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Key events
68th over: England 296-5 (Brook 121, Stokes 25)
67th over: England 294-5 (Brook 120, Stokes 24) Brook averages 92 in away Tests, second only to Don Bradman of those who have batted at least five times overseas. That includes six of his seven Test centuries so far.
Phillips saves three runs with a flying stop at backward point. England have scored so many runs behind square on the off side today; Stokes ads two more with a deft steer. England trail by 54.
66th over: England 287-5 (Brook 116, Stokes 21) Stokes is batting like Ben Foakes at No7 – but that’s fine as he’s with a free-flowing top-order batter. If he’s left with Nos 10 and 11, Stokes’ approach will change faster than you can say “six more”.
Back where our feet are, Nathan Smith comes back for one more spell before ethe close. He jags one back to hit Brook in the ribs, another reminder that, even with the old ball, there is still a bit in this pitch. Stokes then top-edges a hook for four to move to 21 from 45 deliveries.
New Zealand desperately need to take at least one wicket beofre the close; they have half an hour to do so.
65th over: England 279-5 (Brook 113, Stokes 16) I wonder which top-order batter has been dropped the most in a single innings. I think England dropped Adam Gilchrist four times, the same as Brook today, when he made 90 at Lord’s in 2001. A few of those were sitters as well.
64th over: England 279-5 (Brook 113, Stokes 16) O’Rourke cuts Brook in half with a beauty that cuts back off the seam. He looks horrible to face, especially when he gets the ball to follow the right-handers, and figures of 16-1-82-1 don’t do justice to his performance today.
The last four of those runs came from a Stokes slash that flew between slip and gully. Life moves pretty fast: 42 overs ago, England were 71 for 4 and in all sorts.
63rd over: England 274-5 (Brook 112, Stokes 12) Matt Henry returns with New Zealand in urgent need of a wicket or three. Brook gets more than halfway down the track before being sent back by Stokes and has to scramble to make his ground. The throw missed anyway and it’s a maiden from Henry.
Stokes, taking his own sweet time, has made 12 from 40 balls. Brook has 112 from 133.
62nd over: England 274-5 (Brook 112, Stokes 12) Has Brook been dropped again? He flicked at a legside delivery from O’Rourke which was then dropped by Blundell and ran away for four.
The umpire gave four leg-byes but Steve Harmison in the commentary box thinks Brook got a touch on it. Replays show he’s right! Brook has been dropped for the fourth time. It looked a pretty straightforward chance for Blundell, although there’s a chance it might have wobbled at the last. Even so, he should have caught it.
A hugely frustrating over for New Zealand ends with Brook inside-edging just past the stumps and away for ofur.
Harry Brook reaches his seventh Test century
61st over: England 262-5 (Brook 104, Stokes 12) That’ll do! Harry Brook back cuts Southee for four to reach an exhilarating century: 123 balls, eight fours, two sixes. He’s been dropped three times – three times! – but has also played some glorious strokes.
Brook’s celebration is modest: he raises both arms before pointing his bat skywards to salute his late grandmother Pauline.
60th over: England 255-5 (Brook 97, Stokes 12) I forgot to say that this is the first time Stokes has been down to bat No7 in a Test since the Marlon Samuels salute game in the Caribbean in 2015. He’s come in at No7 on a number of occasions since but only ever because of a nightwatchman or a reshuffle.
Harry Brook, a man who will surely never bat No7 in his Test career, takes a couple of singles to move closer to his seventh Test hundred.
59th over: England 251-5 (Brook 95, Stokes 10) Harry Brook, on 91, deliberately ramps Southee over the keeper’s head for four. That’s outrageous. He lost his balance and ended up lying his back, Rishabh Pant-style. The only difference is that Pant would have hit it for six.
58th over: England 243-5 (Brook 88, Stokes 9) Stokes cuts the new bowler O’Rourke to the right of Phillips at gully. Phillips dives to save the boundary and flings the ball at the stumps in the same movement, forcing Stokes to scramble to make his ground. He’s one of the all-time great fielders.
The next ball is a nasty 89mph lifter that beats Stokes, who smiles at the inherent absurdity of nostalgia impossibility of playing a ball like that when you’ve just come to the crease. This could be a fun contest because neither player will back down. Stokes swivel-pulls smoothly for four, his first boundary of the innings, then moves inside another sharp lifter.
Time for drinks. England trail by 105 runs.
57th over: England 237-5 (Brook 87, Stokes 4) Stokes has started in a manner that suggests he means business. He’s barely offering a stroke, and when he does it’s usually a watertight forward defensive. Most of his best innings have started this way, most notably Headingley 2019 and Lord’s 2023.
