Key events
New Zealand are all out for 391
The answer is no. Phillips pulls away and Emilio Gay keeps calm in the deep. It’s still New Zealand’s morning, with Glenn Phillips celebrating his first Test century.
WICKET! Phillips c Gay b Fisher 100 (New Zealand 391 all out)
96th over: New Zealand 391-9 (O’Rourke 0, Phillips 100) Can New Zealand squeeze out a few more and get to 400?
WICKET! Henry c Tongue b Archer 5 (New Zealand 391-9)
Henry, having got his mate to a ton, swings hard immediately – the ball lobs up for a simple grab at extra cover.
Hundred for Glenn Phillips!
Jofra Archer, finally. In comes England’s premier quick, but he can’t stop Phillips from getting to a maiden Test century. New Zealand’s No 7 dabs the ball into the offside and raises his bat to the sky. He did a decent job at Lord’s; he’s been brilliant here.
95th over: New Zealand 388-8 (Henry 5, Phillips 97) Henry is tasked with blocking out Fisher, who gets one to sneak past the outside edge. A bumper leaves Henry in a bit of a state, unable to get out of the way – he collects two leg byes.
94th over: New Zealand 386-8 (Henry 5, Phillips 97) Bethell continues – Jofra Archer is still waiting for his first bowl of the day. Henry cuts away for four to get up and running, and Phillips ends the over with a thunk over the off-side. He’s three runs away from three figures.
93rd over: New Zealand 377-8 (Henry 0, Phillips 93) Fisher goes short again and it’s off Phillips’ helmet, running away for four. He’s awarded runs, though, taking him into the 90s.
Simon Fuller doesn’t mind this from England.
I have a ticket for day 4. Is it bad of me to be celebrating England’s generous approach to bowling this morning?
92nd over: New Zealand 373-8 (Henry 0, Phillips 89) Bethell, again. Phillips takes a single immediately, allowing Henry to show off his forward defence against some left-arm tweak.
91st over: New Zealand 372-8 (Henry 0, Phillips 88) Fisher continues … and Phillips demolishes a short ball, the 83mph effort welcomed by the No 7. A clip into the leg-side takes him to a new Test-best; crucially, it keeps him on strike for the next over.
90th over: New Zealand 367-8 (Henry 0, Phillips 83) It’s up to Matt Henry now to keep Phillips company.
WICKET! Jamieson b Bethell 41 (New Zealand 367-8)
Glenn Phillips, I’m surprised to read, has yet to score a Test ton. Here’s Bethell, who Phillips punches for a single. And England strike after drinks! Bethell fires in a dart and Jamieson, going for a hefty slog, misses. Relief for Root and co.
89th over: New Zealand 365-7 (Jamieson 40, Phillips 82) Here comes Matt Fisher and Jamieson smacks away through the leg-side to collect a couple, with Jordan Cox pulling off a decent stop by the ropes. This’ll be four though: Jamieson whips away through the leg-side again. Both batters look very comfortable out there. “This has been a really bad hour for England,” says Michael Atherton on Sky. Maybe an understatement. Time for drinks.
88th over: New Zealand 357-7 (Jamieson 33, Phillips 81) Bethell continues – and sneaks through a fairly quiet over, just a single off it. Still unclear why he’s bowling right now.
87th over: New Zealand 356-7 (Jamieson 33, Phillips 80) Jamieson, having taken those blows to the helmet, welcomes anything full: he lets the arms flow into a lush cover drive off Tongue. Four more.
86th over: New Zealand 350-7 (Jamieson 27, Phillips 80) I’m thoroughly confused here: Jacob Bethell is on with the second new ball only five overs old. The punishment continues as Jamieson rocks back and punches through the covers for four. That’s 350 up, only eight overs after getting to 300.
85th over: New Zealand 345-7 (Jamieson 22, Phillips 80) Phillips plays late to guide Tongue behind point for four more – this stand, worth 65, is moving at close to a run a ball.
Richard O’Hagan writes in, not best pleased with what he’s watching.
England seem to have decided to bowl like they are the 1986 West Indies. Unfortunately they are doing so with all of the guile, skill and common sense of 1986 England. So disappointing after (most of) yesterday’s performance.
84th over: New Zealand 340-7 (Jamieson 21, Phillips 76) Baker continues but Phillips is enjoying himself now, punching through the offside, clipping through leg, collecting consecutive boundaries.
