NZ level series with emphatic win as Stokes set for England return

LONDON: New Zealand drew level in the three-match Test series with a commanding 253-run victory over England at the Oval on Sunday, with Matt Henry producing a match-winning display before England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed Ben Stokes would return as captain for the decider.

England had left Stokes out of the second Test after he breached the team curfew following the win at Lord’s, but McCullum said after the match that the all-rounder would be back for the next game.

“Ben will be back. He’ll be back as captain,” said England head coach Brendon McCullum after the match.

The deciding third Test is due to be played in Nottingham next week after New Zealand squared the series at 1-1 in just 48 minutes of play on the fifth morning.

Henry rips through England

Set a record 463 to win, England resumed on 182-5 overnight needing another 281 runs, but their innings quickly unravelled. Henry removed four batters without conceding a run in the space of 12 balls as the hosts slumped to 192-9 before being bowled out for 209.

The seamer ended with figures of 6-29 in the second innings and 11-109 in the match after also taking 5-80 in England’s first innings. It was his first 10-wicket haul in Test cricket and, according to the match report, the best figures by a New Zealand bowler against England, bettering Dion Nash’s 11-169 at Lord’s in 1994.

Henry, who was named player of the match, said New Zealand’s approach with the ball had been to keep applying pressure.

“I probably didn’t expect things to unfold like that today,” said Henry, the player of the match. “With the ball, we talked about being relentless. We stuck at it and it was nice to get the rewards.”

New Zealand captain Tom Latham said the tourists had identified a simple method on the Oval surface and backed Henry to execute it.

“We thought hitting the top of off stump repetitively was the way to go on this surface and Matt Henry is a good exponent of that…He has been a spearhead for some time.”

Root falls and tail collapses

England’s slim hopes rested with stand-in captain Joe Root, who was unbeaten on 75 at the close on Saturday. He added only two more runs before being trapped lbw by Henry for 77.

Two deliveries later, Jofra Archer was bowled without scoring by a ball that stayed low. Matthew Fisher, who had made his maiden Test fifty in the first innings, was then bowled for nought, and Josh Tongue edged to Daryl Mitchell at slip for a golden duck off the next ball.

Henry, who had been troubled by back spasms at Lord’s, claimed successive double-wicket maidens — a rare feat in Test cricket. He completed the win by bowling Jordan Cox.

New Zealand’s victory was built on strong contributions across the match, including centuries from Glenn Phillips and Henry Nicholls. Nicholls was playing in place of retired batting great Kane Williamson.

ECB recalls Stokes and Atkinson

Before play began on Sunday, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that Stokes and Gus Atkinson, who had also been left out this week over the curfew breach, had been withdrawn from county duty with Durham and Surrey respectively. Both were later named in England’s 15-man squad for the Trent Bridge Test.

The ECB said the pair had received written warnings for breaching “specific contractual obligations” requiring England players to uphold the highest standards of conduct and act in the best interests of England cricket.

At the same time, the board said neither player was responsible for a violent altercation in a London nightclub involving Saracens rugby player Totoa Auvaa. According to the ECB, Stokes neither took part in nor witnessed Auvaa’s two attempts to confront Atkinson, while Atkinson was described as “the victim of unprovoked attacks” and the board said he did not retaliate.

New Zealand made 391 in their first innings and 362 in the second. England replied with 291 before being dismissed for 209 in their chase. Glenn Phillips made 100 in New Zealand’s first innings, while Henry Nicholls scored 121 in the second. For England, E. Gay top-scored with 53 in the first innings, and Harry Brook made 58 in the second.