Key events
Ali Martin is here with his report of a fantastic day three for England at Hagley Oval:
Stumps: New Zealand by 4 runs
49th over: New Zealand 155-6 (Mitchell 31, Smith 1) A quiet end to a marvellous day for England, who look set to continue Test cricket’s winter of the unexpected. They are in a great position to beat New Zealand who beat India who beat Bangladesh who beat Pakistan who beat England.
Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse, aka Chalk and Cheese, took three wickets apiece to reduce New Zealand to 155 for 6 on what remains a pretty good pitch. There were some poor shots but also some brilliant deliveries, most notably the beautiful nipbacker from Woakes to dismiss an ominous looking Kane Williamson for 61.
Carse – if only Tony Greig was still with us to commentate on him – also hit three sixes in an unbeaten 33 that helped England to 499 all out. Ben Stokes made 80, equalling his highest score since the Lord’s Ashes rampage of 2023, and Gus Atkinson pumped 48 from only 36 balls.
48th over: New Zealand 155-6 (Mitchell 31, Smith 1) It’s the end of a long day, but Carse continues to hit the pitch like he wants to hurt it. No joy in that over, with Mitchell defending very solidly, so Carse finishes another memorable day with figures of 12-3-22-3.
There’s time for one more over from Gus Atkinson. I guess if he takes a hat-trick England could claim the extra half-hour.
47th over: New Zealand 154-6 (Mitchell 31, Smith 0) Bashir off, Atkinson on. Mitchell continues to kick it down the road, defending or leaving everything. He’s now made one run from 32 balls since the dismissal of Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell from successive deliveries.
46th over: New Zealand 153-6 (Mitchell 31, Smith 0) A wicket maiden from Carse, whose match figures are quite outstanding: 30-4-85-7. He also pumped 33 not out with the bat earlier in the day.
WICKET! New Zealand 153-6 (Phillips LBW b Carse 19)
The big man has struck again! Phillips, on the back foot, pushes around a sharp nipbacker and is hit on the back leg. It’s close on height so Phillips reviews the decision – but it’s umpire’s call and Carse has his third wicket of the day. He is a revelation.
45th over: New Zealand 153-5 (Mitchell 31, Phillips 19) Phillips pulls Bashir firmly for three, with Crawley making another excellent save on the boundary edge. Those runs take New Zeland into the lead; like England they have a very short tail, so this game isn’t necessarily a foregone conclusion. You’d think they need a lead of at least 200 though.
44th over: New Zealand 148-5 (Mitchell 31, Phillips 14) After a game-breaking spell of 5-0-15-2, Woakes gives way to the indefatigable Carse. Phillips widens his eyes after the first delivery hits his defensive bat much harder than expected. Even when Carse’s pace is nearer 80mph than 90 he seems to take batters by surprise.
Mitchell, meanwhile, is playing for the close; since that Woakes double strike he’s scored 1 run from 23 balls.
43rd over: New Zealand 147-5 (Mitchell 31, Phillips 13) Phillips moves back in his crease to punch Bashir square for four, a reminder that you don’t need to take risks or go aerial to hit boundaries off the spinner.
42nd over: New Zealand 140-5 (Mitchell 31, Phillips 6) Since you asked, the last time Kane Williamson failed to convert two fifties in the same Test was against Sri Lanka in December 2015. That’s a triumph for England because Williamson is as good as anyone in the world at turning fifties into hundreds.
Woakes, the man who dismissed him, hustles through a fairly uneventful over. New Zealand trail by 11 and there’s around half an hour’s play remaining.
41st over: New Zealand 137-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 4) Ben Stokes dangles the carrot by bringing Shoaib Bashir back in place of Carse. He tosses a few deliveries up but Phillips and Mitchell are able to resist temptation, for now.
40th over: New Zealand 136-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 3) Another accurate, challenging over from Woakes, who has made the batters play at pretty much everything in this spell.
In other news…
It’s far from ideal, as Josh Hazlewood was Australia’s best player in the first Test, but it is an area in which they have decent cover. It’s surely more palatable to lose Hazlewood than, say, Nathan Lyon or Travis Head.
39th over: New Zealand 135-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 2) England would love one more wicket tonight so that they are into the bowlers before the morning. New Zealand bat deep, with Southee at No10, but that burst from Woakes has made England huge favourites. It’s barely 24 hours since they were 71 for 4 and in all sorts.
Carse tries to york Mitchell, who plays it well and then receives a bit of a mouthful from Carse.
38th over: New Zealand 134-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 1) Phillips pulls Woakes smoothly for a single to get off the mark, then Mitchell is beaten by some extravagant seam movement from a good length.
Woakes’ spell, which started with Williamson almost goading him by steering successive boundaries to third man, now reads 3-0-11-2.