We don’t know whether Stokes is in sufficiently good nick to make runs but he looks in a good place mentally, with none of the cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof stuff we saw in Pakistan. He hasn’t even thrown his bat at square leg for heaven’s sake.
56th over: England 233-5 (Brook 86, Stokes 1) Short and wide from Smith, which allows Brook to slash a deliberate boundary over the slips. A reminder that he was dropped on 18, 41 and 70, a festival of buttered fingers that could cost New Zealand the game.
55th over: England 226-5 (Brook 79, Stokes 1) Stokes nails a nice drive off Southee that is stopped in the covers. Then he has a dangerous flirt outside off stump and is beaten. A maiden.
54th over: England 226-5 (Brook 79, Stokes 1) Stokes flicks Smith for a single to get off the mark from his eighth ball. This is an important series for him – he’s down at No7, which makes sense but also feels unbecoming, and he needs runs after a pretty modest 2024.
Stokes’ away form is a particular concern given the focus on you know what. Since batting imperiously in South Africa just before Covid, Stokes averages 25 from 25 Tests away from home.
53rd over: England 222-5 (Brook 76, Stokes 0) New Zealand and England never let us down, do they? Every series they play is topsy-turvy, even the ones that end 3-0. We’ve already had multiple momentum shifts in this game and Pope’s wicket could be the catalyst for another.
WICKET! England 222-5 (Pope c Phillips b Southee 77)
Glenn Phillips ends the partnership with a stunning catch! Pope slashed a back cut off the new bowler Southee, a shot he has played all day, but this time Phillips flew to his right and stretched to take a one-handed blinder. We’ve seen Phillips do it several times but it still takes the breath away.
With the possible exception of myself, I’m not sure any other fielder in the world would have caught that. Pope goes for a fabulous counter-attacking 77 from 98 balls.
52nd over: England 222-4 (Brook 76, Pope 77) Brook takes a single off Smith to bring up a riotous 150 partnership in barely 30 overs. As well as substantially reducing the deficit, it has given England’s lower middle order a great chance to punish a tiring New Zealand attack tonight.
Brook dropped for the third time!
51st over: England 219-4 (Brook 75, Pope 75) This is getting silly. New Zealand are normally so reliable in the field but today they’ve put down five chances. Brook hoicked Phillips high towards deep midwicket, where Conway shelled an awkward runnings chance.
50th over: England 213-4 (Brook 70, Pope 74) The speed at which England score means games can change at dizzying speed, especially when they are relatively low-scoring. It’s less then 30 overs since the dismissal of Ben Duckett put New Zealand in complete control; now they are arguably second favourites. They could do with a timeout, even a drinks break, to compose themselves and discuss bowling plans.
That’s not an option just yet so Nathan Smith returns to the attack. Brook charges a short ball, is hit in the gut and gets four leg-byes for King and country when the ball deflects past the diving Blundell. It was a no-ball as well.
49th over: England 206-4 (Brook 69, Pope 74) Latham stations himself at short mid-on and is almost in business when Pope jabs at Phillips with those familiar hard hands. The ball reaches Latham on the bounce.
Pope continues to attack, thumping Phillips inside out through the covers for three. Brook works a single to bring up 2000 Test runs at the startling average of 58.82. This is his 36th innings, which puts him joint-eighth on the all-time list with Viv Richards and Arthur Morris among others.
48th over: England 200-4 (Brook 67, Pope 70) Pope drives O’Rourke sweetly through mid-off for three; Brook pulls him brusquely through midwicket with the same result.
New Zealand are under serious pressure for the first time in the field. England are only 148 runs behind, the ball is getting old and, crucially, are no longer riding their luck with the bat.
47th over: England 191-4 (Brook 63, Pope 66) Pope works Phillips for two to reach 3000 runs in Tests. His overall average is modest (34.49) but it’s worth reiterating that he averages 38.62 since Ben Stokes took over as captain – and almost all of those runs have been made batting out of position. Goodness knows who bats No3 for England next summer. Shoaib Bashir?
46th over: England 186-4 (Brook 62, Pope 62) O’Rourke reminds Pope what time it is with a couple of beautiful bouncers. Both zip past Pope’s attempted uppercut, with the second one also putting him on his backside. The wicketkeeper Blundell did really well to save four byes.
45th over: England 186-4 (Brook 62, Pope 62) Phillips overpitches to Brook and is scrunched through extra cover for four. Beautifully timed. Batting looks more comfortable* than at any stage in the England innings, which presumably means Brook is about to slog one up in the air.
