Stokes pulled up on day three as New Zealand racked up 453 in their second innings, setting England a target of 658. The 33-year-old will have a scan on Wednesday morning in Hamilton and had his left thigh heavily strapped as he sat out the final day's play, in which England were dismissed for 234, handing the hosts victory by 423 runs.

Having built himself back up over the last month in New Zealand, Stokes bowled 23 overs on day one of the third Test - the most in a single day across his career - with the 36.2 overs he eventually managed the most in a Test in over two years.

This latest setback means yet more rehabilitation for Stokes, who underwent knee surgery in November 2023 in a bid to return to the bowler he once was. Putting his body on the line is nothing new for him, but as captain he acknowledged the importance of offering more as an allrounder to give the team another dynamic.

His returns on paper this series - averaging 52.66 with the bat and seven dismissals at 36.85 with the ball - suggested he was trending in the right direction. It is why he was crestfallen as he left the field on Monday two balls into his third over of the day.

Stokes, though, is in no mood to tailor his approach going forward. Having got over the initial disappointment, he is confident a full return should come quicker second time around.

"I worked really hard to get myself into position to play the role that I did this game," he said. "And it's just one of those unfortunate things. But nah, I ain't holding back.

"Every time you walk out to field as an athlete, you're putting yourself at risk of getting injury. Whether you feel great or you don't feel great. I worked my arse off to get to where I was in this game in particularly with my body. It's just sod's law - the first time in a while I feel like I'm young again, something happens.

"Obviously, [I was] incredibly disappointed walking off yesterday, very emotional about the whole thing.

"You're always asking yourself, 'Could I have done more? Should have done this, should have done that?' But you know, when you sleep in it, and you take the emotion out of it, you realise that when you're walking out there, you're always putting yourself at risk of an injury."

"We came here to beat New Zealand," he said, "a team who wherever they go in the world are very competitive and knew they were going to be full of confidence after their historic win in India.

"To play the cricket that we did in the first two games was very, very pleasing. We came here this week with the same attitude, same mindset, that we always do in the first two games out here. We just didn't play anywhere near our capabilities.

"It's obviously disappointing to end the tour and the year with a loss. But what we came here to acheive, we managed to achieve. It's no mean feat coming to New Zealand and beating them becease they're a very very strong team in their home conditions."

Hazlewood, who returned in this game after missing Adelaide with a side strain, was late entering the field at the start of play on Tuesday, having spent time talking with head coach Andrew McDonald and physio Nick Jones, then looked laboured when he came into the attack, barely topping 131kph which included a wide long hop first ball that was cut away by KL Rahul.

During the drinks break which followed that over, Hazlewood was part of a lengthy conversation with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith and the physio before he walked off the field.

Cricket Australia initially said he had "calf awareness" and he went for scans which confirmed the severity of the injury.

"He's pretty despondent," Daniel Vettori, Australia's assistant coach, said. "Felt it this morning in warm-ups, gave it a good crack, it's just unfortunate for him to come back, put so much effort after another injury with the side strain, then to pick up a calf strain here, particularly in these circumstances is really tough on him."

Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott have been part of the squad in this series, when they were initially called up as cover in Adelaide after Hazlewood was ruled out, and would likely head the queue of replacements. Western Australia pair Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson are still early in their comebacks to red ball cricket and the domestic season has now switched into BBL mode.

Australia were trying to force victory between frequent rain delays in Brisbane with Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc putting in significant stints in the absence of Hazlewood but India's last-wicket stand between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep denied them the chance of enforcing the follow on.

Vettori confirmed that despite being a bowler down that option would have been taken and, given the lighter workloads in Adelaide and regular rain breaks, said there was no concern about the amount of overs going into Starc and Cummins

"[We told him] it's about preparing for the MCG because there's a good chance we might need you," he said. "History suggests there's always some form of natural attrition throughout a Test series. A good thing [is], he's probably played a Test earlier in the series than he maybe thought. Showed that his standard's still super high. [It's] about trying to set him up for the last two Test matches."

