Chris Woakes carved New Zealand open with a vital double strike as England placed a stranglehold on the first Test in Christchurch.
The tourists enjoyed an outstanding third day at the Hagley Oval, racking up 499 all out before reducing the hosts to 155 for six – just four runs ahead with four wickets in hand.
Woakes had struggled to make an impact in the first half of the match, sending down 20 wicketless overs in New Zealand’s first innings and making just one with the bat, but all changed as he knocked the stuffing out of the Black Caps.
He needed just nine balls to get his team on the board, home captain Tom Latham nicking to second slip, and returned later to see off key man Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell with successive deliveries.
Williamson has been head and shoulders above his team-mates this week and England would not have breathed easy while he was at the crease. Any hopes of a serious fightback appeared to evaporate when Woakes had the elegant number three lbw for 61 and he rubbed salt into the wounds by having Blundell caught behind for a golden duck.
The increasingly impressive Brydon Carse matched Woakes with three wickets, bowling with pace, bounce and attacking intent to take his match haul to seven and leave England circling a rapid finish.
The groundwork had earlier been done when the batting unit opened up a lead of 151, Harry Brook turning his overnight century into a formidable 171 and Ben Stokes hitting 80 for his highest score in almost 18 months.
Just as pleasingly for an England side who crave depth down the order, there were fireworks from the tail as Gus Atkinson and Carse smashed 81 from 60 balls between them.
England started the day 29 behind but helped themselves to 140 in the opening session to grab the game by the throat.
Brook had already been dropped four times for his 132 on day two and continued his personal game of ‘catch me if you can’ when he was put down yet again by Glenn Phillips on Saturday morning.
Blundell eventually held an edge from the Yorkshireman, but not before he had peppered the boundary with five fours and a six. As Brook walked off the field at the Hagley Oval he did so with a career average of 60.05 – fractionally less than Herbert Sutcliffe’s national record of 60.73.
Woakes did not last long but Atkinson took up the role of aggressor as Stokes knuckled down to a steady half-century. Atkinson brought up the 400 with a thumping pull off Matt Henry and he soon showed off an admirable range for a number nine – pumping a lofted cover drive and a classy square cut to the ropes.
He top-edged a pull for six when Nathan Smith went short, then stepped back and crashed him through extra cover. His ambition got the better of him when he lifted the seamer to deep midwicket but his 48 in 36 balls bruised the Kiwi attack.
With Stokes showing restraint, Carse was next to swing the bat after benefitting from the eighth drop of an uncharacteristically careless outing by the Kiwis. He clobbered three sixes on his way to an unbeaten 33 from 24 balls, hooking and pulling in a manner few number 10s can even dream about.
Stokes’ hopes of scoring his first Test hundred since the 2023 Ashes in the city of his birth went up in smoke when he holed out trying to clear the ropes himself, but England were still in full control.
Latham had dropped a hat-trick of catches in the field but was not shown the same kindness, Brook snapping up a low chance when he nicked Woakes in the third over.
Devon Conway also found a pair of safe hands when Atkinson threw himself forward from mid-off, giving Carse a breakthrough off his fifth ball.
Williamson and Rachin Ravindra shared a stand of 41 but were parted shortly after tea when the latter threw everything at a bumper from Carse but found himself hurried by pace. Jacob Bethell, patrolling the boundary ropes at midwicket, briefly appeared to lose the ball in the sun but once again put New Zealand’s catching to shame as he gathered safely.
At 64 for three they were clinging to Williamson for hope. For a while he was able to oblige, stroking the ball around with an ease that belied his team’s position.
He had 44 of New Zealand’s first hundred runs and 61 out of 133 when Woakes found a way through. The margins were fine, just enough seam movement to beat the bat and a close call on the point of impact, but when Rod Tucker raised his finger the Barmy Army raised the roof.
Losing their linchpin with their opponents still 18 ahead was a hammer blow and Woakes seized the moment by having Blundell caught behind at the very first attempt.
Carse still had one more up his sleeve, Phillips on the wrong end of a marginal lbw verdict, leaving England dominant at stumps.