* Less uncomfortable is probably a better way of phrasing it.
44th over: England 180-4 (Brook 56, Pope 61) O’Rourke has a strangled LBW shout against Pope, who was saved by a big inside-edge.
43rd over: England 179-4 (Brook 56, Pope 61) Glenn Phillips continues after tea. He’s a canny, brisk offspinner who took some absolutely crucial wickets in India and has a Test bowling average of 27. That average almost drops further when Brook plays and misses outside off.
42nd over: England 177-4 (Brook 55, Pope 61) O’Rourke starts after tea to Pope, who rolls his wrists to collect a couple through midwicket. Brook then flashes lustily outside off stump and is beaten.
Pope has had such an up and down year.These are his scores in Tests in 2024: 1, 196, 23, 23, 39, 3, 0, 0, 11, 19, 57, 121, 51, 10, 6, 6, 1, 17, 154, 7, 0, 29, 22, 3, 1, 61*.
This will be an extended evening session, with 38 overs still to bowl. If England are still batting at the close they’ll be close to parity, possibly even in the lead.
Musical interlude
41st over: England 174-4 (Brook 54, Pope 59) Glenn Phillips, an occasional offspinner who shouldn’t really be called an occasional offspinner because have you seen his recent record, is given the final over before tea. It’s an uneventful affair, with Pope and Brook collecting three singles to complete a breathless session.
England scored 129 in 26.3 overs for the loss of Ben Duckett. Brook and Pope needed plenty of luck – Brook was dropped twice – but they deserved plenty of it for having the courage and skill to counter-attack in bowler-friendly conditions. Most England teams of my lifetime would be 120 for 6 at tea, not 174 for 4.
Pope was particularly good and looks more natural at No5 or 6. Over the course of this series he could become one of the few batters in Test history to earn a demotion through weight of runs.
40th over: England 171-4 (Brook 53, Pope 57) Pope turns O’Rourke for a single to bring up a vital, potentially game-changing half-century from 59 balls. It’s been streaky at times, sure, but it has also showcased some of Pope’s best qualities.
It’s been a busy, selfless and relentlessly positive innings – and it continues with a deliberate uppercut for four later in the over. There were two men out behind square but he bisected them perfectly. A thump through extra cover for three brings up the hundred partnership from 112 balls. For an England fan, it’s been the cricket-watching equivalent of a ride on the Big Dipper.
39th over: England 162-4 (Brook 52, Pope 49) Pope plays across the line at Henry and is hit on the flap of the pad. New Zealand plead unsuccessfully for LBW, then barely discuss a review when Rod Tucker turns them down. Too high? Yes, but not by much – it would have been umpire’s call.
Another turbulent over ends with Brook flashing an edge just short of gully.
38th over: England 158-4 (Brook 51, Pope 48) Will O’Rourke replaces Smith and will have time for a couple of overs before tea. He has a bob each way, with two slips and two men out for the hook. Everything knows the short ball is coming – and when it does Brook whirls a pull to long leg for six to bring up his half-century. It’s been a vital innings: 65 balls, five fours, two sixes. Oh and two dropped catches, which may come back to bite New Zealand somewhere intimate and painful.
37th over: England 151-4 (Brook 45, Pope 47) Pope overtakes Brook, who had an 18-runs start, by edging/steering Henry through the slips at catchable height for four.
36th over: England 146-4 (Brook 45, Pope 42) Pope jumps all over a short ball from Smith, pulling for four with a brusque authority. He gets another boundary later in the over, flicking wristily over the head of midwicket. There were a few shouts of ‘catch!’ but it cleared the fielder fairly comfortably. A quick single takes him to 42 from 47 balls; it’s a typical Ollie Pope joyride, he’s just doing it from a different position.
England have belted 50 runs from the last nine overs. Brook was dropped in that time, and this certainly hasn’t been a counter-attack for the ages, but they’ve played with game-changing intent. It takes courage to do that in this situation, especially if you’re also under pressure for your place like Pope.
35th over: England 135-4 (Brook 43, Pope 33) Henry replaces Southee, whose figures of 11-2-35-0 are a minor scandal. The ‘0’ bit anyway. England continue to live liek they’ll die tomorrow, with Pope picking up five runs of varying streakiness.
Whatever the technical merit, it’s great entertainment. New Zealand won’t be worried yet, but they might be if these two are still in after tea. We’ve got about 25 minutes of the afternoon session to play.