At Lord’s, day two: New Zealand 132 and 236-4 (D Mitchell 97 not out, T Blundell 90 not out) v England 141 (Z Crawley 43; T Southee 4-55, T Boult 3-21).
A majestic middle-order revival has given New Zealand a prime opportunity to steal an unlikely jump-start victory in their test series against England.
Daryl Mitchell (97*) and Tom Blundell (90*) combined for an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership worth 180 on day two of the first test at Lord’s in London to continue a sterling fightback from the Black Caps.
After a disastrous beginning to their three-test series, the visitors reached stumps at 236-4, a lead of 227 with six second-innings wickets in hand and three days remaining.
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Black Caps were in deep trouble against England but their bowlers dragged them back into the first test.
When Devon Conway was caught down the legside off Stuart Broad in the 23rd over to leave NZ reeling again at 56-4, there was a legitimate chance the five-day encounter would be over with three to spare and all the unsold tickets would count for nothing.
But Blundell and Mitchell registered the first individual half-centuries of the match before both drew close to tons at stumps.
Resuming their first innings at 116-7, England were dismissed for 141 as Tim Southee took 4-55 to limit the hosts’ advantage to just nine runs – something the Black Caps would have been delighted with after slumping to 12-4 within the opening hour of the encounter.
Twenty-three wickets had tumbled in the first four sessions as searching bowling lorded it over substandard batting.
It was the first time in 68 years that both teams were bowled out for less than 150 in the first innings of a test at Lord’s.
Mitchell helped knock England out of the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals last year and again proved a frustrating foil for the hosts and new coach Brendon McCullum, hitting 11 fours from 188 balls.
Blundell’s innings was an ugly grind to begin with, as he hunched over his bat and pushed himself to simply stay in with his batting partner.
But after surviving for 50 balls, the wicketkeeper had played himself in and began to flourish, with his attacking game emerging as he struck 12 fours from 182 balls.
England, desperate for a breakthrough after tea, resorted to a short-ball approach from skipper Ben Stokes to a stacked leg-side field, but it produced no reward.
The big moment
With his score on 22 and NZ still perilously placed at 73-4, Mitchell launched an extravagant drive at James Anderson, which caught the edge of his bat and flew narrowly high and wide of third slip to the boundary.
He then played and missed the next ball with another loose drive, and given England’s slip catching had been excellent, the slightest reversal of fortune to those deliveries would likely have put the hosts in a position of power.
Best with the bat
While he is only playing his 10th test, Mitchell is still a crafty veteran who knows his game precisely.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell finished 97 not out at stumps on day two of the first test against England at Lord’s.
He has certain well-defined strokes and areas for scoring, and combines them with dogged head-down defence.
Standing out of his crease, the right-hander nullified Anderson, Stuart Broad and impressive debutant Matthew Potts and was rarely troubled by wayward rookie legspinner Matt Parkinson.
Best with the ball
Tim Southee loves Lord’s.
In eight innings at “The Home of Cricket”, the 33-year-old has captured a remarkable 31 wickets.
On Friday night (NZ time), Southee helped clean up England’s tail with two wickets and finished with 4-55 off 14 overs to help keep his team truly in the contest.
Southee now needs just three more wickets in the match to go clear of NZ’s greatest wicket-taker Sir Richard Hadlee and Australia’s Glenn McGrath as the leading overseas wicket-taker in tests at Lord’s.
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Tim Southee of New Zealand celebrates with team-mates after dismissing Ben Foakes of England during day two of the first test.
He also has more wickets against England – who he debuted against in 2008 – than any other team.
The big picture
Not only did the huge fifth-wicket partnership put New Zealand in a position to dictate terms, it gave their quick bowlers a longer break than the hosts had.
Veterans Anderson and Broad weren’t as sharp on day two as they had been on the opening day of the series, while Southee, Trent Boult and Kyle Jamieson were able to put their feet up all afternoon.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel may also now figure in England’s second innings after not being required in the home side’s first turn at bat.