Smith sees out the over from Atkinson and that is it for day three. New Zealand finish the day on 155/6 and lead by just four runs with just four wickets in their second innings remaining. England will be looking to wrap up victory on day four.
Smith gets off the mark with a single into the legside. Despite Mitchell’s best efforts to waste time in an attempt to make it the last over, we will have one more.
Bashir is replaced by Atkinson. It was set to be a maiden over but Atkinson bowls yet another no-ball.
Debutant Smith is in at number eight. Superb wicket maiden from Carse, who now has seven wickets in the match.
Phillips LBW Carse 19 Carse nips one back into Phillips and traps him in front. The finger is raised but Phillips reviews. He thinks it is high and it is just clipping the top of the stumps. That shows the importance of getting the original call. FOW 153/6
Bashir drags it short and Phillips it away to fine-leg for two to bring up the New Zealand 150. He is too short again and Phillips gets three as a diving stop by Crawley on the boundary prevents a four. New Zealand are now into the lead.
Carse is back on. He puts so much effort he ends up on the deck in his follow through.
Bashir offers some width to Phillips and he cuts away for four. Phillips then squeezes one away for a couple more through the offside.
We have around 30 minutes left on day three and New Zealand trail by 11 runs. If England were in a position to complete a win today they could claim an extra half an hour.
Shoaib Bashir is brought back into the attack and he concedes just one run.
Phillips is being fairly cautious for now but how long will that last?
Just the one run from Carse’s ninth over.
Phillips is off the mark with a pull for a single.
Brydon Carse, who has been excellent again today, is back on. Maiden over.
Glenn Phillips is in to face the hat-trick ball and blocks it but a terrific over from Woakes.
Chris Woakes has a dreadful overseas record, but I’ve always been loath to write him off. There are no obvious reasons he should be so poor with the Kookaburra ball. Terrific little spell this, just when England needed it.
Blundell c Pope b Woakes 0 Woakes is on a hat-trick! Blundell nicks off first ball and the finger goes up. Blundell immediately reviews but UltraEdge shows a spike as the ball passed the bat. Absolute beauty from Woakes. Two in two for England with New Zealand still 18 runs behind. FOW 133/5
Williamson LBW Woakes 61 Just as I was typing that England are looking for a breakthrough, they get the big one of Williamson. Woakes gets one to nip back into Williamson’s pads and the finger goes up. Williamson reviews but I think he knows his fate. It is umpire’s call on impact and smashing into middle and off two thirds of the way up and England have a big wicket. FOW 133/4
One run from the first over after drinks.
New Zealand trail by 19 runs.
Chris Woakes is returning to the attack. Williamson edges one past gully and away for four. England thought that was their moment to make a big breakthrough. Next ball he guides one between slip and gully for four more. That one was much more controlled though.
Time for drinks.
Just one run comes from Bashir’s fifth over.
Williamson gets on the back foot and punches away for three to bring up a second fifty in this match.
Later in the over Mitchell drives through wide mid-off for four and the runs are flowing for New Zealand.
Bashir offers too much width and is punished as Williamson belts him through the covers for four.
Mitchell uses his feet and flicks over the legside for four. He then finishes the over with a reverse sweep for four. These two are really targeting Bashir here.
There are half appeals for a catch down the legside but they did not last long as there was no bat involved. Atkinson is really struggling with no-balls in this Test match.
Bashir drops too short again and Williamson cuts away for two to bring up the New Zealand 100. Bashir bowls too many short balls that are very much ‘hit me’ balls.
This is the crucial partnership for New Zealand. Mitchell has had a bit of a lean year by his standards but these two can be immovable for New Zealand and if they dig in, take them past England’s score. Still a long way to go until that happens but the stand will be giving them a bit of hope.
Williamson gets on his toes and punches off the back foot through the covers for three.
New Zealand trail by 53 runs.
Shoaib Bashir had one over just before tea and is now brought on for the first time in this evening session. Mitchell gets out the reverse sweep and beats Atkinson at point to his left-hand side and it runs away for four.
Bashir drops too short and Williamson flicks it away through the legside for three.
