A dominant England continued its excellent start to life under new coach Brendan McCullum by sweeping New Zealand 3-0 in their Test series with an aggressive seven-wicket victory in the final Test on Monday.
After the first session was washed out due to rain on the final day, England motored to 296-3 in the middle session after resuming on 183-2.
Joe Root (86 not out) and Jonny Bairstow (71 not out) flayed New Zealand bowlers at Headingley in a blistering 111-run stand as England cruised to the target in just over an hour on the fifth day.
England is the first team in Test history to successfully chase down a target of 250 or more three times in a single series.
"Good day, wasn't it?" skipper Ben Stokes told the BBC.
"When I took on this job it was more than about results for me. It was about a change of mindset.
"I said I wanted to be entertainers coming into the series and we've certainly done that."
Bairstow, whose masterful 162 lifted England from a precarious 55-6 in the first innings, played yet another aggressive knock as he registered England's second fastest-ever Test half-century off just 30 balls.
Bairstow finished off the game in style when he belted off-spinner Michael Bracewell for a four and a six in a superb 44-ball unbeaten knock.
"He's literally playing like he's playing one-day cricket and it is unbelievable to watch," Stokes said of Bairstow.
"His century at Trent Bridge was amazing but personally I thought his century here was even better than that because of the situation he found himself in.
"Long may it continue."
New Zealand had started the day on a high when Tim Southee had Ollie Pope (82) clean bowled in the first over when play resumed after lunch.
But Bairstow once again exhibited his power-hitting prowess as he provided the new captain Stokes and new coach McCullum a perfect start to their new roles.
England won the first Test by five wickets at Lord's and then chased down 299 runs at Nottingham for a five-wicket win in the second Test.
Next up for England is India at Edgbaston, as the two teams resume their five-Test series from 2021 that was curtailed due to COVID.
AP/ABC
