Well what a week we have just had in Leeds.

Sitting in the changing room, hearing the laughter and seeing the big smiles on all of the boys’ faces after giving it everything for five days, these are times you cherish. History tells us that it is incredibly tough to win a Test match in England and to win our fifth Test match here in many years of trying was a special moment for the group. It was our first Test win in England in 16 years and our first Test victory at Headingley for 32 years.

Probably the most satisfying aspect of the win in Leeds was the fact that we continued to play our attacking and positive brand of Test cricket, even when we were under pressure. It is easy to say “we will stick to our attacking style of play", but it is so much harder to do when a Test and a Test series is on the line. Test wins never come easy and for the early part of the match we were behind the game.

We knew that we had to come up with something special to level the series. First of all we lost the toss, were put into bat and were 2-2 on the opening morning. The guys fought their way out of it, with some resolute batting from Tom Latham and a spectacular innings from Luke Ronchi on debut, which got us back into the game.

We battled hard to get to 350, strapping all the way to our last partnership. England began their first innings strongly and were 177-0, we had gone past the outside edge 27 times however, so we always felt that the game could change. It did so relatively quickly on the 2nd evening under lights and then again on the 3rd morning under dark skies.

To bowl England out for 350 and finish the 1st innings and gain parity was a decisive factor in winning the Test. All of the bowling attack played their part but Tim Southee in particular claimed some key wickets for us in a four wicket bag. Again we were put under pressure losing Tommy and Kane Williamson early on day three but the way that Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor came out and played with freedom – scoring at more than 5 runs an over – changed the momentum of the match and showed England we were still wanting to attack the Test Match rather than just let the match unfold.

After that period where the runs were flowing, Brendon McCullum and BJ Watling showed significant character to assess conditions, and then continue our momentum towards the later part of the partnership. BJ’s fifth Test century, and the first by a New Zealander at Headingley, proved to be a match winning innings. I can’t speak highly enough of BJ as a player; his character, determination and never-give-up attitude make him a hugely important part of our Test side and leader within the group. He was a deserving man of the match.

The batting of Mark Craig, and the rest of the tail, on the morning of day four got us into a great position to attack again. Then the rain arrived and we lost two sessions. It was pretty frustrating as we felt like we were on the cusp of victory. Still on the final morning with 98 overs in the day and the bowlers in our attack we felt like we had the players to get the job done.

We were thankful that the rain never arrived but the bowling effort on the final day was world class. Trent Boult claiming a couple of early wickets was big for us and Mark Craig delivered when we needed him most. By his own admission, ‘Pidge’ wasn’t at his best during the Test at Lord’s but his all-round display (bowling, batting and fielding) at Leeds showed his value to the team. Kane Williamson, who has a reputation as having a “golden arm” in Test cricket, and has been hugely successful in Tests against England, got us three big wickets on the final day. To have England five down by lunchtime was the perfect scenario however with Alistair Cook still in we knew it would be just as hard to get the next five.

I’d like to pay tribute to our slip cordon (Ross Taylor, Mark Craig, Tim Southee and Martin Guptill) who didn’t put down a chance throughout the Test match series. In bitterly cold and windy conditions that is very impressive indeed. To complete seven Test series undefeated, including in some challenging environments away from home, is something that this BLACKCAPS side is immensely proud of. All of the team loved sitting around after the game seeing all the messages from back home flood in. As always, we really appreciate your support, and wins like that are for our fans who have been with us in good and bad times.

We move on now to the ODI series and welcome back in some popular members of the BLACKCAPS. It is great to have Grant Elliott, the Hairy Javelin, back with the likes of Nathan McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan and two new players to the team in Mitchell Santner and Ben Wheeler. The boys are all very excited to continue on what we achieved in the ICC Cricket World Cup and we look forward to what we know will be a tough series against England.

Finally, on behalf of the team I’d like to pass on a message to all of the people of Dunedin who have been hit by the flooding in recent time. To have a month’s worth of rain in a day is pretty extreme, hopefully the clean up goes well.

Thanks again for all your support.