Gus Atkinson is on for Carse, with more of a conventional field. Mitchell drives well through mid-off for four.
Just one run from Woakes’ eighth over.
Carse is bending his back at the moment and both of these batsmen have shown a willingness to go after the short ball, which will give England confidence they can pick up another wicket here.
Ben Stokes has taken himself out of the attack and Chris Woakes is replacing him. There are two types of leaves; good ones and bad ones. This is the former, just!
There is a leg slip in place and Mitchell flicks away for four past that man. That is the type of shot that England want Mitchell playing with that leg slip there.
Williamson goes for the pull and it is in the air for a while going down towards fine-leg but it falls short of fine-leg.
Off the final ball of Carse’s sixth over Williamson comes so close to cutting it straight into the hands of Atkinson in the gully region but it falls just short.
A brilliant stop by Carse at mid-on saves what could have been a boundary after a nice shot from Williamson. Always sets the right tone when your bowlers are diving around in the field like that.
Mitchell gets off the mark with a single into the legside.
Williamson cuts away nicely behind point for four.
Daryl Mitchell joins Williamson at the crease. Carse took four wickets in the first innings and has already taken two in this second innings.
Ravindra c Bethell b Carse 24 Brydon Carse will bowl from the other end with the field set for short-pitch bowling and Ravindra falls into the trap. Ravindra tries to pull away but only picks out Bethell at deep square leg, who takes a good catch whilst back-tracking. Another wicket for England, with New Zealand still trailing by 87 runs. FOW 64/3
A short ball from Stokes takes off and rises into Williamson’s helmet. As is customary when a batsman is struck on the helmet, the team doctor comes out to check on Williamson, who seems absolutely fine.
A single into the legside brings the first run of the evening session.
The players are back out in the middle and we are ready to go in the final session of day three. Captain Ben Stokes will bowl the first over after the tea break.
A top edge for a single down to fine-leg brings up 9000 Test runs for Williamson in his 103rd match. New Zealand are 62/2 at the tea break and are still 89 runs behind England with one session remaining on day three.
Ben Stokes has decided it is time for a bit of spin just before the tea break as he turns to Shoaib Bashir. Ravindra sweeps behind square for four. Bashir did get Ravindra out in the first innings.
Ravindra then cuts behind point for two but a Williamson slip prevents them from coming through for three. Ravindra finishes the over with another two as he flicks into the legside.
Time for one more over before tea.
Gus Atkinson is back into the attack and England have set a field for short-pitch bowling.
There is just over five minutes to go until tea so we should get two more overs in.
Ravindra pulls Carse in front of square for two. Ravindra wanted three but Williamson sends him back.
A single into the offside brings up the New Zealand 50.
Williamson attempts a cover drive off Woakes but gets an inside edge on it that runs away for a single.
Ravindra drives with the full face of the bat through mid-on for three.
There is half an appeal behind the stumps for caught behind but Ben Stokes is not inclined to review. UltraEdge shows there was no edge so good decision not to review.
With an extra ball due to a no-ball Carse nearly finds the outside edge. He enquires with his captain but no review is going to come there.
Chris Woakes is back on, replacing Atkinson. To Ravindra, Ben Stokes has picked out the slip cordon and gully region to have catchers in place.
Ravindra plays a lovely shot on the up through the covers for four, his first boundary of this innings.
Ravindra is off the mark fourth ball as he drops one into the covers for a single.
Williamson punches off the back foot through cover point and comes back for three. He was denied a boundary by a great diving stop by Crawley.
Atkinson drops short and Williamson punishes him by pulling him away for four.
New Zealand trail by 123 runs.
Rachin Ravindra is in at number four.
Conway c Atkinson b Carse 8 Ben Stokes decides it is time for a change in the bowling attacks as Brydon Carse is on and he has a wicket in his first over. Conway tries to pull him away but Atkinson takes a stunning diving catch to his left at mid-on. It is sent up to the fourth umpire just to check but Atkinson had his fingers underneath it. FOW 23/2
Williamson drives beautifully down the ground through mid-off for four. He then blocks the next ball and the ball nearly rolls onto his stumps. He tried to kick it away and missed and he is glad to see the ball roll past his stumps rather than clip the off stump.