While selection is not part of Vettori's remit, he acknowledge the decision would probably be a simple one. "Fortunately I don't have to worry about that, but Boland speaks for himself," he said. "The way he bowled in Adelaide, the way he's consistently been the back-up seamer and every single time he's been asked to step up, particularly in Australia, he's been outstanding so think that would be the logical thing to conclude."

Hazlewood previously suffered a mild calf strain earlier in the year which kept him out of the T20Is against Scotland and England. The Perth Test against India was his 10th consecutive match following a frustrating couple of years where he was hit by a series of injuries while also being left out due to conditions on the subcontinent. Overall, Hazlewood has missed 18 of Australia's last 35 Tests dating back to the 2021-22 Ashes.

Hazlewood's next opportunity to play Tests could come in Sri Lanka from late January although conditions could mean he is surplus to requirements if Australia pack their line-up with spinners. After that there's the possibility of the World Test Championship final in early June should Australia qualify ahead of a three-match tour of West Indies that is expected to start later that month

India 252 for 9 (Rahul 84, Jadeja 77, Cummins 4-80, Starc 3-83) trail Australia by 193 runs

It was Akash who moved India past the follow-on mark, slashing Cummins over a leaping gully fielder. Two balls later, he cleared his front leg and launched him for a massive six over wide long-on. That was the last scoring shot of the day with the umpires calling the players off the field for bad light after one more ball.

It was another stop-start day at the Gabba, though not to the extent that it was on day three, and if it helped Australia's depleted attack stave off exhaustion, it also ate away more time from the match. Only 57.5 overs were possible through the day.

By the end of it, Australia were left ruing events at its very beginning. Cummins got the first ball of the day to rear at Rahul in the corridor, and he fended it straight to Steven Smith at second slip. Smith is one of the world's great slip fielders - he went on to demonstrate this later in the day - but this time the ball simply bounced off the heels of his hands.

Cummins struck soon after, removing Rohit Sharma with a terrific one-two. First, he zipped a short ball past his ribcage, not allowing him to connect with a pull. Then he shifted the ball full and outside off stump. Rohit didn't get far enough forward to play this ball safely - and with his front shoulder too open - and ended up edging his attempted drive to the keeper.

India were 74 for 4 at this stage, and had only faced 23.3 overs. Jadeja's entry, however, calmed them down, and he settled into an innings where his control percentage hovered in the mid-90s throughout. It helped that Hazlewood went off the field soon after Jadeja walked in, after bowling just one over, and it helped that the ball stopped seaming and bouncing quite as awkwardly as it had done when it was new, but Jadeja batted with an organised gameplan that ensured he made the best of his circumstances.

His wagon wheel against the fast bowlers gave a clear idea of it: plenty of checked drives down the ground with a vertical bat and a full face, plenty of flicks off his legs, but hardly anything through the covers with an angled bat. He also faced a lot of bowling from Lyon, so often his nemesis back home, but where Jadeja's method of defending with bat and pad close together makes him an lbw candidate on Indian pitches, it was far less of an issue on this bouncy Gabba surface. He also brought out the sweep, a shot he isn't known for, and picked up two fours and three singles with it.

With Rahul looking increasingly solid at the other end and putting away a number of sweet off-side drives, India began to carve chunks out of their deficit. Then Smith made up spectacularly for his earlier error, stepping to his right in anticipation as Rahul shaped for the back-cut off Lyon, and dived to his right to grab the thick edge one-handed. Jadeja and Rahul had put on 67.

It brought together India's allrounders with 105 still needed to avoid the follow-on. The selection of both Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy may have left India's bowling lacking depth, and may have contributed to their concession of 445. Now, though, it gave them the batting to try and save this Test match. Reddy continued his impressive showing in this series, this time when he was asked not to counterattack but bat normally and show the defensive side of his game. The seventh-wicket pair put on 53, before Cummins struck with a nearly 60-over-old ball, getting his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mate Reddy to inside-edge onto his stumps.

India now needed 55 with three wickets remaining, and it soon became 33 with one wicket remaining as Starc and Cummins, running on fumes, took out Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja, the latter bounced out cleverly while trying to farm the strike. Australia were nearly there, but, as Bumrah and Akash Deep proved, not quite.

