Jonny Bairstow was once again the century-scorer for England as debutant Jamie Overton played his part in a surprise fight against New Zealand on Friday.
England were in dire straits when the pair came together 55-6 in response to the Black Caps’ first innings 329 in the third Test at Headingley.
Yet he finished the second day at 264-6, just 65 runs behind.
Bairstow remained unbeaten on 130 in front of a Yorkshire home crowd on 89 not out for fast bowler Overton, who has only one first-class century to his name.
On the day New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell scored his third century of the series, Bairstow and Overton combined in an unbroken partnership of 209 to record England’s seventh wicket in a Test.
England last week played bold and aggressive cricket under the new leadership pair of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
But England lost six wickets within 12 overs, mostly due to good bowling by the Test world champions, not the mounted batting.
Bairstow and Overton, however, counter-attacked in fine style, although the Yorkshireman was missed on 27 when recalled pacer Neil Wagner dropped a return catch on a check drive.
It was a rare error from Bairstow, whose blistering 136-run five-wicket haul at Trent Bridge and the cornerstone of England’s successful run-chase in a series-winning victory.
Overton, who selected ahead of twin brother Craig in place of the injured James Anderson, performed a wide range of attacking shots.
His 68-ball half-century included seven fours and a six, as the 28-year-old pulled off Wagner for six and four balls in a row.
– Brilliant Bairstow –
Bairstow reached his 10th century in 86 career Tests after reaching fifth in 51 balls, hitting Boult for his 15th four in 95 balls.
The 32-year-old son of the late England wicketkeeper David Bairstow, in celebration, raced to the stand where his mother, Janet, was watching before stopping before the boundary and accepting the crowd’s applause.
Earlier, left-armer Alex Lees was bowled by a brilliant bolt leg-cutter off the fifth ball of England’s reply, before left-armers Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were clean bowled.
Southee then dismissed England’s star batsman Joe Root for five to put England 21-4 behind.
Although Stokes counterattacked by giving Southee six runs, he could try to make a similar shot to Wagner at mid-off.
Three balls later, Wagner took the second wicket in his first over of the series for the injured Kyle Jamieson, when Ben Fox went lbw for zero to leave England 55-6.
New Zealand had resumed at 225-5, with Mitchell turning 78 overnight into a 109-run stand.
In the process he broke New Zealand’s 73-year-old record for most runs during a series against England, with Mitchell now compiling 482 this campaign – 20 more than Martin Donnelly managed in 1949.
Mitchell scored 120 runs with Tom Blundell, who scored 55 before lbw to Matthew Potts.
But Mitchell completed his latest century by hitting Jack Leach for a six at long-off.
Trying to repeat the stroke, however, his 228-ball knock came to an end when a missed drive from the spinner was well caught by Stokes, who was running back from mid-off.
Leach, whose Test career has been marred by illness, injury and inconsistent selection, finished with an impressive 5-100 in 38.3 overs.
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