ENG vs NZ: Henry's fiver-for, Nicholls' ton bring New Zealand in command on Day 3

New Zealand finished Day 3 of the second Test against England in a commanding position, on 252/3, leading by 352 runs in the second innings at the Oval. Henry Nicholls (119*) and Daryl Mitchell (32*) were at the crease for the Kiwis, who’re now dictating terms in the Test match after England were skittled for 291 in their first innings.

The hosts resumed their innings earlier on day 3, on 222/6 with Jordan Cox (22*) and Jofra Archer (0*) at the crease, trailing by 169 runs. Cox and Archer started the day positively, dealing in boundaries trying to whittle away the deficit. It didn’t take long for Matt Henry (5/80) to find the edge of Jordan Cox’s (27 off 55) bat, which carried straight to Tom Latham behind the stumps.

The right-arm seamer also accounted for Archer (8 off 23) and Josh Tongue (1 off 12) cheaply, leaving England on 238/9. As wickets began to tumble, Matthew Fisher showed great application at the crease and scored his maiden half-century (50* off 77), to help England reduce the deficit alongside Sonny Baker (4 off 36).

The duo batted out the first session, adding 53 runs for the last wicket, as England eventually finished their innings on 291 at the stroke of lunch. In the second session, New Zealand again had a miserable start as Jofra Archer made Tom Latham (4 off 5) edge to James Rew behind the stumps.

Ravindra, Nicholls rescue New Zealand

On the other hand, Josh Tongue made Devon Conway (11 off 26) poke at a widish delivery and got caught at second slip, leaving New Zealand on 28/2. Having exposed the Kiwi middle order, England were hoping to skittle them for a low score to avoid chasing a massive score in the fourth innings.

However, their hopes were crushed by Rachin Ravindra (76 off 99) and Henry Nicholls, who got involved in a massive 161-run stand off 201 balls for the fourth wicket to deflate England. Ravindra brought up his sixth half-century in Test cricket, while Henry Nicholls scored a spectacular century, making his comeback to the Test team after ten months.

Nicholls repays faith with a classy century

Nicholls had massive shoes to fill, having been brought into the team in place of Kane Williamson, who announced his retirement in the lead-up to the Test. However, he did full justice to the selectors’ faith, bringing up his 11^th Test hundred.

England managed to get some success late in the day as the golden arm of Jacob Bethell struck again to remove Ravindra, getting him out lbw. However, Daryl Mitchell came out batting at the same tempo and took New Zealand to stumps alongside Nicholls with an unbeaten 63-run stand for the fourth wicket.