Williamson comes through for a quick single but Conway had to be quick to get down to the non-striker’s end before Stokes got his throw in towards the stumps.
Conway attempts a drive but it comes off the inside edge. Fortunately for him it lands safely.
Atkinson then bowls a beauty that just beats Conway’s outside edge.
Maiden over from Atkinson.
Williamson gets onto the back foot and punches through the covers for a couple. Off the final ball Williamson drives aerially through mid-off but it runs away for four.
Williamson is off the mark fifth ball with a quick single into the legside. Conway gets the first boundary of the New Zealand second innings with a punch through mid-off for four.
Kane Williamson is in at number three.
Latham c Brook b Woakes 1 The perfect start for England. Woakes forces the New Zealand captain into a shot and he finds the outside edge, with Brook taking a low catch at second slip. Brook is having a Test match, having scored 171 earlier, and now takes a good catch to remove Latham. FOW 3/1
Gus Atkinson will share the new ball with Woakes. Just the one run, via a no-ball, comes from his first over of this second innings. Atkinson really struggled with no-balls in the first innings.
Woakes gets Latham to feel the first ball outside off but it goes just past the outside edge. Latham gets off the mark second ball with a single into the legside. Conway also gets off the mark second ball in identical fashion to Latham.
Tom Latham and Devon Conway are making their way out to the middle with New Zealand down 151 runs on first innings. Chris Woakes will bowl the first over.
Match winning lead for England of 151. Terrific from Brook. Yes, there was luck with six drops but in between he played some superb shots rescuing England from 71-4 and staring down the barrel. An unfussy 80 for Stokes and Pope’s 77 as well as late slugging from Atkinson and Carse showed the depth in this team’s batting. Not often England make the best part of 500 with a Joe Root duck. They batted at 4.84 an over but it never felt like frenetic hitting, just calm, ruthless accumulation.
Bashir c Southee b Henry 5 Henry could have six balls at Bashir here and he gets him out with the final delivery of the over. Bashir tries to whack him out the ground but only skies it into the air, where Southee takes a good catch at midwicket. Bashir got to the final ball and then did that when he could have got Carse back on strike. Very silly but England lead by 151. When you think that England were 71/4 at one stage! FOW 499 all out
The field is spread to Carse, who unsurprisingly is going for it with Bashir at the other end. Carse drills one past the stumps and comes back for two off the fourth ball.
The field is up for the final ball and Carse belts it over long-on for six.
Shoaib Bashir is the last man in and he gets off the mark second ball with a flick into the legside for one.
Stokes c Southee b Henry 80 The captain is gone. An excellent innings comes to an end as he picks out Southee at long-on. He was not happy with that dismissal as he backed himself to hit it over Southee but the connection was not a pure one. Henry took pace off that delivery. FOW 485/9
Proper innings from Stokes, his highest since the Headingley Ashes Test. He read the situation superbly and with no spin to face, he looked a different player from Pakistan. No 7 suits him when he can play a full role as a bowler and it must dishearten teams when they get England five down and he walks out. There were no fireworks, just solid, sensible cricket shots.
O’Rourke gives Carse some width outside his off stump and he guides one through the gap in the slip cordon for four. Carse then comes across his stumps and flicks one over fine-leg for six. That is an outrageous shot against someone of O’Rourke’s pace.
England’s lead is now up to 137 runs.
Steve Harmison described Brydon Carse as England’s best ever no 10 before the Test and that extraordinary six off O’Rourke, lifting a bouncer outside off stump over fine leg, was proof.
Matt Henry will open the bowling from the other end. He sends a bouncer Carse’s way and the Durham man responds by belting him for six behind square on the legside. That went a mile. Who remembers Jonny Bairstow belting Henry continuously for six at Trent Bridge in the first summer of Bazball in 2022?
I think we know how Stokes is going to approach this session as he goes after O’Rourke’s first few deliveries but misses. He does get a single off the fourth ball down to fine-leg for the first run post-lunch.
