
England defeated New Zealand in a high-scoring thriller, by five wickets, to win the second and penultimate Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Tuesday (June 14). With the victory, the Ben Stokes-led England side also took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, with the final Test set to be held inHeadingley, Leeds.
Talking about the second Test, Stokes & Co. opted to bowl first and were in for a leather hunt as Darly Mitchell's 190 and Tom Blundell's 106 propelled the Kane Williamson-less Kiwis to 553 all-out. In reply, centuries from Ollie Pope, Joe Root (176) and fifties from Alex Lees and Ben Foakes took England's score to 539. With a 14-run lead, Black Caps posted 284 riding on half-centuries from Will Young, Devon Conway and Mitchell as visitors set Stokes-led English side a competitive 299-run target in 72 overs. Here's the updated points table in the second cycle of the ICC World Test Championship after England's series win over NZ:

Despite the win, England were docked two points from the overall tally, being reduced to 23.8 from 25 points, for slow-over rate (being two overs short of the target). The English camp, however, will be elated after a much-needed series win following a terrible run in the last few months.
The Stokes-Brendon McCullum-era has begun in style and England will now hope to inflict a series whitewash over the current World Test Champions.