England’s backroom team joined in chants for Tim Southee at the fall of every New Zealand wicket. Tim Southee failed to add the two sixes needed for 100 in the Tests.

Matt Henry sacks Zak Crawley for the sixth time. Crawley then gives referee Adrian Holdstock a spray. England 18 for 2 at stumps and chasing a comical target of 658.

In short, that was the third day. Most of it, anyway. Things that are written out somehow seem far more convincing than if they actually happened. This is, so to speak, the opposite of sport. And a lot of it was anti-sports. Non-competitive, unobtrusive and sometimes unseemly.

New Zealand, as was their right, threw England’s faces into the dust and demanded retribution for the previous grenade attacks in Christchurch and Wellington. The series is lost, but revenge is untenable. Never has Hamilton seemed so lacking in visiting English as he did on Monday at Seddon Park.

It was by no means clean or fresh and certainly not as competitive as most of Williamson’s hundreds. But on a day of junk food Test cricket, it still felt out of place, like a homemade pickle in a microwaveable burger. And yet, at the same time, it might have been the perfect place for Williamson’s final innings with the New Zealand Whites.

Not that he’s the type to make such a statement. Also, don’t join in on someone else’s party. All being well, Southee’s one-man farewell tour should come to an end tomorrow, which suits Williamson well.

“Well, the ground announcers kept us well informed,” he joked after the game, alluding to the constant reminder that this was Southee’s 107th and final Test. “He had a series of guards of honour!” One gets the feeling that Williamson, who has 105 caps himself, was embarrassed by the furore surrounding his pal.

Of course there is no rush. New Zealand’s next Test appearance is a two-match series against Zimbabwe in July. Williamson is all too aware of this gap, and there’s a sense that it wouldn’t be out of character for a reserved character, content with his fate, to withdraw when the lights are dim, even though his career deserves some major fanfare.

With plenty of white-ball cricket on the horizon – both international and franchise – Williamson doesn’t feel compelled to make a decision. He also refrained from giving any guarantees.

“It’s a long way away at the moment,” Williamson said of whether he would be involved in the Zimbabwe series. “I’m just focused on the moment and really getting through the rest of the summer. There are a lot of different cricket games coming up and of course the Champions Trophy, which is exciting. Yes, just see how it goes…

“I love Test cricket. As you mentioned, there hasn’t been as much of this for a while, that’s the schedule.”

New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC) rejection of a central contract for the 2024-25 cycle and relinquishment of the white-ball captaincy means the end is near. But even at 34, there is a desire to push his game forward, regardless of the format.

After missing the historic 3-0 win against India due to a hamstring injury, his preparation for this series was no less intense. The two weeks before the series were for grooving and building intensity. First in the Plunkett Shield – scoring 60 goals for the Northern Districts against Auckland – before more intensive work began with trusted long-term coaches in the week before the first Test.

Three fifty-plus scores, including this century, saw Williamson finish with 395 runs at 65.83. He is currently the clubhouse leader in the series, with Harry Brook needing more than 46 runs to take that spot from him. For the second time in Williamson’s career, he finished a calendar year with over a thousand runs, partly because there was more Test cricket available to him.

“You just try to do your part for the team,” was his typically reserved assessment of 2024, in which he missed three games but still played nine. With just five games coming up next year – thanks to the addition of a game to next summer’s series against the West Indies – 2025 feels much more subdued. And at this stage of Williamson’s career, he has to weigh up whether it’s worth going to the long format for these challenges.

At 5:10 p.m. he was sent off after he reversed Bashir to Rehan Ahmed. There was a standing ovation – the lead was now 531 – in usual fashion, cheers amidst the loud applause, before Tom Blundell made his way to the middle, furrowing his brows and sighing.

“Where is Southee?!” a Black Caps supporter shouted from the stands in the newly christened Tim Southee End. Meanwhile, Williamson snuck into the locker room and out of sight.