Carse then comes down the ground from his first ball of the session and it goes high into the air. Phillips runs back from his gully position but cannot hold on as New Zealand shell another catch.
O’Rourke bangs another one into the surface but gets too much bounce and it runs away for five wides.
An eventful first over after lunch.
Ben Stokes and Brydon Carse are back out in the middle in the Christchurch sunshine. Will O’Rourke will bowl the first over after lunch.
The Professional Cricketers’ Association is considering a legal challenge after the England and Wales Cricket Board banned players from appearing in the Pakistan Super League and other franchise leagues that clash with the domestic summer.
“The PCA’s legal team is currently completing a thorough check of the implementation of the policy,” said Daryl Mitchell, the interim chief executive of the PCA. “There is clear frustration at the lack of time given for consultation, discussion and debate before this policy was released publicly.”
Tim Wigmore has the full story.
Three runs come from the final over of the session and England have dominated that morning session. They are 459/8, leading by 111 runs with captain Ben Stokes 78 not out.
Brydon Carse joins his Durham teammate Stokes at the crease. O’Rourke bowls a dangerous full delivery to Carse, who does really well to dig it out. It goes straight into the ground and flies over the slip cordon for four. For some reason New Zealand review, hoping it struck Carse on the foot before the bat but it clearly came only off the bat, with no contact with his foot. That four brought up the 450.
Stokes then gives himself room outside leg and slaps a pull shot in front of square for four.
England’s lead is now above 100.
Atkinson c Phillips b Smith 48 After a series of boundaries from Smith’s latest over, Atkinson is gone just short of his half century. It is one pull shot too many as he is caught by Phillips at deep backward square leg. It was in the air a long time and, considering how many catches they have dropped in this innings, you may have thought it would have been dropped. His 48 came from just 36 balls. FOW 445/8
Stokes drives O’Rourke through mid-off with ease for four.
Stokes goes for a big heave over the legside but gets a thick edge over the one remaining slip and away for four.
Will O’Rourke is brought back into the attack for the first time today. Stokes is just content at the moment to just keep rotating strike and allowing Atkinson to be the aggressor. Stokes’ strike-rate is around 50.
Atkinson slashes one through cover for four and he has another boundary to his name.
England’s lead is now up to 73 and they were trailing by 29 when the day began. Over 100 scored this morning and we still have just under half an hour until lunch.
Atkinson batting Woakes out the team here. One of the points of picking Woakes is the depth he adds to the batting but Atkinson and Carse are more than useful. Woakes needs some wickets in the second innings.
Atkinson drives on the up through the covers for four. Southee was positioned in close but it flew past his head and away for four. It was in the air for a while but there was no chance of Southee taking a catch.
Atkinson swivels to pull Smith away for another four in this over. There were two men out there at fine-leg and deep square leg but it went right between them.
An inside edge from Atkinson onto his pads loops into the air on the offside but it falls safely.
Atkinson follows that up by pulling Henry emphatically away for a flay six to bring up the 400.
Off the final ball of the over Atkinson attempts to repeat the six but there is a fielder positioned out there now. It drops short of Ravindra though.
Nathan Smith bowled a few overs before the new ball was taken. Atkinson flicks one away through square leg for two.
Atkinson drives slightly uppishly through point for three.
Gus Atkinson joins Stokes out in the middle. He is off the mark fourth ball with a clip through midwicket for three.
Stokes finishes the over with a flick off his pads behind square for two and England’s lead is up to 39 runs.
Woakes c Latham b Southee 1 New Zealand have held onto a catch in the slip cordon as Woakes’ drive comes off the outside edge and into the hands of Latham at second slip The umpires do send it upstairs to check if the fingers were under the ball and it appears they are so Woakes has to go. Latham has dropped plenty of catches in this innings but he holds onto one now. FOW 382/7
Chris Woakes is in at number eight and is off the mark first ball with a single behind square on the legside.
Time for drinks.
