In the third Test match, at Hamilton, England slumped to the joint-largest Test defeat in New Zealand in terms of runs.
New Zealand won the Test by 423 runs. Chasing 658, a target made even more improbable by Ben Stokes’s hamstring injury, England had finished day three on 18-2.
On the fourth day, Jacob Bethell (76) and Joe Root (54) took them to 122-2 before they collapsed to 234 (Stokes did not bat) as Mitchell Santner finished with 4-85. Tim Southee picked up 2-34 to finish his Test career with 389 wickets. England, however, took the series 2-1.
This is now the biggest margin of defeat by runs by any side on New Zealand. The hosts equalled their own record, set against Sri Lanka at Christchurch in 2018-19.
However, at joint-10th, England’s margin of defeat is some distance away from the top entry on the all-time list – 675 runs, by England against Australia at Brisbane in 1928-29. Three of the top four entries on the list took place in 1934 or before, but barring the West Indies’s 425-run triumph over England at Manchester in 1976, the others are all from the 21st century.
Biggest margins of defeat in men’s Test cricket by runs
| Margin | Defeated team | Winning team | Venue | Season |
| 675 runs | Australia | England | Brisbane | 1928-29 |
| 562 runs | England | Australia | The Oval | 1934 |
| 546 runs | Afghanistan | Bangladesh | Mirpur | 2023 |
| 530 runs | South Africa | Australia | Melbourne | 1910-11 |
| 492 runs | Australia | South Africa | Johannesburg | 2017-18 |
| 491 runs | Pakistan | Australia | Perth (WACA) | 2004-05 |
| 465 runs | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | Chattogram | 2008-09 |
| 434 runs | England | India | Rajkot | 2023-24 |
| 425 runs | England | West Indies | Manchester | 1976 |
| 423 runs | Sri Lanka | New Zealand | Christchurch | 2018-19 |
| 423 runs | England | New Zealand | Hamilton | 2022-23 |
- The biggest possible margin of defeat by wickets (10) has happened 131 times.
- Among teams that have batted once in a Test, the biggest margin is England’s win by an innings and 579 runs against Australia at The Oval in 1938.
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