England beat New Zealand by 126 runs shortly before lunch on the fifth and final day, rebounding emphatically from its 189-run loss in the first test in Hamilton.
And it was Ryan Sidebottom, as well as re-called fast bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who ensured that colleague Tim Ambrose's maiden test century in the first innings was not wasted as they helped dismiss New Zealand for 198 and 311.
Anderson took five for 73 in New Zealand's first innings, and Sidebottom completed his fourth five-wicket haul in a dozen tests. Broad was an effective foil to both, finishing his second test deserving better than a match analysis of three for 128.
England made the difficult decision to axe Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard, two of their Ashes heroes in 2005, after they took just two wickets between them for 278 runs in Hamilton.
Anderson, an infrequent selection since his debut in 2003, was chosen for his 21st cap while Broad had only one from 95 to show from his test debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo last December.
The pitch in Wellington helped Sidebottom and Anderson swing the ball, while Broad's selection was vindicated with the prized scalp of Stephen Fleming, who was bowled for 31 in his final innings at the Basin Reserve.
The contributions of the pace trio were warmly applauded by their captain Michael Vaughan.
‘‘They were excellent. Jimmy in the first innings was just as Jimmy has been over the years when the ball's swinging,'' Vaughan said.
‘‘He put the ball in the right area and bowled the full length required on that pitch.''
Broad's ninth over yesterday was ‘‘exceptional'' for removing Matthew Bell and Fleming within the space of five balls to blunt New Zealand's hopes.
‘‘They'll be the first to admit they got a pitch that was good to bowl on for their style of bowling,'' Vaughan said.
‘‘We're not going to get too excited about it just yet but it was exiting to be out there with a young attack with a bit of pace. The most important thing is they bowled with good control.''
Sidebottom (30) exposed the folly in England not selecting him between his debut against Pakistan in 2001 and the second test against the West Indies last May.
He took his first 10-wicket bag - and a hat-trick - in Hamilton and his left-arm swing bowling yielded five for 105 as New Zealand's chase for 438 came up well short.
