 L, 2 D)

Series wins for NZ against England:
1-0 (3) in NZ, 1983/84
1-0 (3) in England, 1986
2-1 (4) in England, 1999
1-0 (2) in NZ, 2017/18 *

It was a Test of the new-ball bowlers for a major part of the game. Boult and Southee shared the wickets in the first innings and Broad-Anderson responded in style to do the same. However, the hosts gained momentum through their lower order who reduced the deficit considerably to ensure that England had to bat a fair amount of time to build a sizeable lead. Once the declaration happened midway after Lunch on Day 4, NZ had two options - to go for the win or play out a draw. Bad light ruining the final session virtually ended the first option and the hosts played out of their skins on Day 5. De Grandhomme had a great game apart from Boult and Southee although this match will be remembered for Sodhi and Wagner.

England will be gutted. They got to bowl more than the minimum quota of 98 overs with light holding up incredibly today at the Hagley Oval. However, they just couldn't get across the line in the end. Initially, a draw would have meant criticism of Root's declaration yesterday as England showed scant intent with the bat for a major part of the day. But, having had close to 125 overs to bowl, the skipper cannot be faulted. Nor can his bowlers who tried hard as well. I guess it's fair to say that we just need to doff our hats to the Kiwis. Latham started the defiance with a fine knock but the middle and lower order were excellent.

Not many predicted such a finish at the start of the day with New Zealand having all 10 wickets in tank and bad light predicted in the final session. However, Broad struck off the first two deliveries of the day to set the ball rolling and when England got four by Lunch, the advantage was firmly with the visitors despite Latham fighting hard. De Grandhomme also chipped in, followeing up his first innings heroics with another invaluable effort. He later partnered well with Sodhi too although the former's departure to a rash shot had opened up the game once more. Sodhi wasn't to be denied though, as he battled hard with Wagner to conjure a miracle for the home side.

18:03 Local Time: Take a bow Ish Sodhi! He soaks in all the applause from the crowd who are giving him a standing ovation. One of the best rearguard efforts in Test cricket. He had to cop a lot of blows but stuck his neck out and fought it out, found great support in Wagner as the duo virtually saved the game for the Kiwis. The duo's partnership ate up 188 deliveries and in the context of this game, that was monumental. England tried everything to be honest, pace/spin/change of angles/crease usage etc etc but simply couldn't break through the Kiwi lower order, who for the second time in the game made an impact. Latham and de Grandhomme showed the way initially before the tail wagged furiously.

That's it! Southee was on his way out but the umpires feel that enough is enough. It's time. Game has been drawn! That means that NZ seal the series 1-0, winning against England for the first time since 1999!

Root to Wagner, out Caught by James Vince!! Root strikes! Is it too late though? Seems like it. Wagner's marathon defiance is over. Prods forward to a slider and gets pinged on the back pad. Looked close and the umpire approved of the LBW appeal. Wagner though, reviewed it straightaway and the replays showed us why, there was an inside edge. However, Vince was alert at silly point and took the catch. So, the decision will stay. Wagner c James Vince b Root 7(103) [4s-1]

Root to Wagner, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

NZ review! Wagner has been given out LBW. He signals the T straightaway. Has he hit this? Oh he has! Fat inside edge, this will have to be reversed. Oh wait, the catch was taken at silly point, so he will have to walk back

Root to Wagner, no run, quicker ball around off, defended off the inner half of the blade past FSL

Root to Wagner, no run, very full and outside off, Wagner reaches out and pushes this towards cover

Root to Wagner, no run, flatter and around middle, Wagner hangs back and defends it to the off-side