New Zealand secured a 2-1 series victory over England with a 160-run win in the third Test at Trent Bridge, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to claim the series.
The victory came despite a mounting injury crisis that saw Matt Henry and Glenn Phillips withdraw before the match, while Kyle Jamieson remained sidelined during his recovery from a back stress fracture.
Zak Foulkes entered the match as New Zealand's first concussion substitute after Blair Tickner was struck on day two. Beginning the Test as 12th man, Foulkes found himself in the match with little warning.
"It was a funny old few days," Foulkes said. "I just went about my normal stuff in the morning, did a bit of training, little bit of gym and then the third session on day two got subbed into the game and it all happened a bit fast, and a bit weird but got into the game and then it was just what it was really."
Foulkes dismissed England captain Ben Stokes in both innings of Stokes' final international appearance, after the England captain announced his retirement mid-match.
"To be fair I was also his last test wicket," Foulkes noted.
Foulkes took 3 wickets at the end of day four as New Zealand took 4 wickets in the final session. He finished the match with 6 wickets, matching Nathan Smith's haul as the pair covered for the missing frontline bowlers.
"Obviously starting the week I didn't think I'd be involved and to play quite a part was obviously very rewarding and very fortunate to be able to contribute to a test win," Foulkes said.
Daryl Mitchell was named player of the match after batting for 7 hours to reach an unbeaten 100 in New Zealand's second innings. His innings anchored the declaration at 288 for 9, giving New Zealand a lead of 380 runs.
Foulkes faced 41 balls while supporting Mitchell through a testing period as the pitch grew more erratic during an intense English heat wave over the first four days.
"It was awesome being out in the middle, Daryl copping a lot of abuse from the English fans, they were chanting 'boring, boring Daryl' and he was out there loving it, it was definitely a pinch me moment, it was very cool," Foulkes said.
"He played amazing, we always talk about taking it deep, it was a crucial knock in the grand scheme of things I think he faced over 300 balls and I think there's a stat he got hit maybe 18 times and that knock was unbelievable and got us to a lead of 380."
The injury disruptions continued on day five when Will O'Rourke suffered a hamstring injury mid-over after 35 minutes of play, forcing further reshuffling of the bowling resources.
Despite the depleted attack, Nathan Smith, Will O'Rourke and Zak Foulkes covered for the missing regulars throughout the match.
Glenn Phillips scored his maiden Test century at The Oval in the second Test the previous week.