83rd over: New Zealand 332-7 (Jamieson 21, Phillips 68) Tongue cuts Jamieson in half, jagging the ball into the right-hander. Finally, a fairly quiet over.
82nd over: New Zealand 329-7 (Jamieson 21, Phillips 65) Baker continues, surprising the animated Phillips with one that keeps low. He goes short to Jamieson, though, and the hulking New Zealand quick needs to get checked out buy the doc again after another blow to the helmet. Hope he’s OK. After a break in play, Jamieson ends the over with a beautiful punch through the covers for four. England are leaking plenty here.
John Starbuck writes in:
Another drop! This time by Duckett, who’s usually a pretty reliable fielder. I suspect some of the drops at Lord’s, such as those by Rachin Ravindra, may be down to too-powerful sun glasses. Is Ducket sporting them today?
Duckett’s shades were, curiously, resting on his cap.
81st over: New Zealand 324-7 (Jamieson 17, Phillips 64) The new ball is taken – time for England to get out of bouncer mode. Tongue will continue as Phillips welcomes the fresh cherry, clipping through midwicket for the shot of the morning with a lovely little flourish of the blade. Tongue responds by nipping it away from the outside edge.
80th over: New Zealand 318-7 (Jamieson 16, Phillips 59) Jamieson slaps Baker through the off-side, then makes room for a mighty smack … he edges away over Rew for four more. The big man is here to have fun as he launches to deep midwicket … and Ben Duckett, backpedalling, drops it! That should have been snaffled; Baker was already celebrating. To make matters worse for the debutant, Phillips pulls away for another boundary, the third of the over. A very tidy start to the day for New Zealand.
79th over: New Zealand 305-7 (Jamieson 7, Phillips 55) It’s Josh Tongue to bound in from the Pavilion End – he goes short and Phillips offers no shot, the ball smashing into his belly button. Ouch. England are going full bumper mode, with three men on the leg-side boundary, and midwicket just a few yards in front of the rope. And is Jamieson gone, gloving the ball high, with Rew collecting? Nah, off the helmet. And a no ball, too. Jamieson will get checked out by the doc.
Half-century for Glenn Phillips!
78th over: New Zealand 300-7 (Jamieson 6, Phillips 54) The sun has poked through at the Oval … as Baker goes short, the ball loose and swinging away to the ropes for byes. Short again with the next delivery – and Phillips gets something on it, top-edging as the ball flies over James Rew, evading the fingertips. And that’ll be his fifty too. Baker, in the high-80s, continues to angle the ball into Phillips, who gets a single to keep the strike.
Right then, it’ll be Sonny Baker to get us going, with Glenn Phillips on strike. Let’s play!
“New Zealand, if they don’t make it to 400, will be very, very disappointed on this deck,” says Mark Butcher on Sky. It’s up to Phillips to get them there, unbeaten on 49 and the leading run-scorer in the series after a couple of decent knocks at Lord’s.
Mark Wood is on Sky’s broadcast, rocking some lime sunglasses. Glenn Phillips got the shades on yesterday, too – while facing Jofra Archer’s bouncer show.
It was a day Sonny Baker will never forget.
Even this morning I could feel the anxiety build up in my stomach, I was trying to play cards on the bus to try and take my mind off the gravity of the situation.
Simon Burnton was focused on the old-new captain.
Would we once again see the Root who led and often carried the team between 2017 and 2022, a new Root reshaped by four years spent working with Brendon McCullum? Or a Root who – as Stokes’s stand-in – felt obliged to attempt an impersonation?
Andy Bull kept a close eye on the unreadable Brendon McCullum yesterday.
It’s increasingly hard to say what’s going on behind those shades. The man’s the Anna Wintour of the wicket.
Preamble
Well, that was nice: a semi-normal day of Test cricket, wickets in single figures, enough there for the quicks, New Zealand’s batters able to get in … with only Glenn Phillips still on course to go big.
Of course, this isn’t a normal Test at all for England, with three debutants in the mix alongside an interim captain. Sonny Baker got to show off his wheels yesterday, firing the ball in at the toes, highlighting his value on this stage after a couple of torrid white-ball appearances. He’s still got work to do this morning, though; Joe Root may well turn to him to help wipe out the tail. And then, potentially, a glimpse at the new shiny toys at six and seven.
It’s cloudy but dry in south London so we’ll get going at 11am BST (fingers crossed). Join myself and James Wallace for all the fun.
