But it meant something more than it might have because the Black Caps, for all their achievements of late, have had a mental block when it comes to their transtasman neighbours. Not this time though, the seven-wicket thrashing achieved with a whopping 27 balls remaining was the perfect exclamation mark on a series affected but not ruined by lockdown. It also prevented the inevitable "choke" headlines after New Zealand let a 2-0 lead slip in the five-match series with some decidedly ordinary cricket. That over was the 12th and final over of spin in the innings, a New Zealand record of such. With the tall right-armer dropped for this match it was instead up to Southee to stem the flow.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 07, 2021 02:03 UTC