On Sunday at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, New Zealand seized firm control of the third and series-deciding Test match against England, closing the first session of Day 4 at 180 for four wickets. That score gave the side an unassailable 264-run lead heading into the middle period of the day, with young all-rounder Rachin Ravindra falling agonizingly short of a sixth international century just before the lunch break.
Resuming the morning at 120-3, Ravindra and veteran batsman Daryl Mitchell faced a challenging pitch that was producing increasingly inconsistent bounce, yet the pair managed to build a solid, match-changing partnership. Their 129-run stand for the fourth wicket came together when New Zealand was in a precarious position at 51-3 on Day 3, pulling the side out of early trouble to turn the tide of the match.
Ravindra, who had looked in imperious form throughout his innings, was finally trapped leg before wicket by England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir when he was just six runs away from a well-deserved century, ending his knock at 94. At the end of the opening session, Mitchell remained unbeaten on 47, while wicket-keeper Tom Blundell had not yet scored, sitting on 0 not out. Through 25 overs of tightly contested play, New Zealand added 60 runs to their overnight total.
Beyond the day’s play, the series itself carries historic stakes for both sides. New Zealand has not won a multi-Test series of three matches or more on English soil since 1999, a drought the side is keen to end on this tour. For England, the pressure is mounting: the side has not dropped a home multi-Test series since 2012, but a defeat here would heap significant additional scrutiny on the team’s leadership.
That pressure already builds after a humiliating 4-1 Ashes defeat to Australia last year, and ongoing questions about the squad’s culture and professionalism have lingered following the controversial disciplinary dropping of star all-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson ahead of the second Test of this series. With New Zealand firmly in the driver’s seat, England faces an uphill battle to avoid a historic home series loss.