Harry Brook dislodges Kane Williamson

New Zealand vs England: Second Test Scorecard

• England first innings: 435-8d (Bach 186, root 153*; Heinrich 4-100)
• New Zealand’s first innings: 209 all out (Southee 73, Blundell 38; Broad 4-61, Anderson 3-37, Leach 3-45)
• New Zealand second innings (follow-on): 483 total (Williamson 132, Blundell 90, Latham 83, Conway 61, Mitchell 54; Leach 5-157)
• England second innings: 48-1 (Crawley 24)

New Zealand won the toss and chose to roll first

report

Harry Brook was England’s unlikely game-changer with the ball, sacking centurion Kane Williamson in his first spell in international cricket and breaking New Zealand’s resistance in the second Test at Wellington.

The Tourists finished Day 4 48-1, chasing a tricky 258 to win the series 2-0, but things could have been tougher despite Zak Crawley’s late dismissal.

England certainly lamented their decision to let the Black Caps follow as the hosts positioned themselves for a large lead built around Williamson’s expertly judged 132.

With Ben Stokes unable to bowl due to his chronic knee condition and the remainder of the attack creaking in the field after 200 straight overs, Brook was called upon to flip his arm for a period of bowling at a pedestrian pace.

It seemed less a calculated gamble than an act of desperation, but when wicketkeeper Ben Foakes grabbed a ledge on the side of his leg, the entire tone of the game changed.

After watching Williamson and Tom Blundell, 90, blunt their flagging bowlers in a partnership worth 158 in 271 balls, they took the final five wickets for just 28 runs to regain control of a match that was picking up threatened to slip away.

New Zealand went from 455 for five, a resounding reaction to Stokes being sent straight back the morning before, to 483 in just over 10 overs.

That left a 258 chase on the table, steeper than Stokes would have liked when he enforced the follow-on but well below what he would have feared before Brooks’ unexpected intervention.

Foakes also deserves tremendous credit for his contribution, as his impeccable glove work helped strangle Williamson before poaching a runout Michael Bracewell should never have allowed.

Culling Foakes has been touted as a possible route back for Jonny Bairstow when he is fit again but it is here that the Surrey goalkeeper has undeniably proved his worth. Jack Leach threw a mammoth 61.3 overs, long mirthless before conceding at the back end and finishing with five for 157.

The home side were still 24 down on 202 for three early in the game, and Williamson was four away from becoming his country’s Test run record goalscorer. He knocked James Anderson off his toes to beat Ross Taylor’s mark of 7,683 in the first over of the day but there was still work to be done.

England pushed at the other end in the morning session, Henry Nicholls splashed Ollie Robinson to Brook on the third slip and Daryl Mitchell slammed Stuart Broad into the safe hands of Joe Root after a dashing half-century.

New Zealand held a 99 lead at lunch and added a further 98 in the middle session when England’s bodies visibly began to wither. There was stiff fielding and an increasingly noticeable lack of Stokes, who appeared to injure himself twice stopping the ball.

With his left knee already a problem, no further fitness concerns are needed to raise the brows of England fans. Williamson made steady progress towards his 26th hundred and seemed determined to prolong England’s headache deep into the evening.

When Brook showed up, it seemed to signal surrender. He recorded just 26 wicketless overs for Yorkshire last season, some as an off-spinner, and nothing about his first 17 deliveries, which hovered around 65mph, made him a threat to Williamson.

A little misjudgment and a sharp reminder of Foakes’ fast hands later, and the match situation was reversed. Root will also get his share of the credit after asking Stokes to review the original no-out decision, while even Foakes wasn’t sure.

England’s greatest obstacle had been removed with their gentlest weapon and when Bracewell hopped through the crease without asserting himself they were in control.

The spill would also have been impossible if Stokes, unable to pull his weight as a bowler, hadn’t been chasing and bowling with all his might. Foakes wiped the straps with one hand while both of Bracewell’s feet and his bat were in the air and his tail was exposed.

Leach, who had tirelessly whirled away, insisted on cashing in. He grabbed Tim Southee and Matt Henry before Blundell was the last man down to slip.

That got the out-of-form Zak Crawley back into the frame and he contributed a fugitive 24 before being rolled through the gate by a snappy delivery from Southee. He produced a wild top edge from the second ball of the inning, should have run out and carved over the slips while in singles figures.

But he also made a dent in the chase, leaving Ben Duckett (23no) and Nightwatcher Ollie Robinson to carry the baton.