Daryl Mitchell scored an unbeaten half-century as New Zealand set England a target of 299 for victory and an unassailable series lead on the final day of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
New Zealand resumed on 224 for 7, a lead of 238 runs, with Mitchell on 32 and Matt Henry on 8. On the second ball of day, Joe Root dropped Henry at slip when Leach got one to grip and rise to meet the edge. Henry powered Ben Stokes through cover for four in the second over and then Stokes had him ducking and swaying like an air dancer outside a car dealership to avoid some well-directed short balls for a good stretch of his innings of 18.
Having almost pierced his defences by going round the wicket as Henry thrust his hands out and spliced the ball over gully, evading a reaching James Anderson, Stokes decided to bring Stuart Broad into the attack and the move paid off almost immediately. Broad went round the wicket with a bouncer and had Henry caught behind with just his fifth ball.
Kyle Jamieson came in next after breaking down with lower back pain while bowling on the third evening. But he fell in similar fashion in Broad's next over, caught behind off a bouncer which he tried to fend off at eye level. Crucially, New Zealand were to be without Jamieson during England's chase after team medical staff deemed him fit to bat but not bowl.
When Trent Boult punched Stokes through wide long-on and ran two, he finally grasped the title of highest Test run-scorer at No.11 outright after being stranded equal with Muthiah Muralidaran on 623 since making an unbeaten 16 off 18 balls in the first innings.
Passing the milestone he had by all accounts coveted for some time brought a beaming smile to Boult's face and cheers from the New Zealand changeroom and it also signalled the start of some freewheeling strokeplay by both batters with Mitchell taking back-to-back fours through the leg side off Broad to bring up his fifty and then Boult picking off three either side of the wicket off Stokes in the next over, which went for 14 runs in all.
Broad took the second new ball three overs after it had become available and was duly bundled over the rope at long-on by Mitchell. Anderson was re-introduced to the attack in the next over, however, and ended New Zealand's innings with his fourth ball back when he had Boult caught by Stokes at mid-off for 17. It left Mitchell unbeaten on 62, the tourists all out in their second innings for 284 and England with a minimum of 72 overs to haul in the target. Cricinfo
Brief scores at innings break:
New Zealand 553 and 284 (Mitchell 62*, Young 56, Conway 52, Broad 3-70) lead England 539 (Root 176, Pope 145, Lees 67, Foakes 56, Boult 5-106) by 298 runs
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