England vs New Zealand LIVE: Cricket result from third Test as Bairstow and Root fire England to victory
Follow all the reaction from Headingley as England seal a series whitewash against New Zealand
Jonny Bairstow hit England’s second fastest half century ever as they made light work of a 113-run target to beat New Zealand by seven wickets and seal a 3-0 series whitewash on Monday.
Bairstow, whose batting heroics were key to ensuring England won the second Test, picked up where he left off from Trent Bridge as he brought up his half century in just 30 balls and then took England to victory on the last day with an unbeaten 71, finishing it off with a six.
A 111-run partnership with Joe Root, who finished 86 not out, took England to the competitive victory target of 296 as they completed their first clean sweep of a home series in over a decade.
Rain delayed the start of play by 90 minutes but it then took just over an hour for England to canter to victory. Follow all the latest reaction from today’s match with our live blog below:
England 286-3 (Root 86*, Bairstow 61*) - 10 needed to win
Neil Wagner into the attack, from round the wicket. Will the winning runs come in this over?
Root can’t get him out of the infield and it’s a maiden. Sadly from a New Zealand perspective, the horse has long since bolted
England 286-3 (Root 86*, Bairstow 61*) - 10 needed to win
Big APPEAL for New Zealand but no reviews left. The ball hits Root’s pad but it looks like he got outside the line anyway. Bracewell relatively tight throughout the over until Root brilliantly sweeps for FOUR!
He tries it again form the following ball but just a single. 10 needed now.
England 281-3 (Root 81*, Bairstow 61*) - 15 needed to win
Bairstow flicks the third ball off his pads for one before Root on strike as England get a slightly fortunate FOUR byes! He goes to reverse ramp but the ball is outside leg and he adjusts to try to flick it behind the wicketkeeper, misses but the ball skids off the footmarks and beats Blundell before racing to the boundary.
Single off the final ball for good measure - that’s six off the over and the required runs are down to 15 now.
REVIEW! England 275-3 (Root 80*, Bairstow 60*) - 21 needed to win
Root works a single from the first ball of Bracewell’s over before a big APPEAL for caught in the slips as Bairstow tries to reverse sweep. New Zealand REVIEW - they might as well at this stage - but rpelays show the ball came off Bairstow’s elbow, not his bat or glove. He survives.
And he celebrates that survival by clubbing a wide ball through the covers for FOUR!
50 UP! England 269-3 (Root 79*, Bairstow 55*) - 27 needed to win
Bairstow duly brings his 50 UP by crunching Southee’s first ball straight down the ground for FOUR! That’s the second quickest Test 50 by an Englishman - just 30 balls, two shy of Ian Botham’s record.
Two off the next delivery with a tap behind square and another two with a flick off his legs from the final ball.
England 261-3 (Root 79*, Bairstow 47*) - 35 needed to win
A single, followed by a leg bye and another swept single to open Bracewell’s over before Bairstow goes BIG straight down the ground for SIX, moving his feet and lofting the ball into the stands.
He moves on to 46 and tries a huge swipe from the next ball but misses and takes it in the midriff. That would have equlled Ian Botham’s record for the fastest Test 50 by an Englishman if it reached the boundary. Single of fthe final ball instead.
England 251-3 (Root 77*, Bairstow 40*) - 45 needed to win
Southee is being tonked around now and England are racing to victory.
A slightly lucky escape for Bairstow from the first ball as it rolls perilously close to his off stump but he clips the next ball through mid-on for three before Root steps across his stumps and gloriously works the ball to the deep square leg boundary for FOUR!
A single off the penultimate ball before a short and wide ball is late cut by Bairstow through the off-side for another FOUR! Bairstow races into the 40s and England only need 45 to win.
50 UP! England 239-3 (Root 72*, Bairstow 33*) - 57 needed to win
Boult has been bullied out of the attack so it’s some spin with Michael Bracewell. He’s greeted with FOUR runs from Bairstow, sweeping over short fine leg.
The next ball looks like it’s going to the boundary from a top-edged sweep over the keeper as well but good fielding by Nicholls saves a run as they take three. That’s 50 UP - the partnership between Root and Bairstow.
APPEAL for lbw against Root but he was outside the line and singles off the final two balls make it nine from the over. Only 57 required now
England 230-3 (Root 68*, Bairstow 23*) - 66 needed to win
England doing a great job of keeping the scoreboard ticking here. Singles off the first three deliveries of Southee’s latest over before Root shuffles across his stumps and flicks one to leg for two.
The former skipper tries a reverse ramp from the final ball - they’ve been a staple of his innings - but this time he finds a fielder and there’s no run.
England 225-3 (Root 68*, Bairstow 23*) - 71 needed to win
Boult running back in, trying to find a rhythm. Singles from each of the first three balls before he drifts to leg and Bairstow tries clips it off his hip but it just comes off his pad and rockets to the fine leg boundary for FOUR leg byes!
Another single follows and it’s eight from the over. Boult really struggling and has to come off, you’d think.
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