37th over: New Zealand 133-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 0) Stokes shows his sadistic side – towards both batters and bowler – by inviting Carse to bowl another spell of short stuff. Mitchell protects Phillips and plays out a maiden pretty comfortably.
I’m still reeling from those two wickets from Woakes. Both were outstanding deliveries but the Williamson LBW is one for the books. For a split-second, as he implored the umpire to raise the finger, Woakes was a 24-year-old hunting his first Test wicket.
36th over: New Zealand 133-5 (Mitchell 30, Phillips 0) Glenn Phillips defends the hat-trick ball. That’s a beautiful moment for Woakes, who wasn’t great in the first innings and might have been playing his last Test overseas had he struggled again in the second.
Figures of 10-1-34-3, including the key wicket of Kane Williamson at a crucial time, do not constitute a struggle.
Blundell is out! There was the thinnest outside edge through to Pope, so thin that Blundell didn’t feel it, and Chris Woakes is on a hat-trick! It was another jaffa, this time straightening off the seam from a perfect length.
WICKET! New Zealand 133-5 (Blundell c Pope b Woakes 0)
Tom Blundell is given out caught behind first ball – but he’s reviewed the decision straight away and that usually means the batter hasn’t hit it.
Woakes bowled a gorgeous nipbacker that beat Williamson’s defensive push and hit him on the back leg. It was given out LBW and, though Williamson reviewed, his body language suggested he knew he was on his way. It was actually closer than it looked: the ball was hammering the stumps but the point of contact was umpire’s call, so Rod Tucker’s on-field decision was crucial. What a breakthrough for England!
WICKET! New Zealand 133-4 (Williamson LBW b Woakes 61)
Chris Woakes has just experienced his greatest moment in an overseas Test!
35th over: New Zealand 132-3 (Williamson 61, Mitchell 29) Bashir is starting to get into his work and again concedes only one run from the over. You’d expect him to continue but I’d tempted to try either Carse or Stokes – who looked dangerous in a short two-over spell – at the other end.
34th over: New Zealand 131-3 (Williamson 61, Mitchell 28) Woakes returns to the attack and is immediately steered for four by Williamson. It was in the air and not far wide of backward point. To prove he knows exactly what he’s doing, Williamson glides another boundary between keeper and slip.
An affronted Woakes replies with a good delivery that nips back to take the inside edge. This is fascinating cricket.
33rd over: New Zealand 121-3 (Williamson 53, Mitchell 28) It would have been easy for Stokes to take Bashir off after he conceded 32 from his first four overs. That, emphatically, is not how he rolls so Bashir continues and bowls a better over that costs only one run.
32nd over: New Zealand 121-3 (Williamson 52, Mitchell 28) Williamson punches Atkinson off the back foot for three to reach a quietly dominant fifty from 74 balls. He’s been immaculate. England cannot even acknowledge the concept of potential victory until they get rid of him.
Mitchell, who is also playing really well, drives Atkinson through extra cover for four more. New Zealand trail by 30.
31st over: New Zealand 114-3 (Williamson 49, Mitchell 24) As expected, New Zealand are going after Bashir. Williamson thumps a boundary through extra cover, Mitchell chips another over midwicket and then reverse sweeps the third of the over.
Inbetween those Mitchell deliveries he was beaten by a nice delivery that skidded straight on. Pope dropped it but I don’t think there was an outside edge. Replays confirm as much.
30th over: New Zealand 101-3 (Williamson 44, Mitchell 16) Atkinson bowls a challenging over to Mitchell, probably his best in this innings. No runs off the bat, just a no-ball.
29th over: New Zealand 100-3 (Williamson 44, Mitchell 16) Williamson skids back in his crease to slap Bashir through the covers for two. I know I keep saying it but he looks in ominously touch from an England perspective – not just for this game but the rest of the series.
28th over: New Zealand 98-3 (Williamson 42, Mitchell 16) More classy strokeplay from Williamson, in this case a back-foot punch for three off Atkinson. England would to sub Matthew Potts in for a few overs; he has a head-to-head average of 1.00 against Williamson in Tests.
27th over: New Zealand 95-3 (Williamson 39, Mitchell 16) Ben Stokes changes tack and brings Shoaib Bashir back into the attack. Mitchell, who loves to take on the spinners, promptly reverse sweeps for four.
Williamson also whips through midwicket for three in a productive over for New Zealand; nine runs from it.
26th over: New Zealand 86-3 (Williamson 35, Mitchell 11) Atkinson replaces Carse and has a field for orthodox bowling. His third ball is slightly too full and driven handsomely through mid-off for four by Mitchell. The rest of the over won’t make the highlights.
25th over: New Zealand 82-3 (Williamson 35, Mitchell 7) Mitchell averages 70 in Tests against England, mainly because of a spectacular series in 2022, but his recent form isn’t so good. Having scored five Test hundreds in his first 25 innings, he’s hit none in the last 23.
