England must pull off a record run chase for victory after Bradley-John Watling became the first New Zealander to make a Test century at Headingley.
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Watling (100no), Martin Guptill (70) and Brendon McCullum (55), and for the hosts Stuart Broad and Mark Wood, were chiefly responsible as 435 runs were scored and 11 wickets fell on day three of the second Test on Sunday.
After a 350 all out ‘stalemate’ was achieved in the first innings, England’s challenge to close out series success will be easy to calculate but difficult to achieve – with the Kiwis already up to 338 for six.
Just once in Test history here has a higher fourth-innings total been chased, 404 by Don Bradman’s invincible Australian tourists of 1948 – and England have never made as many to win anywhere.
After Ben Stokes’ record-breaking Lord’s century a week ago, this was just another manic Sunday in an exhilarating back-to-back two-match series.
What an impressive batsman BJ Watling is. Not fair for NZ to have all these wicketkeepers who can bat – shold be banned. Lovely innings.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) May 31, 2015
Only after the comparative sobriety of a 79-ball half-century from arch aggressor McCullum in a 121-run fifth-wicket stand with Watling was it clear the Kiwis were on top as they try to level up at 1-1.
After overnight rain, Tim Southee (four for 83) took three wickets for six runs – but Broad and Wood counter-attacked in a ninth-wicket stand of 51.
At a venue where Broad has made two of his 10 Test 50s, he eventually fell four short of another when he was bowled aiming to hit Matt Henry to leg.
This was still the highest score he has made in eight Test innings since having his nose broken by India seamer Varun Aaron at Old Trafford last year.
When the tourists began their second innings, Broad was almost immediately in the thick of it again with two wickets in 12 balls.
He found enough movement off the pitch to take Tom Latham’s inside edge from round the wicket, and then the outside for a second caught-behind as Kane Williamson registered a rare double failure.
If established cricket sense suggested caution from 23 for two, it was routinely over-ridden by the Kiwis’ new vibe under McCullum as Guptill and Ross Taylor blasted their way out of trouble with a stand of 99 in under 15 overs.
Taylor was dropped on six, a tough head-high slip chance for Gary Ballance off James Anderson. But there was no chastening effect in his run-a-ball 48 or for Guptill – whose strike rate was higher still in an innings containing seven fours and a six.
Wood (three for 64) had Taylor poking a low catch to cover, however, with the first ball of his second spell – and then Joe Root was safe at third slip off the Durham fast bowler to see off Guptill too before tea.
After tea, McCullum batted against his own ethos but to great effect until Wood struck again to pin him lbw on the back foot.
Luke Ronchi went before the close too, caught-behind pushing forward to Anderson. But on a pitch beginning to offer variable bounce, Watling – who had survived one tough caught-behind chance on 50 – completed his 136-ball century.
