Root drags England fight into final day against NZ

By

Cricket Correspondent at The Kia Oval

Second Rothesay Test, The Kia Oval (day four of five)

New Zealand 391 (Phillips 100) & 362 (Nicholls 121, Ravindra 76, Mitchell 68)

England 291 (Gay 53, Fisher 50*; Henry 5-80) & 182-5 (Root 75*, Brook 58; Jamieson 3-37)

England require 281 more runs, New Zealand need five wickets

Scorecard

Joe Root stands between England and defeat in the second Test against New Zealand on a day when absent captain Ben Stokes made 95 for Durham.

Set a world record 463 to win at The Oval, England were reeling at 40-3 and in danger of not seeing out the fourth day.

At the same time, Stokes, unavailable for this Test pending an investigation into an incident at a London nightclub, was making his highest score in any cricket since a century in the fourth Test against India almost a year ago.

But with the exiled skipper at the crease 275 miles away, stand-in captain Root began a typically masterful unbeaten 75 to take England's rearguard into the final day.

Root received a standing ovation on only two as he became the second man after Indian great Sachin Tendulkar to reach 14,000 Test runs.

He shared a thrilling stand of 97 with Harry Brook, the vice-captain largely aggressive for his 58. Both Root and Brook overturned being given lbw to Matt Henry, who eventually had Brook held at slip.

James Rew erased any lingering fears of a four-day finish, only to be lbw on review to Kyle Jamieson in the dying moments, leaving England 182-5 and New Zealand one wicket from the tail.

England hold a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

This extraordinary fortnight in English cricket, with Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson stood down for the second Test after breaking a curfew, will almost certainly end in the series level at 1-1.

Two stories have played out concurrently. At The Oval, an inexperienced England team have been exposed by the efficient New Zealanders, while in Durham, Stokes plays for his county in the hope he will return to captaining his country in a decider at Trent Bridge.

On Saturday, the narratives intertwined while a trio of England captains batted simultaneously. Root is both Stokes' predecessor and stand-in. Brook is probably Stokes' successor and may have been the substitute here had it not been for his own nightclub incident in Wellington in October.

It added a layer of absurdity to a saga that cannot end quickly enough, with formal announcements expected at the conclusion of this Test.

In a time of crisis, England turned to Root. While this match may have reminded him why he gave up the captaincy four years ago, he has once again held together a batting line-up that risked imploding.

Brook's cameo was exhilarating, a reason to be distracted from Stokes' knock in Durham. Still, it is the remaining presence of Root that gives England hope of battling deep into Sunday.

Discussing Root as a stand-in captain, director of cricket Rob Key said the Yorkshireman regularly rescues England from 10-2. Key was close. In England's second innings it was 13-2.

Emilio Gay chipped Jamieson to mid-wicket and Jacob Bethell's worrying form continued when he was lbw to the same bowler for a duck. Root arrived to tick off yet another milestone in his glittering career, then Ben Duckett tamely hooked Will O'Rourke to mid-on.

Root was joined by Brook just before tea and, after the break, England launched a blistering assault. The opening five overs of the session, the first of which was a maiden, yielded 43 runs. The atmosphere was electric.

Root dabbed, cut and guided to the third man fence. He was the first to overturn an lbw decision off Henry - once again bowling with wicketkeeper Tom Blundell up to the stumps - because of an inside edge. Root was on 44 at the time.

Brook showed touches of genius. He whipped a six over square leg and slashed the ball through the off side in a 33-ball half-century. Brook also got an inside edge on a Henry lbw shout, only to jab the relentless seamer to slip.

Brook's exit was a moment of danger for England, but debutant Rew followed an improved wicketkeeping display by showing composure for his 15. He was unfortunate to be leg before on review to Jamieson, missing a pull to a ball that skidded through and hit him above his pads.

Brook's first act of the day was a foreboding one for England. From the opening delivery, bowled by Archer, Brook was to slow move to his right and missed an edge off Daryl Mitchell that should have been caught.

But, in the circumstances, England did well to recover and their work with the ball and in the field across the first half of the day was creditable. From New Zealand's overnight 252-3, England took the last seven wickets for 110 runs.

Jofra Archer was again impressive, first having Henry Nicholls edge to slip for 121, then being brought back into the attack to have Glenn Phillips held at gully.

Most success went to Matthew Fisher, who claimed three wickets, despite not being used until 10 minutes before lunch.

With wicketkeeper Rew up to the stumps, Daryl Mitchell tried a scoop and was bowled for 68, a swiping Jamieson lost his middle stump and Nathan Smith holed for 38.

After dropping two catches on Friday, Rew had a better day behind the stumps, including catching the rebound when Root dropped Blundell at leg slip off Josh Tongue.