Woakes gets one to snarl back off the seam to rap him on the glove. There’s no short leg – England have both a leg slip and leg gully – so the ball lands safely.
24th over: New Zealand 81-3 (Williamson 35, Mitchell 6) Carse, who is doing a fantastic job as Mark Wood’s deputy, takes the role a bit too literally by falling over in hsi delivery stride. Next he’ll be riding an imaginary horse.
A couple of short balls to Williamson are called wide before Williamson pulls a legal delivery for a single.
23rd over: New Zealand 77-3 (Williamson 34, Mitchell 6) Woakes is back, presumably with the new batter Daryl Mitchell in mind. A nice outswinger is followed by a nipbacker that bounces over the stumps with Mitchell offering no stroke.
After Pope does well to save four leg byes, Mitchell flicks riskily but also effectively past leg slip for four.
22nd over: New Zealand 73-3 (Williamson 34, Mitchell 2) Now Williamson gets in a bit of trouble against Carse, top-edging a hook well short of fine leg. There’s no real need for New Zealand to take Carse’s short stuff on, especially as they’ve already lost a key wicket in both innings.
Carse switches around the wicket for the last ball of the over and almost strikes when Williamson cuts on the bounce to backward point. He hasn’t looked comfortable against Carse all game.
21st over: New Zealand 71-3 (Williamson 33, Mitchell 1) Stokes tries to york Williamson, who clips the ball to the right of mid-on. Carse saves three runs with a fine sprawling stop. But there’s nowt anyone can do when Williamson places a back cut between gully and backward point for four. Beautiful batting.
20th over: New Zealand 64-3 (Williamson 27, Mitchell 0) Daryl Mitchell is greeted by a sharp lifter from Carse that rams into the glove and drops safely on the off side.
I have only one question, your honour: how the hell does Brydon Carse have a first-class bowling average of 33? He looks terrific.
WICKET! New Zealand 64-3 (Ravindra c Bethell b Carse 24)
Brydon Carse has burgled another wicket! Rachin Ravindra couldn’t resist taking on the short ball but top-edged it high towards deep backwards square, where Jacob Bethell backpedalled smartly to take an awkward catch with aplomb. That’s a precious breakthrough for England – and for Carse, who is making a sensational start to his Test career.
19th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Williamson 27, Ravindra 24) That’s a promising start from Stokes, who is targeting the stumps – and occasionally the helmet – and gave the two batters nothing they could leave.
18.2 overs: New Zealand 62-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 23) Stokes’ second ball zips off the surface to beat Williamson and thump into the helmet. Williamson was trying to pull but was hopelessly late on the shot, which tells a story given how much time he usually has.
Stokes checks on Williamson, who is smiling and seems fine. There’s a short break in play while he is checked for concussion.
Ben Stokes is bringing himself on at the start of the evening session. England would love one of his force-of-personality breakthroughs right now, especially if it’s Williamson.
Only three of the other 18 players with at least 9,000 Test runs, only three have higher average than Kane Williamson.
-
57.40 Kumar Sangakkara
-
56.40 Steve Smith
-
55.37 Jacques Kallis
-
54.87 Kane Williamson
-
53.78 Sachin Tendulkar
Is it possible to be an all-time great and still underrated? If so, Kumar Sangakkara’s your man.
Tea
18th over: New Zealand 62-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 23) Williamson top-edges a hook off Atkinson for a single. It was safe enough, landing well short of fine leg, but that will encourage England. He did a false stroke! That run takes Williamson to 9,000 Test runs, a lovely milestone for the humblest genius in world cricket, maybe world sport.
Ravindra almost falls to the last ball before tea, snapping his head round nervously after a defensive stroke off Atkinson bounces behind him. It missed the stumps so Ravindra and Williamson will resume their gracefest after tea.
England did pretty well to winkle out the openers on what now looks a belter of a batting pitch. They lead by 89, which is handy but not necessarily decisive in the context of a high-scoring game, especially not while Williamson has an asterisk against his name. This match is beautifully poised.
17th over: New Zealand 59-2 (Williamson 24, Ravindra 22) Shoaib Bashir replaces Carse and will bowl to Ravindra, who he dismissed in the first innings. Ravindra starts round two with elegant authority, sweeping carefully to the fine leg boundary before collecting a pair of twos. New Zealand trail by 92.
16th over: New Zealand 50-2 (Williamson 24, Ravindra 14) Sound the Short Ball Ploy klaxon: Gus Atkinson is coming on for Woakes with a field set for some rough stuff. He has a fine leg, deep square leg, square leg, midwicket and mid-on for Ravindra, who jumps back to drop a single on the off side. It was only one run but mediocre players can’t play a shot like that.
Williamson deals with the rest of the over. Should be time for two more before the tea beak.