What if Will Young had been permitted to build on his match-winning form and the home side started this series with a 100-run opening stand, instead of averaging 8.5 in their first four innings?
And what if Mitchell Santner were given an earlier chance to return to the bowling crease for the first time since recording the third-best match figures by a New Zealander in test history?
Both hypotheticals were impossible to ignore as the hosts enjoyed their most dominant day of England’s tour, but the biggest difference between the dead rubber and the opening two tests involved neither recalled player.
In Christchurch, England were in a perilous position on 71-4 in reply to 348 when Harry Brook responded by blasting 171. In Wellington, the tourists were under serious pressure on 43-4 when Brook bashed his side out of trouble with a rapid 123.
But in Hamilton, with England on 77-3 and Brook having earlier in the week been elevated to top spot in the world rankings, Will O’Rourke dismissed the dynamo for the first golden duck of his career.
That wicket wasn’t solely responsible for England crumbing to 143 on the second day of the third test, giving the hosts a 204-run lead they proceeded to comfortably pad in the final session.
England’s batting was insipid from 1 through 11, squandering good conditions with poor shot selection while losing their last eight wickets for 66 runs inside 20 overs. And O’Rourke (3-33) combined well with Santner (3-7) and Matt Henry (4-48), allowing Tim Southee to relish his retirement test while sending down 11 non-threatening overs.
But the wicket of Brook – coming when he attempted to defend a length ball that nipped back to clip inside edge and leg bail – was as decisive as one delivery could be.
The 25-year-old will soon collect a well-earned player-of-the-series trophy, his opponents left to console themselves with what should be a consolation win. It will be Brook’s second in as many tours to New Zealand, having claimed the same prize in February 2023.
Three of his five highest scores have come on Kiwi soil and he has passed 50 in six of his eight innings against the Black Caps. The two exceptions were both ducks, having been run out without facing a ball on the final day of a one-run defeat in Wellington.
Providing New Zealand complete this victory, those ducks will have come in the only two defeats Brendon McCullum has suffered in eight tests against his former side. The key to success, when these teams next meet in the winter of 2026, seems simple: dismiss Brook without scoring.
Will O'Rourke celebrates the wicket of Jacob Bethell. Photo / Photosport
The Black Caps did require a bit more work once Brook’s bail went airborne. Joe Root, bumped down to No 2 in the world rankings, remained at the crease after all.
But O’Rourke soon saw to that, collecting a third key wicket in eight balls to celebrate a return to the ground where he registered record-breaking figures of 9-93 on debut against South Africa in February.
There was one stand left to break. Ollie Pope had joined Brook in match-changing partnerships during the first two tests and the wicketkeeper initially threatened to form a third with Ben Stokes.
But after that pair had put on a brisk 55, Santner picked up the red ball for the first time since his 13-wicket haul in Pune, then picked up both set batters.
The allrounder’s efforts with the ball followed his second-highest score with the bat, compiling 44 with O’Rourke to frustrate the bowlers and finish on 76. When allied with typically sharp work in the field, Santner is becoming a player too talented to omit on all but the greenest of tracks.
Young (60) then set about making himself similarly difficult to drop, adding a 10th test half-century to his day-one 42.
Would he and Santner have made the difference earlier in the series? Perhaps. Or perhaps Brook was inevitable.
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps test this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
Kris Shannon has been a sports journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald. Reporting on Grant Elliott’s six at Eden Park in 2015 was a career highlight.
