Root 163* leads England's batting day out

Joe Root extended his rich vein of form, registering his second successive Test ton and his 10th since January 2021, as England closed in on New Zealand's total of 553. Ollie Pope (145), who registered his second Test hundred, was involved in a 187-run partnership with Root while Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes were associated in half-century stands with the No. 4 batter as England batted positively throughout Day 3 at Trent Bridge. Root was unbeaten on 163 off 200, having contributed more than 40 per cent of the 383 runs scored in the day in 88 overs at a rate of 4.35, as England went into Stumps on Sunday (June 12) only 80 short of New Zealand's first-innings total.

Pope and Alex Lees stretched their overnight partnership to 141 in a productive first session for the batters, with 105 runs coming at a rate of 3.75. There were a series of cover drives from both batters while Lees got to his maiden fifty with a four to square leg off Kyle Jamieson. Pope also edged a couple of times but the ball landed short of slips on both occasions. Lees, meanwhile, extended his fours tally to 11 but got a bit too ambitious as he tried to drive a Matt Henry delivery away from his body and edged it to Daryl Mitchell at slip to depart for a well-made 67. Root then got going straight away, stroking seven fours in the short period before Lunch. Two of those fours were edges, including one off Trent Boult that travelled to second slip where Tim Southee leapt but couldn't hold on to a tough chance.

England scored even quicker in the second session, getting 136 runs at a run-rate of 4.85 thanks to Root continuing his positive approach. Pope got to three figures early in the session and even executed an upper cut for a six off Henry. But it was the former England captain who dominated the partnership, scoring boundaries at regular intervals. There were nine fours struck in the first hour after Lunch while seven were scored in the second half of the session, as Root raced to a 116-ball century. Apart from a top-edged sweep off Southee that landed clear of the fielders, Root looked in supreme control as England continued to make merry with the bat.

Having endured a wicketless second session, New Zealand came back strongly after Tea with a shiny Dukes ball that was only two overs old. Boult delivered two quick strikes, first having Pope top-edge a pull to fine leg and then sending Jonny Bairstow back with a delivery that swung in sharply and clipping the glove en route to the 'keeper. The DRS came to New Zealand's aid and confirmed the incidence of these events. The next man in, Stokes, began with a string of boundaries, including one over mid-off coming down the track to Southee. He also negated Boult's threat with four fours off the left-armer while he struck a six off Jamieson before the bowler walked off the field with what was later revealed an issue with the lower back.

Henry, who had conceded 106 runs off the 20 overs he had bowled before the final session, continued to leak runs as Root cut the pacer for his first four after Tea. Root also struck a boundary off Michael Bracewell coming down the track while Stokes went straight over the spinner's head for a six to power England past 400. However, the England captain's attempted slog-sweep in the same over resulted in his dismissal, ending a partnership worth 61. New Zealand lost a review for a leg-before decision against Root while Ben Foakes used the DRS successfully to overturn a caught-behind decision - both happening in the same over off Henry. They also lost their second review going for a leg-before appeal when Root missed a sweep off Bracewell.

Unlike the previous partnerships, Root and Foakes dealt mostly in singles and were watchful at the start of their stand. Foakes also had a lucky break, put down by Will Young at backward square leg to deny Southee a wicket. Foakes then struck a four off Southee, as did Root. The former England captain then struck three boundaries in an over off the same bowler, bringing up 150 off 181 deliveries as England crossed 450. Foakes played a cover drive for a four off Henry while Root struck a cover-driven boundary off Boult in the final over as England finished with 142 runs in only 32 overs in the last session to cap off a good day with the bat.

Brief scores: New Zealand 553 lead England 473/5 (Joe Root 163*, Ollie Pope 145, Alex Lees 67; Trent Boult 3-89, Michael Bracewell 1-48) by 80 runs.