Ben Stokes saw his international profession end in defeat, watching from the balcony as his England side surrendered the series decider against Latest Zealand to mark the tip of an era.
After the sugar rush drama of Sunday, when news of Stokes’ retirement broke mid-session and dominated the agenda, Trent Bridge witnessed the comedown of a 160-run defeat within the third Test.
This time there have been no surprises left, England simply put away by an opposition too good, too skilled and too hungry to allow them to off the hook or hand the outgoing skipper his fairytale finish.
England were bowled out for 212 midway through the ultimate day to go down 2-1 – their first home series defeat since Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum took charge 4 years ago.
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Damaging losing habit
Not since 2012 have England lost a house series of at the least three matches, a result that spelled the tip of Andrew Strauss’ captaincy.
In addition to a substantial legacy of his own, Stokes leaves behind a team that has developed a dangerous losing habit, beaten seven times of their last nine Test outings, including a watershed 4-1 Ashes defeat within the winter.
Whether he’s the one casualty of that sorry sequence stays to be seen, but McCullum and managing director Rob Key might want to oversee a pointy improvement to remove query marks over their future.
England had already dug themselves a hole on Sunday evening, hitting the skids after Stokes reassembled the batting order and solid himself as a tone-setting opener.
Slim prospects fade
Their slim prospects had been largely extinguished before Stokes led them to the bottom one final time, stopping to sign autographs for a handful of waiting fans, with 270 still to get on a pitch offering little reassurance.
From 103 for 4 overnight, they slipped to 116 for six in the primary quarter-hour.
The equation, and the occasion, was an excessive amount of for Emilio Gay.
Making just his third Test appearance, and shunted down from opener to number six following the reshuffle, he endured a few near misses before departing within the fourth over when Nathan Smith grazed his outside edge.
Tumbled
Not for the primary time, the load of responsibility fell on Joe Root’s shoulders, but he didn’t even face one other delivery.
Called through for a fast single from the non-striker’s end just 4 balls after Gay’s dismissal, he fell victim to an impressive run-out from Henry Nicholls.
Picking up quickly at point he tumbled backwards and unleashed a low, flat throw at a single stump for a remarkable direct hit.
A rapid finish in store for the group that had taken advantage of Nottinghamshire’s free-entry policy, but Jamie Smith and Atkinson stopped the rot.
The pair opted for a more conservative approach as they held firm for 23 overs against a depleted attack carrying two walking wounded in Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke.
End in sight
There have been moments of uncertainty, mostly resulting from low and inconsistent bounce, but nothing fatal as England got a glimpse of what might need been in a more considered chase.
Smith was still alive to boundary options, whipping straight balls off his pads and clobbering Mitchell Santner for an enormous straight six, while Atkinson settled in to the supporting role.
The latter was prised out shortly before the break, lbw to Santner’s left-arm spin for a hard-fought 19.
The tip was in sight, for England and Stokes, when Jofra Archer was caught behind attempting to go away one and Josh Tongue run out by one other clinical piece of fielding from Santner.
Smith was last man out, holing out for a hard-fought 60 to seal Latest Zealand’s statement win and shut the chapter on Stokes’ England.
READ MORE: Ben Stokes admits England captaincy ‘does drain you’ after retirement decision
