With three wickets remaining, New Zealand faced a tough phase in the early hours of Tuesday as they try to pitch their batting to safety. Daryl Mitchell is 32 not out, Matt Henry is 8, and if England can get Mitchell out in the first few overs of the game, they will be in for a thrilling run chase.
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Chasing 277, England won the first Test at Lord’s thanks to a century by Joe Root. A second successive win over the Test world champions will give England their first series win since January 2021. England’s Ben Fox said, “This match is very balanced. It has given everyone a chance. We will try to take early wickets and see where we can go.”
“You don’t know what’s going to happen with the wicket. You think anything less than 300 is achievable.”
While England will be confident, they should heed the lessons of New Zealand’s second innings, which included frequent dismissals and unnecessary run outs. New Zealand’s Devon Conway said, “If we get to 280 it will be good for us. If we get the ball in the right areas, it can put pressure on England.”
On a memorable day at Trent Bridge, England’s James Anderson reached 650 Test wickets when New Zealand opener Tom Latham dropped a straight ball that hit his stumps. The 39-year-old pacer is the third man after spin legend Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan to reach the milestone. England were bowled out for 539 in Monday morning’s session.
Root scored a superb 176 and Fox played a lively innings of 56 to ensure that New Zealand took a lead of only 14 runs after totaling 553 in their first innings. Root resumed on 163 and Fox on 24, while New Zealand suffered a blow when Kyle Jamieson was ruled out of play on the fourth day while the pacer awaits scan results on Sunday’s back injury.
Tim Southee and Matt Henry plundered the runs. Trent Boult eventually stopped the run drift as he dismissed Root. After the wicket of Root, the task became much easier. England departed for a collapse of five wickets for 23 runs as Boult ended his spell with 5–106.
Tom Latham lost his wicket in the first over, followed by a 100-run partnership between Will Young and Devon Conway. After a heavy wait, England spinner Jack Leach took the wicket at the end. New Zealand looked worried and after a hesitation between the opener and Mitchell, Young was run out and that proved fatal. Mitchell and Tom Blundell came together again after a partnership of 195 at Lord’s and 236 in the first innings at Nottingham.
Holding them both was essential to England’s winning hopes and they achieved significant success to dismiss Blundell for 24. New Zealand were falling apart and New Zealand were on the back foot after the dismissal of Southee.