Nottingham: England captain Ben Stokes gave an emotional all-round display on the fourth day of the third Test at Trent Bridge, announcing that this would be his final match in international cricket.
Daryl Mitchell’s resilient century set New Zealand a tough target of 383, Stokes blasting a 20-ball 30 as the hosts finished on 103-4, needing 280 runs to win.
The day after tomorrow, with New Zealand 288-9 to declare, Mitchell hit a stunning unbeaten century, his sixth in Test cricket, to put the tourists in a strong position.
Stokes received a standing ovation from the New Zealand players when he walked out to open England’s innings in his farewell Test. His aggressive knock immediately brought back memories of England’s approach to baseball as he hit boundaries at will before falling to 30 off 20 balls.
His dismissal sparked emotional scenes, with New Zealand players rushing to congratulate the England captain.
England’s response started brightly but quickly lost momentum. Jacob Bethell was caught lbw in the same over as Stokes, while Harry Brooke was dismissed at fine leg for 21 off nine balls. Ben Duckett contributed 36 before Ben Sears, returning from injury, dismissed him in his first over.
Joe Root remained unbeaten, giving England hope on the final day, while Emilio Kay added a boundary in the final over to leave on 103-4.
Earlier, Mitchell and Ravindra had frustrated England.
Mitchell escaped after successfully reviewing an early lbw decision against Jofra Archer, while Shoaib Bashir bowled him lbw for 94, reducing New Zealand to 180-4.
Despite Mitchell reaching his 17th Test fifty, England kept the pressure on after the break. Archer dismissed Tom Blundell with top-edge pull, while Stokes dismissed Mitchell Santner for a review after being caught by Jamie Smith. Archer gets another wicket as Nathan Smith is caught behind.
Mitchell and Zachary Folkes fought back to push New Zealand’s lead past 300, but after Stokes bowled 11 consecutive overs, Folkes was caught at slip to break the partnership.
The breakthrough came shortly after it was confirmed that the match would be the England captain’s last Test, prompting warm congratulations from both teams as he led England to 234-8 against New Zealand at tea.
The emotional atmosphere continued after the break as England players, New Zealand batsmen and field umpires formed a guard of honor for Stokes as he returned to the field.
Mitchell accelerated impressively in the final session, hitting boundaries from Josh Tongu, Gus Atkinson and Archer before reaching three figures, scoring a boundary and a run for Atkinson.
Ben Sears was injured after being hit on the glove by Archer but returned following Will O’Rourke’s dismissal, as New Zealand declared shortly after Mitchell completed his century.