Key events
2nd over: New Zealand 5-1 (Conway 1, Nicholls 0) Atkinson is on the money with his first over too, I wonder if Ben Stokes has given a Thomas Tuchel style change of innings talk to get the blood pumping into his side? This elongated final session of day three really is crucial. There’s movement off the seam from Atkinson, Conway is watchful and then off the mark with a drop and run into the off side.
Just looking at the Archer/Latham wicket on the replay – Archer hares off giving it the full ‘Celebrappeal’ so certain was he that it was stone dead. Very apt from the Stuart Broad End here at Trent Bridge.
1st over: New Zealand 4-1 (Conway 0, Nicholls 0) The Trent Bridge crowd give Jofra Archer a huge ovation, they know that England need wickets with the new ball to get back into this game. Henry Nicholls joins Devon Conway, Gus Atkinson is going to share the new orb.
WICKET! Tom Latham lbw b Archer 4 (New Zealand 4-1)
Jofra Archer does the business in the first over! He gets the new ball to jag off the seam, Latham edges sketchily for four down through the slip and next ball he is pinned plumb lbw! Archer is in no doubt as he appeals and the umpire raises his finger without much of a delay. Latham doesn’t review and walks off, England have an early strike!
Here come the players after tea, England need some quick wickets…
Time for a brew, the last session will be long and crucial to the outcome of this match. Back soon!
England all out for 354 – trail by 84 runs on first innings
Gone! Josh Tongue c Santner b Foulkes 2
Oh that is a tame way to finish for Josh Tongue as he spoons a half hearted pull and gives catching practice to square leg. England are all out and tea is taken early. The heavy roller is called for and New Zealand, after starting the day staring down the barrel of England’s batting card, skip off with a very healthy first innings lead in their back pocket.
88th over: England 354-9 (Tongue 2, Bashir 0) O’Rourke whistles through a wicket maiden, Shoaib Bashir arrives as Engkand’s last hope with the bat…
WICKET! Gus Atkinson c Mitchell b O’Rourke 23 (England 254-9)
Atkinson is hit on the glove by a nasty O’Rourke delivery and it could well be in his head the following ball as he plays a flat footed poke, the edge is taken and pouched comfortably by Daryl Mitchell.
87th over: England 354-8 (Atkinson 23, Tongue 2) Tongue wafts at Foulkes and connects only with humid Nottinghamshire air. He gets wood on the next ball, guiding to point for a single. A leg bye keeps the scoreboard ticking, England trail by 84 runs.
86th over: England 352-8 (Atkinson 23, Tongue 1) Two singles to the score as Atkinson and Tongue poke O’Rourke behind square on the off side. Zak Foulkes is coming on for a bowl with the new Dukes. What a 24 hours he’s having by the way. He could torment England in the fourth innings too.
85th over: England 350-8 (Atkinson 22, Tongue 0) Josh Tongue joins Atkinson in the middle, England still trail by 88 runs. The match has swung back to New Zealand in the last couple of hours, that all important tricksy third innings coming up but a lead of 70 odd looks to be very handy on a pitch that is definitely starting break up.
WICKET! Jofra Archer c Mitchell b Smith 15 (England 350-8)
Smith gets some steepling bounce and gets rid of Archer with a snorter! Archer stands and stares at the spot on the wicket where the ball spat up at him, taking the shoulder of the bat and flying at a nice height to slip.
84th over: England 348-7 (Atkinson 22, Archer 13) Remember Joe Denly dropped one of the all time dollies agaisnt New Zealand in 2019? You do. Well Ben Sears has just put down a similarly simple sitter as Gus Atkinson plinks O’Rourke straight to him at midwicket and somehow… somehow the ball ends up on the turf. The crowd groan loudly as they see the replay on the big screen.
We’ve all been there. Haven’t we? You definitely have.
James Wallace
83rd over: England 348-7 (Atkinson 22, Archer 13) Thanks Tim and hello everyone. It’s cloudy and muggy here at Trent Bridge, ‘mafting’ you might say. The clouds have rolled over and the pitch is beginning to misbehave just a little, like a fractious toddler after a curtailed afternoon nap. Sears starts again after the drinks break, Gus Atkinson negotiates five balls and then glides a single past point to keep strike for the next.
New Zealand’s lead is still 90 runs. Handy.
Real drinks! NZ still on top
82nd over: England 347-7 (Atkinson 21, Archer 13) Back comes O’Rourke to share the new ball. He almost gets Jofra with a caught-and-bowled, but drops a tough chance and looks as if he has cut his finger. There’s blood on his shirt as the players stop for drinks. Sorry to have gone too soon with drinks – I was deceived by a change of channel from Sky, which led to a flurry of ads.
Time for me to hand over to Jim Wallace, who will bring some much-needed spark. Thanks for your company and top-class correspondence on everything from leg-cutters to serendipitous typos.
Drinks: NZ still on top
… but England are hanging in there.
81st over: England 345-7 (Atkinson 21, Archer 11) Latham takes the new ball right away and hands it to his star man, Nathan Smith. It can hardly do more than the old ball, and Archer has no trouble pushing into the covers for a two and a single. This partnership has added a measured 23 off 50 balls.
Latham burns his last review
80th over: England 342-7 (Atkinson 21, Archer 8) Sears sends a fullish ball into Atkinson’s pads, bringing a half-hearted appeal – and a brainless review. Even someone who can’t spot a leg-cutter can tell that this is proceeding in a straight line towards fine leg. And Tom Latham, who has handled his makeshift attack so well, is now all out of reviews. Atkinson celebrates with a flash for four. England trail by only 96!
