Stuart Broad on Sky Sports
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“New Zealand winning by 253 runs will hurt [Ben] Stokes. He will be feeling a lot of pain in this result as he knows it is a result of his actions. I am sure he has spoken to most of the guys in the team although he has said nothing of note publicly. I am sure there will be a face-to-face apology and then they will move on.
“Say sorry, say it was a mistake, and then try to win the series as next week’s result is important. If England lose the series 2-1, there are a huge number of questions over everything.”
More from McCullum on Sky Sports
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“You have to separate the actions from the man. I was disappointed in the actions that did not meet the standards we had set for ourselves. But then you support the man and I have always firmly believed in that. In Stokes’ case it is no different.
“We have a vision of what we are trying to achieve with English cricket which is a team that is long-term sustainably successful. If we are able to push towards that then hopefully we can achieve it. We have worked together for four years, we have worked brilliantly together for four years, we have robust conversations as you would expect from leaders in an organisation and I do not see that changing. He has got an internal disciplinary process which he needed to go through as well.
“Until you have that information, no-one is going to be able to make any decisions and that is just the formal process that needs to go through. We have always backed him; I have talked extensively about how we have worked collaboratively over the last four years for the betterment of English cricket. A process needed to go through and until you have all of that information, you cannot emphatically make any statements publicly.”
Player ratings
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The likes of Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell and James Rew may want to look away now but if you are Matt Henry, you will want to read what our very own Scyld Berry has had to say on the 22 players involved in this Test match.
England head coach Brendon McCullum
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“They outplayed us in all three aspects of the game and the one that was highlighted most was our catching. You cannot afford to drop that many catches against a side like New Zealand and expect to be on the right side of it. There is still lots to be proud of although we are very disappointed.
“I thought Joe [Root] did an outstanding job; he and Harry [Brook] worked brilliantly together across the Test match. With a young group I thought we competed for periods of time albeit on the scorecard it reads the other way. Our focus will quickly turn to how we close out the series at Trent Bridge. We did not have any other choice than three debutants. You play the cards that you are dealt.”
On the possible return of captain Ben Stokes for the third Test:
“I was comfortable with the balance of the side and the side we picked but we dropped 10 catches and you just cannot do that. We created opportunities but we could not quite grab them. At this stage, that is what we are planning on [Ben Stokes returning for Trent Bridge as captain]. The rest of the squad will be put out later on this afternoon. We are anticipating Ben will be back. People always have difference of opinions and read things differently. I have been speaking to Ben every day since the incident, trying to be supportive. It was great that he was able to play some cricket this week and score some runs. We know when he is performing at his optimal level, he is an asset that every team in the world would like and we are no different. Those conversations between me and Stokesy will stay private. I care about Ben and pleased he got some game time. He had a pep in his step so I am looking forward to seeing him.”
New Zealand’s second innings centurion Henry Nicholls
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“Something we always try to pride ourselves on is everyone contributing. It was a disappointing result at Lord’s and we knew the challenge coming here. It was a really good Test match, four tough days of Test cricket and it was nice to finish it off early this morning. Really pleasing to get the series to 1-1. It was a bit of a whirlwind [after Kane Williamson’s retirement between Test matches]. Kane is a really good friend of mine and I have been lucky to play a lot of my career with him. It was mixed emotions. For me, it was about locking in as a batsman and do the best I could. Everyone contributed right through the line-up.”
New Zealand skipper Tom Latham
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“It has been a fantastic week. I guess it was a week of moments and throughout the game, we got our noses in front in some crucial moments. I spoke last week about trying to be better for a little bit longer and we did that fantastically this week.
“After day one, we built a few partnerships, guys got a lot of starts. The partnership between [Glenn] Phillips and [Kyle] Jamieson. The bowling innings, certain phases with back-to-back wickets. Another partnership in the third innings with Henry [Nicholls] and Rachin [Ravindra], to stop the momentum on England’s side and put the pressure on.
“It was not going to easy on that surface and the pace going out of it but the way the bowlers were able to operate, hitting the top of off, bit of old school cricket, and we got the results.”
England’s stand-in captain Joe Root
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“Credit to New Zealand, I thought they played very well. They won those crucial moments when the game was in the balance and fair play to them on a brilliant performance.1-1 in the series and everything to play for at Trent Bridge.It was fun. I really enjoyed coming back into that space as captain and Baz was brilliant this week. A great opportunity for those young guys coming into the team.
“There was a huge amount of good that happened through the five days but we just have to do things better for longer. At times we have to make sure we are a bit more switched on in the field and take those opportunities when they come. When you miss eight chances against a good team on a good wicket, it is going to hurt you. We have to learn those lessons and be smarter and better in those areas. Credit to those guys coming in and stepping up to the challenge. You always look at things when you lose at where you went wrong and sometimes it is unfair on the opposition, who are allowed to play well. I have been very busy and occupied this week with this job so we will see what happens over the next couple of days.”
Man of the match Matt Henry, after his 11 wickets in the match
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“I probably did not expect it to unfold like that today and it probably saved a long, hot day in the field! I just tried to regain some confidence in the body [after his back spasms in the first Test]. It was not ideal and it feels pretty bad to let the boys down so it was great to come here and get my quota out. The top order have done a great job for us as it was definitely challenging on day one. We talked about being relentless as a bowling group and slightly different from each end. Credit to all of us as we stuck at it and it was nice to get the rewards.
