Daryl Mitchell led New Zealand’s charge with a score of 318-4 against England until the end of day one of the second Test on Friday.
Mitchell’s unbeaten 81 and Tom Blundell’s unbeaten 67 paid off England captain Ben Stokes for his decision to bowl first on the flat Trent Bridge pitch.
England’s wounds were mostly self-inflicted, with three dropped catches, as bowling and fielding lapses in recent months returned them with a vengeance.
World Test champions New Zealand, who lost the first Test at Lord’s, were without Covid-hit Kane Williamson after the captain’s dismissal on Thursday evening.
Despite Williamson’s absence, the Kiwis punished England’s bowling somewhat, with Mitchell and Blundell sharing an unbeaten 149 for the opening wicket of Tom Latham and Will Young.
Stokes dismissed Young for 47 and the very next ball, stand-in captain Latham fell to James Anderson for 26.
But New Zealand remained positive, finding boundaries consistently as Devon Conway (46) and Tom Nicholls (30) kept the visitors on top.
Nicholls eventually handed Stokes to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who also took the catch when Conway dropped one immediately after Anderson.
Latham admitted that he would have bowled first if given the opportunity, yet he may reconsider the decision once his team has taken control in a strong manner.
Mitchell hit nine fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 81.
He went on the attack against spinner Jack Leach after tea, reverse-sweeping a boundary, then launching a huge six, which splashed into a fan’s beer in the stands.
The plight of the soaked woman prompted a comical response from England’s Matthew Potts, who was later seen trying to orchestrate the incident for the benefit of his teammates.
Potts did not find it so funny when he was getting some punishment from Mitchell and Blundell, who hit the seamer for fours in the same over.
– Mitchell shines –
Mitchell had just three runs when he was dismissed by Joe Root off Stokes and he took full advantage after a century with another crucial innings at Lord’s.
New Zealand were scoring at nearly four runs per over, a pace that underscored England’s frustration due to recent injuries to Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
Stuart Broad tried to bowl short deliveries to Mitchell, but the batsman fought back with fire and hit him for a six to complete the century.
Broad put Mitchell on the helmet shortly thereafter but was able to continue after being assessed by a physio.
Root’s scintillating century propelled England’s first Test win, but this time he was doing more damage to his own team and dropped another catch, a difficult occasion when Blundell dismissed Leach for 47. .
England’s curiously unsuccessful appeal for LBW against Blundell, when he clearly hit the ball, summed up their growing frustration.
On a day to forget for England, Broad was left in despair when Blundell’s lead at slip was missed by Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow.
Stokes and new coach Brendon McCullum are looking to build on England’s thrilling five-wicket win over Test world champions in the first game of the three-match series.
It was a much-needed morale booster after the disappointing end to Root’s spell as Test captain.
England are chasing a first series win since January 2021, but they have an uphill climb after this patchy effort.
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