Things can change quickly in cricket. Just as England thought a reset had occurred with the win at Lord’s, only for a late night in Chelsea and defeat at the Oval to put paid to that notion, so the nature of the pitch lurched significantly on a gripping third day here.
Gone was the road on which the ball repeatedly raced across the parched outfield during the first two days and in its place – influenced by a slight drop in temperature and cloud cover – was a more capricious strip of earth. It offered lateral movement and inconsistent bounce, and led to 11 wickets falling.
Batting was never more challenging than when Jofra Archer was cruising in from the Stuart Broad End after tea with a box-fresh Dukes ball in hand. He vaporised New Zealand’s two first-innings centurions in Tom Latham and Devon Conway in the space of 13 deliveries, none of which looked pleasant to face.
The removal of Conway underlined the gear shift, Archer cracking the left-hander on the back of the helmet and then teasing an edge to slip with some extra zip off a length. Not since Callum Hudson-Odoi stuck two past Tottenham at the City Ground last December has a double been so enjoyed on Trentside.
The problem for England – and not least a leadership team in desperate need of a series win – was that Archer’s sizzling intervention followed the loss of eight for 130 in the first two sessions and an 84-run deficit on first innings.
By the close, New Zealand had managed to stretch that lead to 204 for the loss of one more wicket. Rachin Ravindra, 60no, and Daryl Mitchell, on 26, repelled everything England threw at them and can put their side within striking distance of a 2-1 series win with further progress on day four.
Tradition dictates we delve into the bucket of cliches about this New Zealand team and use words like resourcefulness and spirit. It was hard to escape them, not least after they lost Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson before this decider and then had Blair Tickner subbed out with concussion on day two.
Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke were known quantities, with the pair dismissing Joe Root, 21, and Jacob Bethell, 74, in the opening exchanges. Root was pinned lbw by Smith – footwork once again hobbled by Tom Blundell stood up to the stumps – while Bethell poked at a ball sliding across him.
Less known was Zak Foulkes, who, after replacing Tickner, appeared relatively innocuous at first – a quirky medium-pacer whose front leg points to three o’clock in his delivery stride. After Nathan Smith removed Jamie Smith to make it three wickets inside the first half an hour, Foulkes proved a gamechanger.
Ben Stokes had walked out to a standing ovation at 234 for five and a wider belief that a belligerent 95 against Northamptonshire last week might have unlocked some form. Instead, he was bowled for 15 by Foulkes, the ball jagging in significantly from around the wicket and beating an expansive drive.
Indicative of the struggle – and the asphyxia once again caused by Blundell’s proximity – was Harry Brook making the slowest half-century of his Test career en route to 58 from 80 balls. When he fell to Foulkes after lunch – off-stump rattled by one that nipped away – it set the train in motion for 354 all out in 88.2 overs.
There were some slapstick moments along the way, be it repeat stoppages to fix an issue with the run-ups at the Stuart Broad End – cue the emergence of the groundsman’s giant earth-thumper – or Ben Sears grassing a dolly of catch at mid-on off Gus Atkinson to deny an aghast O’Rourke.
But Nathan Smith, O’Rourke and, finally, Foulkes ensured that miss counted for little with a proficient mop-up job. Smith’s removal of Archer to finish with four for 91 – a lifter gloved to slip – was another sign that this was a batting paradise lost. It was also a reward for the waspish all-rounder’s relentless line of attack.
New Zealand could easily have been rattled when Archer fired up in response and his five-over burst began by trapping Latham plumb lbw sixth ball. But even with Atkinson getting another delivery to rise and nick off Henry Nicholls for 16, Ravindra and Mitchell chiselled away for an unbroken 69-run stand.
Ravindra was in princely form, moving fluently from the outset and forcing the field to spread with early boundaries, before England managed to apply the brakes. What Stokes and his team need on day four are seven more wickets, however, and for another lurch in conditions come the chase.
If not, then the issues last winter, and the late night in Chelsea that dredged them back to the surface, could well bring change behind the scenes.
