England’s hopes of avoiding defeat in the second Test rest on the shoulders of interim captain Joe Root, as New Zealand secured a series-levelling win at The Kia Oval.
On a day when he became only the second player in history to score 14,000 Test runs, Root (75 not out) saw England reach stumps at 182-5 with Jordan Cox yet to score. The hosts cruised to an improbable victory by scoring 281 runs.
An early wicket appeared to have already thwarted the record chase of 463 before Harry Brook (58 off 54) and Root posted half a century after putting tea in the stand for 97 for the third wicket that gave England a dream.
But the Black Caps struck a huge blow in a fascinating evening session. Matt Henry dismissed Brook after Brook and Root were assisted by technique and James Rew (15) fell to a pound to Kyle Jamieson (3-37) following a fine review.
The odds are still stacked against England with New Zealand’s win coming by just five wickets, but with Root on the line, there remains hope, however slim, that the most unlikely outcome is still possible.
Roots England’s last hope as New Zealand get closer to victory
After Brook dropped Daryl Mitchell for a dent off Jofra Archer’s first ball, England quickly got the seven wickets they needed.
Brook was moved to second slip after diving a spilled catch on his first dive and promptly atoned as centurion Henry Nicholls (121) came packing and added just two to his all-night score.
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Harry Brook was dropped with the first ball on day 4 but went on to make his second attempt to take the wicket of Henry Nicholls!
Wicketkeeper Rew made amends for a massive dropped catch on day three by latching on to a rebound saved by Root at leg slip and dismissing Tom Blundell for 16.
Archer dismissed Glenn Phillips for three runs to snuff out any hopes of repeating his first-innings hundred as New Zealand went to lunch on 345-6.
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Who did better? Jason Rew recreates the iconic Geraint Jones catch.
Mitchell finally fell to second after lunch and was bowled out while trying to scoop out Matt Fisher, who responded brilliantly to pick out the middle stump of Jamieson (6) and knock him to the ground.
Fisher went on to clean up New Zealand’s tail, Emilio Gay took a solid catch after Nathan Smith misfired to midwicket and Sonny Baker ended the innings with the wicket of Henry.
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Matthew Fisher gets the wicket of Kyle Jamieson.
England’s appalling success with the ball presented an even greater challenge as they chased down 463 unwound inside four overs.
Rachin Ravindra, plagued by a catalog of drops in the series, took a step towards redemption by catching Gay at mid-wicket before Jamieson trapped Jacob Bethell lbw to seal a double-wicket maiden that left England 13-2.
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Emilio Gay was dismissed early in England’s second innings after Rachin Ravindra took a catch.
England found themselves in all sorts of trouble when Ben Duckett finished off Will O’Rourke for Henry at mid-on, but Root’s 14,000 Test runs helped them get through by 54-3.
Brook and Root shifted gears after tea, with Brook getting down with 10 fours and a six to seal his half-century off 33 balls.
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The Oval crowd rose to its feet in gratitude for Joe Root, who reached 14,000 Test runs in his career.
Root was saved by an inside edge from the next delivery, which was confirmed after review, just as Henry thought he had trapped the England captain lbw.
Henry was again denied after Root reached 50 with 4/8, UltraEdge coming to relief after being taken lbw to rescue Brook.
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Brook was sacked after finding Matt Henry on the outside edge.
It was third time lucky for Henry as his patience and discipline with the ball paid off as Brook caught behind Mitchell to end his blistering innings and Jamieson later picked up the wicket of Rew to end England’s hopes.
Athers: Roots give Britain a little hope
Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Cricket:
“New Zealand have a high-quality attack. We saw that at Lord’s, although it was a much more conducive pitch.”
“They have four simmers who keep coming and giving you very little. You have to work hard and fight hard for your runs.
“For England, there seems to be no way out of this problem, but those who have tickets are lucky because their best player (Root) is still at stake.
“Maybe there’s just a little bit of hope out there.”
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Ben Stokes scored 95 runs from 118 balls for Durham against Northamptonshire.
Jamieson urges New Zealand to remain ‘ruthless’.
In an interview with Sky Sports Cricket, New Zealand player Kyle Jamieson said:
“It’s definitely better to have five down than four. It’s a good one to catch at the end of the day and sets us up well for tomorrow.
“Tom (Latham) was asking me if I thought it was straight. I said it was definitely straight. It was just a call for height from the referee. Luckily it stayed low and I was able to catch it.
“We have to try to be patient and ruthless tomorrow. Whether it comes quickly or in a day, we have to make sure we are there.”
England v New Zealand – Results and Fixtures
In the UK and Ireland, all matches are always shown live on Sky Sports.
- First Test (Lord’s) – England won by 115 runs.
- Second test (Kia Oval) – June 17-21 (11 a.m.)
- Third Test (Trent Bridge) – June 25-29 (11 a.m.)
Watch Day 5 of the second Test between England and New Zealand live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Sunday (11am for the first match).
