England said
they were going to go for the win, and here is the proof of their pudding. Ben Stokes salutes a rapt crowd as he marches back to the pavilion. What a tremendous display from the skipper. Second fiddle in spite of making 75 not out from 70 balls, he ceded the post-tea stage to one of the most astonishing onslaughts ever seen in Test cricket. Jonny Bairstow’s 77-ball hundred, and 136 from 92 all told, tore this game from New Zealand’s grasp, just when it seemed that the massive wicket of Joe Root was going to tip the game their way.
Alex Lees
played a massive part too, with 44 including an agenda-setting sprint-start, and Ben Foakes was a calm companion to the close, to continue a fine personal series. For New Zealand, there’s no pretty reading. The absence of Jamieson to a back injury was crucial – it left too much on their remaining trio of quicks, including an off-color Tim Southee. Trent Boult never gave up with eight wickets in the match, but with a massive 1675 runs in the entire game, this was not a game in which to be a bowler.
Tom Latham
“At tea it was still in the balance but the way Jonny and Ben were able to play was outstanding. A great surface to bat on, wickets hard to come by, to be in with a chance at tea, a couple of wickets there and it’s a different story. A bowler down doesn’t help but they kept coming back and wanting the ball.
“When Jonny plays an innings like that it makes it harder, emotions raw, pretty gutted, another chance at Headingley. Daryl Mitchell has played fantastically well, a great fighter for us. We have a bit of a gap to the next one, a lot of families here, with the WTC on the line, however many we can get is great.”
Ollie Pope
“I was very clear about him being in my team, the word that gets used is repaying the faith, but he doesn’t owe us anything. We’ve seen what he’s all about this week. A huge shout-out to Nottingham for what they did, don’t under-estimate the power of a home crowd.”
Ben Stokes:
“Got to give credit to the boys for all five days, phenomenal performance. Today was set up perfectly for how we want to go about it, run into the danger rather than back away or stand still. Credit to Leesy at the top again, two really important knocks for the team again, everyone’s contributed. Test cricket isn’t necessarily about what you’ve seen there, but we wanted to put pressure back on their attack, a seamer down a huge advantage, and once Jonny gets his “Jonny eyes” there’s no stopping him. Foakesy gives the bowlers confidence and the slips confidence, and a vital knock. The way we bowled, out there a long time, change of plans but have to be proactive, not reactive.
The Player of the Match is Jonny Bairstow for his blitzkrieg hundred.
“It was great fun, one of those things when you get in that mood, just go with it. Do or die, so you’ve got to do. Not sure about ‘picking the right ball’… strip it back, it’s only you and the bowler there. Just watch the ball, that’s the zone and you have to get in it. Can’t say I’d looked back to [Jessop] in 1902. Cheese and ham toastie, and a coffee. Don’t even think about hitting one down, hit it into the stands. When there have been so many runs scored in the game, you don’t look at it as a record run-chase, we saw it as a one-day game. Pitch good, outfield fast, positive approach, the brand of cricket, and the players who can play that brand of cricket. Let’s see what’s going to happen because it’s going to be a journey.
The pitch was good, and that never-say-die attitude allowed people to go and flourish. Joe and Popey set up the way we capitalised at the end. This is No.1 for me, tricky not to be, a lot of chatter around England’s Test cricket, some of it’s been harsh, but we’ve battled through a few things. And if we can keep close as a group and go forward, the sky is the limit.”
England vs New Zealand Highlights today Tuesday, 14-6-2022 – 2nd Test, New Zealand tour of England from Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
England, elected to bowl first.
England team: Lees, Crawley, Pope, Root, Bairstow, Stokes (capt), Foakes (wk), Potts, Leach, Broad, Anderson.
New Zealand team: Latham (capt), Young, Conway, Nicholls, Mitchell, Blundell (wk), Bracewell, Jamieson, Southee, Henry, Boult.
Head to Head In ODI’s: 108
Eng Won: 49
NZ Won: 12
Match Timings: 10:00 GMT | 11:00 Local
Umpires – Michael Goug, Paul Reiffel
TV Umpires – Rod Tucker
Match Referee – Richie Richardson
Reserve Umpire – Martin Saggers
Match number – Test no. 2465