Brook c Blundell b Henry 171 Plenty of discussions between captain Tom Latham and Henry about the field and it works as Brook is gone. It was a rather tame end to an outstanding innings but he did have a number of lives along the way. He feels for one outside his off stump and only succeeds in edging through to Blundell. FOW 381/6
Harry Brook’s Test average after that innings is 60.05, just short of Herbert Sutcliffe’s 60.73, the best for England of those batsmen who have played at least 20 innings. Sutcliffe lived on the edge of Ilkley Moor in Airedale, the same as Brook. Yorkshire’s batting heritage is unsurpassed.
WOW! Just wow! Brook gives himself room outside leg stump, gets his front leg out of the way and belts Southee for a huge six over wide long-on. The 150 partnership is brought up and Southee is being whacked around here.
Brook then guides well once again in this innings past Phillips at gully for four. This knock from Brook is very similar to one he played in Wellington on England’s last tour of New Zealand.
England now lead by 33.
Stokes drives through the covers for two to bring up his fifty in the city of his birth, which will mean a fair bit to him.
Later in the over Stokes charges at Henry and smashes him through wide mid-off for four. England are using the hardness of the new ball to good effect; it is not only the bowling side who can take advantage of a new ball, the batsmen can do so as well if they are set and these two are.
Brook and Stokes thrashing around Southee with the new ball. I’m afraid he has faded and not sure if he will make Hamilton for his farewell Test. New Zealand pushing the field back, can’t attack with the new ball because of the danger Stokes/Brook pose. Stokes 105 balls for his fifty. He is on the charge now, ominously hammering Henry through the covers.
Brook uses his feet and plays an extraordinary shot through the covers for four to bring up his 150. He hit that with such venom even the cameras were not fast enough to track it before it crossed the boundary.
He then goes for a ramp and misses, with it just evading the stumps. These two, like Brook did with Pope yesterday, are running well between the wickets and keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Another example of that as Brook comes back for two after flicking off his pads down to fine-leg.
Off the final ball he backs away outside his leg stump but ends up hitting off the back foot over mid-on for four. Bazball at its destructive and intelligent best, when England mix power with nous.
Matt Henry will take the new ball from the other end. Stokes’ drive is aerial but comes up just short of Williamson at cover.
A maiden over to start with for Henry.
New Zealand take the new ball and Tim Southee is for the first time today, with the lights on at Hagley Oval.
Stokes charges the first delivery with the new ball and is struck on the pads. Talk about intent from England’s captain. He then takes a quick single into the legside.
Brook then pushes into the offside for a single and England are into the lead.
A Stokes single off his pads brings up the England 350.
Stokes pulls Smith in front of square for two. Stokes then repeats it as another pull shot brings him another two.
The new ball is now available as England trail by just one run.
An appeal for LBW but O’Rourke’s delivery to Brook was always sliding down. You always have to factor in with any LBW calls for O’Rourke that he is so tall.
Brook has been dropped again! A fifth time in this innings! He guides one straight to Phillips at gully back he cannot hold on. Phillips took a stunner yesterday yet drops a fairly simple chance like that. Go figure! You just do not expect New Zealand to drop this many catches, seven now in total in this innings. You have to feel sorry for the New Zealand bowlers.
Just unbelievable luck for Harry Brook. That’s another sitter, from the man who took a stunner to get Ollie Pope. Five!
Brook dropped for the fifth time and that was the easiest of the lot, straight to Phillips at gully, where he took a screamer yesterday off Pope. New Zealand are a team renowned for their sharp fielding, but this is one of the worst performances I have ever seen in Test cricket. Brook had a big smile on his face that time. Will O’Rourke has bowled with outstanding pace and hostility, he deserves better support.
Smith gets one to rise up at Brook, who does well to get on top of the bounce and guide it through the slip cordon for two.
That is superb from Brook as he drives through the covers for four to move to within four of his 150.
Brook flicks off his pads in front of square and good running between the wickets allows them to come back for two.
Stokes drives at cover and thinks he has beaten Williamson but the former New Zealand captain makes a terrific diving stop. Williamson then throws at the stumps, forcing Stokes to sprint back and dive back into his crease. It would have been close with a direct hit.