The Southee farewell tour is over, even if the encore continued long after he led New Zealand off the field for the final time. After 776 international wickets (the most for New Zealand) in 394 matches, and that inaugural World Test Championship, the Test cap, sun-blanched after 16 years of work, was given a final raise to all four corners. He admitted he does not know where it will go now that he's done, but its representation of a childhood dream come to life has earned itself a special place in the Southee household.

The 36-year-old was still out on the field at 6pm on Tuesday, this match - his 107th Test - already in the record books. His two wickets in the second innings made it six in the series, albeit at a weighty average of 54.33.

The career-figure finishes a shade over 30. The Test sixes an enticing 98, having failed to reach 100 on Monday when he found Zak Crawley at long on seeking No.99. The numbers, however, are not the whole story.

"Hundred sixes, 400 Test wickets, 100 catches (he managed 86) - that would have all been nice," said Southee. "But I'm just very grateful for what I've been able to do.

"The time I've had in the hat has been very special. As a kid, I just wanted to grow up and represent New Zealand. To sit here and have nearly 800 wickets is pretty satisfying."

Such clarity only comes with being at peace with calling time, which he had by the time the official announcement came a month ago. The hardest part, he ceded, was telling those closest to him. For Southee, it has always been about the people.

At 5:35 pm, England head coach Brendon McCullum, a former New Zealand team-mate for 170 internationals, and Southee's captain for 78 of them, presented his close mate with a bottle of red wine signed by the England team.

"We talked a lot about trying to leave the cap in a better place than you found it," said McCullum. "I know for a fact when Tim walks off at Seddon Park, he'll walk off and he'll be satisfied, but also the country will be very grateful for his contribution over a long period of time."

Hours earlier, one of the men responsible for entrusting Southee with that cap led the finale of this eras tour.

Richard Hadlee, the only New Zealander ahead of Southee on the Test wickets front with 431, was part of the selection panel that took a chance on a promising 19-year-old back in 2008. That debut against England in Napier has morphed into the kind of career even the great man could not envisage, even though he saw great potential. "Seventeen years later, Tim has certainly delivered beyond expectations," said Hadlee.

"There's a lot more to Tim than just numbers and records. It's very much the human factor that is not often measured. He is highly respected by cricketers all around the world. He's a likeable character, a team man, a team player."

Southee was moved by the "special" tribute from someone he (and countless others) regards as the "greatest ever Black Cap".

"He was there from the start. He was a selector who selected me at 19. So to hear him here and say those kind words was very very pleasing. It's nice to hear coming from such a great of the game."

The sentiment of taking the team to a better place and encouraging younger players as a veritable legend were features of this final good bye. The future is already here, having benefitted by Southee's guiding hand.

Will O'Rourke's devasting spells across both innings of this third Test were further nods to the 23-year-old's outstanding talents. Nathan Smith's emergence in the first two Tests as a whole-hearted cricketer unafraid of the grind. Both, along with Ben Sears and Jacob Duffy, have made Southee's decision a little easier. The red ball will remain in capable hands.

"I think Nathan Smith has shown what he is capable of. I think Will O'Rourke is an unbelievable talent and he's only getting better in his time in this team. He's only been around for 12 months and I look forward to watching him take on the world.

"I really enjoyed my time working with these younger guys, younger bowlers. Hopefully they've taken something out of it. I enjoy giving back."

This, by the sounds of it, might be a full international retirement. While the initial announcements kept open white ball availability, Southee deferred to this next generation when asked about his immediate future. Franchise opportunities remain on the table.

"It's time now for these young guys. I think we've seen a number come through in the last couple of years, and I'm excited to sit back and watch them continue to take this team forward and enjoy what they've got to offer."

Perhaps that is how it should be. Cricket retirements are rarely straightforward and can drag when split between formats. Though this last year has statistically been his toughest - 17 wickets at 59.11 - this is a neat finish. At home, against the team where this journey began. Above all else, Southee is content.

"This game has given me so much, it's given me everything. It's been over half my life playing for this team and ever since I can remember it has been a dream in my life to do that.

"It's exciting. It's sad. It's an array of emotions you go through. But life moves on. I've been very fortunate to have done what I've done and I've enjoyed every second of it."