TOP SPIN ON THE TEST: England lose third home Test series since 2008

TOP SPIN ON THE TEST: England lose home Test series for just the third time since 2008… with Joe Root’s men becoming only the second side in 119 years at Edgbaston to suffer defeat after scoring over 300 in first innings

• England the second team in 119 years to lose after scoring 300+ at Edgbaston
• This is the third time they have lost home Test series since South Africa in 2008 
• This was only New Zealand’s third series victory in England, and first since 1999

England suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of New Zealand, who took around an hour to complete an eight-wicket victory.

Trent Boult removed Olly Stone with the first ball of day four to see the hosts bowled out for 122, with the Black Caps knocking off the 38 runs required with ease, despite losing two wickets. 

Here, Sportsmail‘s LAWRENCE BOOTH looks at the main takeaways from the short burst of action from day four at Edgbaston.

England suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of New Zealand on day four at Edgbaston

This is the third time England have lost a home Test series since losing to South Africa in 2008

England became the second team in 119 years of Test matches at Edgbaston to lose there after scoring over 300 in the game’s first innings. 

The other instance took place in 1985, when Australia made 335, before England replied with 595 for five declared (Tim Robinson 148, David Gower 215, Mike Gatting 100 not out) and won by an innings and 118 runs.

This is just the third time England have lost a Test series at home since going down to South Africa in 2008. Since then, they have lost to South Africa in 2012, Sri Lanka in 2014, and now New Zealand. In that time, they have won 18 series and drawn four.

This was only New Zealand’s third series victory in England, following a 1-0 win in 1986 and a 2-1 win in 1999.

England’s second-innings 122 was their lowest total in a home Test against New Zealand, undercutting the 126 they made at Edgbaston in 1999 – in a game Nasser Hussain’s team ended up winning.

This was only New Zealand’s third series win in England, after a 1-0 win in 86 and a 2-1 win in 99

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