Nathan Smith will start from other end. Brook gets his first boundary of the day as his drive through cover point beats Conway and just about reaches the boundary. Conway perhaps could have stopped that.
England trail by just 19 runs now and New Zealand are four overs away from the new ball.
Will O’Rourke will bowl the first over of day three. Brook flicks the first ball down to fine-leg for the first run of the day.
Stokes throws his hands at a wide delivery but misses. He went hard at that one.
A few balls later Stokes pulls emphatically away for four in front of square to bring up the 100 partnership off just 135 balls. Ravindra cannot get round to stop it.
England have five overs before the second new ball so I suspect we will see some bat throwing and entertainment. Test perfectly poised. Southee and Henry will take the new ball and we have good bowling conditions this morning.
It is dress-up Saturday in Christchurch and the crowd look to be enjoying themselves.
Harry Brook and Ben Stokes stride out to the crease, with their partnership just shy of the hundred mark
Bad news for Talksport. Their comms box at the Hagley Oval suffered a break in overnight and all their cameras were stolen, preventing them from broadcasting on their YouTube channel. They are still able to broadcast normally on the radio. All set for a big day three. England looking for a lead and then inroads into the New Zealand batting. Cool day again.
The Professional Cricketers’ Association is considering a legal challenge after the England and Wales Cricket Board banned players from appearing in the Pakistan Super League and other franchise leagues that clash with the domestic summer.
“The PCA’s legal team is currently completing a thorough check of the implementation of the policy,” said Daryl Mitchell, the interim chief executive of the PCA. “There is clear frustration at the lack of time given for consultation, discussion and debate before this policy was released publicly.”
Tim Wigmore has the full story.
You had to feel for Ollie Pope. In the course of their match-turning partnership of 151, he had watched Harry Brook be dropped three times – including a complete sitter by Glenn Phillips at gully.
But it was Pope walking off first, having fallen to a simply stunning one-handed effort by Phillips, diving to his right, to catch a full-blooded cut at backward point. It was the sort of catch we will be seeing on highlight reels for years. Brook, by the way, would be shelled a fourth time, while Ben Duckett had been dropped earlier and Ben Stokes was dropped later. Pope was afforded no such charity.
For more from Will Macpherson on Pope, click here.
Harry Brook’s magnificent hundred has put England in a strong position going into day three in Christchurch as England closed day two on 319/5, trailing New Zealand by just 29 runs. Brook, who will resume today on 132 not out, was dropped four times but he made New Zealand pay for their mistakes with his seventh Test century.
Ollie Pope showed great support for Brook, scoring his 14th Test fifty before a sensational one-handed catch by Glenn Phillips ended his innings on 77. Pope came into this series under significant pressure and he has admitted to seeking advice from Alec Stewart, whom Pope has worked under at Surrey.
“I did not get Stewy [Alec Stewart] throwing balls on the dog stick. He is too high up for that, I think. I had an open discussion with him rather than an array of sessions in the nets. It is probably healthy to talk to someone from outside who has been watching you.
“Sometimes that is a nice opinion to have. I gained a lot from going back and talking to him. It was more about ‘what does it look like when I am at my best?’, because that was a frustrating thing – I was not getting to 20 or 30, to allow myself to go on to that big score. We talked about having that calmness at the crease. When I am playing well there’s that clarity in how I want to play, not trying to rush my way to 20 or 30.
“Pakistan was not an easy tour and I was not good enough to find a way. For me, it was really important to draw a line under it. I knew if I could get in the right headspace I could start the series strongly. Fortunately, I have done that and hopefully I can kick on and score a lot more runs in this series.”
Ben Duckett scored 46 and captain Ben Stokes will resume this morning alongside Brook on 37 not out. England had found themselves 71-4 just after lunch after Joe Root and Zak Crawley both fell for ducks whilst debutant Jacob Bethell made just 10 before falling to New Zealand’s debutant Nathan Smith.
Earlier on day two England bowled New Zealand out in their first innings for 348, with Glenn Phillips finishing on 58 not out. Brydon Carse and Shoaib Bashir finished with four wickets each.
The new ball is just six overs away for the home side.
Day three begins at 10pm UK time.