79th over: England 338-7 (Atkinson 17, Archer 8) Archer tries to get after Santner, but his lusty drive brings only a single to deep mid-off. The TV director homes in on a gaggle of spectators who have come in Lederhosen.
78th over: England 336-7 (Atkinson 16, Archer 7) Sears finds some reverse swing, tailing it in, forcing Archer to make a late adjustment. Say what you like about England’s batting today, at least they’ve lasted long enough to see some reverse.
Meanwhile Mike Davies Daniels is back for another spell. “The reason I say it’s a cutter,” he writes, “is for those deliveries [Foulkes is] holding the seam at 90 degrees to the fingers and, with his action, dragging the fingers down the off-side of the ball, which is different from his inswinging, stock ball.
“I watched him bowling for Warks when he had a spell there and he’s capable of moving the ball but seemed to have a little difficulty keeping a consistent line and length. He’s undeniably dangerous on a wicket like this.”
77th over: England 335-7 (Atkinson 16, Archer 6) Tom Latham turns to spin for the first time today. Mitch Santner was taken to the cleaners yesterday by Duckett and Bethell (7-0-55-0) , but this over, nice and slow, is treated with due respect as each batter takes a single.
76th over: England 333-7 (Atkinson 14, Archer 5) On an afternoon that is merely hot rather than a scorcher, Jofra is warming to the task. He follows a comfy tuck for a single with a commanding cut for four.
“Hats off to Mike Davies!” says Rowan Sweeney. “Absolutely called it to perfection two overs ago!” That’s a contribution in the great Guardian tradition: observant, big-hearted, and slightly misprinted, as it was Mike Daniels.
75th over: England 327-7 (Atkinson 14, Archer 0) Foulkes, for once, fails to cut his cutter or seam his out-seamer. It goes on across Atkinson, who plays the thinnest of leg glances for four, well detected by Rod Tucker.
74th over: England 323-7 (Atkinson 10, Archer 0) Sears tries to york Atkinson, one tall man aiming at the other’s Achilles heel. Atkinson digs it out and collects a single to reach double figures. That leaves Jofra to cope with four balls, which he does, not very comfortably.
England still trail by 115, and New Zealand are now firm favourites to win the series. Even CricViz puts them ahead, by 40 per cent to 32. On TimViz, it’s about 55-25.
73rd over: England 322-7 (Atkinson 9, Archer 0) “And just like that!” says Mike Daniels, clearly convinced that that was a leg-cutter.
“It’s almost a cutter,” says Mike Atherton.
“Scrambled seam,” says Woakes.
Whatever you call it, it’s working a treat. Foulkes, who is here only as a concession sub, now has 2-30 from 13 overs.
WICKET!!! Brook b Foulkes 58 (England 322-7)
That’s it! The big one. Foulkes angles the ball in, Brook plays down what should be the right line, but the ball moves away and clips the top of off. It’s not the biggest mover he’s produced, but it’s just enough. “A lovely delivery,” says Chris Woakes.
72nd over: England 320-6 (Brook 56, Atkinson 9) Atkinson sees off another over from Sears: no runs, no wickets, no alarms. The game may be taking a siesta.
“We’ve been here before many times,” says Guy Hornsby, “but this session is not just crucial for this England team but could tilt attitudes further towards the England management’s exit. We may have started the day aiming for 500+ but we’re struggling to reach a hundred less, depending on an incredible but mercurial batter and the tail. Skittled out for 350-odd by a persistent NZ attack, will the knives be (even further) out? Or do we need to chill and wait for the next two days to play out?”
71st over: England 319-6 (Brook 55, Atkinson 9) It’s still Foulkes, and he’s still finding movement. Atkinson, like Stokes earlier, finally gets the memo and replies to Brook’s customary single with one of his own, allowing Brook to take another.
“Foulkes isn’t ‘seaming it’,” says Mike Daniels, “he’s bowling genuine leg cutters. If he can pitch it up a bit more, as he did to Stokes, he’s in business.” Yes, the length was very good too. Stokes went at it hard and missed by a mile.
70th over: England 316-6 (Brook 53, Atkinson 8) Ben Sears takes over from Nathan Smith. Brook flicks another single, Atkinson collects some more dots. He’s stuck around for 29 balls already, doing his job. As O’Rourke rejoins the fray, we see footage of the main excitement at lunchtime: the groundstaff laying some new turf over the hole that opened up in the middle of Sears’ run-up.
69th over: England 315-6 (Brook 52, Atkinson 8) Zak Foulkes continues, still digesting his lunch and no doubt savouring the scalp of Ben Stokes. Brook is beaten outside off by the first ball, takes a comfy single from the second, and then watches Atkinson survive the rest. Will O’Rourke is off the field, but the cameras have found him and he looks as if he’s about to return.
A classy email comes in over lunch. “I am constantly writing typos,” says Jeremy Yapp, “so I don’t judge and please forgive the pedantry.” Of course – I don’t have a leg to stand on myself… “But your typo at the end of over 63 hits the spot and sums up both my love and my despair regarding Harry Brook. His fluency really is, sounded out phonetically, his fkuency.”
Lunch! It’s NZ’s morning, but Brook survives
68th over: England 314-6 (Brook 51, Atkinson 8) Atkinson, facing Smith, plays his first ambitious shot, a well-timed clip for four.
England still trail by 124 and the New Zealanders go off for lunch delighted with their morning’s work. Led by Nathan Smith, they’ve taken four for 91, and as a bonus they’ve seen a dry pitch becoming thoroughly devious.
Cracks have opened, too in England’s batting, with neither Joe Root nor Jacob Bethell adding a run this morning, and Jamie Smith and Ben Stokes still at sixes and sevens. But Harry Brook is still there and where there’s Brook, there’s hope.