Lunch New Zealand 418 for 7 (Blundell 18*, Smith 4*) vs England
England, led by a typically tenacious bowling display from their captain, Ben Stokes, continued to claw back ground against New Zealand on the morning of day two. Stokes took all three wickets to fall during an eight-over spell, as New Zealand's middle order struggled to build on the 317-run foundation laid by the openers.
Having lost two wickets off the last two balls of day one, the tourists added 57 to their overnight 361 for 4 during the session, with Tom Blundell, unbeaten on 18, their best chance of pressing on towards 500 - a total that looked all but inevitable when Tom Latham and Devon Conway were cashing in twin 150s after New Zealand had opted to bat in baking conditions.
Their frustration at being pegged back perhaps added to a sense of grievance around the dismissals of Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner, with both given out by the third umpire, Adrian Holdstock, after reviews.
The mercury was still rising on the second morning, with temperatures in the mid-30s C again forecast. And with Mitchell fresh at the crease alongside the nightwatcher, Will O'Rourke, New Zealand made a largely circumspect start in the knowledge that another long day in the field for England would only strengthen their hand in this deciding Test.
Mitchell's lone boundary came when trying to leave Josh Tongue's first delivery, the ball clipping the under-edge and running away fine. It was O'Rourke who provided the main impetus inside the first hour as he advanced to his highest score in first-class cricket - beating the 17 not out he had made for Canterbury against Otago in March 2023.
It only took him two shots to record a new Test best, squeezing out two off Tongue and then guiding Jofra Archer past the slips for four (possibly while trying to withdraw the bat). A more genuine punch through point followed, as well as a thick edge off Tongue that might have gone to third slip if England had posted one. Another slash wide of gully off Stokes took O'Rourke to 19, and England then fluffed their first chance of a breakthrough as Jamie Smith dived across first slip in pursuit of a thick outside edge, but only managed to fingertip the ball out of Joe Root's grasp.
Stokes, already a shade of beetroot, threw his arms up in anger but bent himself to the task and extracted Mitchell an over later. Umpire Nitin Menon did not initially grant the appeal as Stokes nipped one past the bat, but UltraEdge detected a feather of an outside edge; Mitchell, however, seemed to think the sound was his bat hitting his front pad as he pushed forward.
New Zealand had added 32 for 1 in the first hour, and O'Rourke was then dismissed without having added to his score following the drop: Stokes bashing a shorter length and winning reward as the nightwatcher heaved a golf swing only to send a top-edge to point.
Blundell, who made a century on this ground four years ago in the Test that birthed Bazball, snatched some of the momentum back by taking Gus Atkinson for 14 in an over with three fours - two driven and one dabbed to third - to steer New Zealand past 400. But Stokes then chipped out his third of the session, and 250th in Tests, when Santner ducked into a bouncer and ballooned a catch to Jacob Bethell in the gully.
Santner reviewed, gesturing to Stokes that the ball had struck him on the arm guard. But Holdstock, in the TV umpire seat, took barely 30 seconds to examine one front-on replay before concluding that there was also contact with the strap of his glove, and upholding the on-field call.