“Having a world-class operator behind the stumps in Tom [Blundell] is huge. You cannot have someone up to the stumps unless you have someone like Tom. He was absolutely outstanding. Huge credit to Tom and we could not have done it without him. It is pretty easy when you have such a strong bowling attack. You are only as good as the strength of your bowling unit, which makes my life easier.”
Stuart Broad on Sky Sports
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“Very, very impressive particularly today. Matt Henry just picked up where he left off and made the ball talk. It is New Zealand’s best performance in this country for a very long time, you might argue ever. An absolute disaster for England but New Zealand have been brilliant.
“They have out-schooled England in their home conditions. They have worked as a team more efficiently. They made the ball talk more, they scored bigger runs. You saw the smiles on their faces and the celebrations of wickets. They are in for a good afternoon.”
Box office series decider
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A sorry performance from England. You have to give them some leeway because of the youngsters involved, but they’ve got themselves into a horrible tangle over the last fortnight. It sets up a massive match at Trent Bridge on Thursday. It will be box office, but with their regulars returning, can England pick themselves up off the canvas?
New Zealand win by 253 runs
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Cox b Henry 25 Cox comes across his stumps and tries to sweep but is clean bowled by Henry. Henry claims his sixth wicket of the innings and 11th of the game. New Zealand seal a pretty complete and comprehensive victory, winning by a sizeable 253 runs. The series is level at 1-1 and we now head to Trent Bridge next week for a series decider. Will Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson be back for England for that one? My guess is yes. FOW 209 all out
OVER 57: ENG 209/9 (Baker 0 Cox 25)
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Cox flicks Jamieson into the legside and the ball looks destined for the boundary. However, having travelled a long way in the air, the ball plugs and Cox comes back for two.
Cox then advances at the next ball and pulls hard on the swivel. It goes all the way for six and that was quite the shot! It was caught well in the crowd and boy did the gentleman who caught it lap it up! Cox is going to enjoy himself now.
Jamieson goes the jugular and attempts a yorker. Cox comes across his stumps and gets some bat on it. The ball runs through square leg and O’Rourke chases after it. He is told to leave it but picks the ball up and throws it back in, allowing Cox to take a single to retain strike. His teammates are questioning why on earth O’Rourke did not allow it to run away.
Bizarre from Will O’Rourke - surely he should have let that go for four!
OVER 57: ENG 200/9 (Baker 0 Cox 16)
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Due to that Cox boundary from the last ball of the previous over, it means that Baker is on strike at the start of Henry’s latest over.
Plenty of solid blocks from Baker as he sees out the over without too much to be concerned about.
OVER 56: ENG 200/9 (Baker 0 Cox 16)
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We are now into that customary phase as the recognised batsman looks to protect the number 11. Four balls into the over, Latham brings the field up and Cox has a decision to make; find the single or go for the boundary? He thinks about a single up to mid-on but Smith is in close and that would have been suicidal to attempt that run.
Off the final ball, Cox advances and Jamieson bangs it in short. Cox adjusts and uppercuts over the slip cordon for an impressive four, which brings up England’s 200. Good ingenuity from Cox, who might be playing his last Test innings for a while.
OVER 55: ENG 196/9 (Baker 0 Cox 12)
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Henry’s first ball of this over is a hat-trick ball but Cox blocks it. Cox then decides to take a single from the fourth ball of the over to give Baker two deliveries to survive.
Baker’s two blocks receive plenty of applause from The Oval crowd.
We knew England had a long tail, but all three of Archer, Fisher and Tongue getting ducks is a very sorry state of affairs.
OVER 54: ENG 195/9 (Baker 0 Cox 11)
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Henry has just bowled back-to-back double wicket maidens. Quite incredible!
The field is now spread for Cox, who has been joined by number 11 Sonny Baker. Cox pushes into the covers and manages to come back for a couple, which gets the crowd going!
From the fifth ball of the over, Cox manages to find a single down to fine leg and Baker will have just the one ball to survive, which he does.
Wicket
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Tongue c Mitchell b Henry 0 Josh Tongue is gone for a golden duck and, for the first time in his Test career, Henry secures his first ten-wicket haul. Henry, who has been great in this Test, finds the outside edge and Mitchell takes the catch at first slip. The end is nigh for England. FOW 192/9
There’s a decent crowd in for this, and they are going to get a full refund. Good value if you’re a Kiwi. This is going to end before Jordan Cox has had the chance to play a shot in anger.
Wicket
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Fisher b Henry 0 Fisher made a fifty in the first innings but this time makes an eight-ball duck. Henry has bowled plenty of good deliveries this morning but that is probably one of his worst. It is a pretty ugly dismissal for Fisher, who feels at one outside off stump but only succeeds in getting an inside edge onto his own stumps. FOW 192/8
OVER 52: ENG 192/7 (Fisher 0 Cox 8)
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Jamieson is too short and wide, which Cox capitalises on by cutting away through point for four. It bounced a little more than Cox expected but copes with it well. With Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith set to return to the side for the third Test, this could be Cox’s first and final Test for a little while so he will want to cash in.
OVER 51: ENG 188/7 (Fisher 0 Cox 4)
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Matthew Fisher is in at number nine, fresh from his maiden Test fifty in the first innings. Henry got some luck with that Archer wicket as the ball kept very low but he is very accurate and therefore probably earned that wicket through his pinpoint line.
A double wicket maiden from Henry.
Wicket
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Archer b Henry 0 Jofra Archer is in and out in a flash as he is gone for a second-ball duck. To be fair to Archer, there is not much you can do about that one as it barely gets off the ground. That can be the challenge of batting on the final day is potential up-and-down bounce, but then again England chose to bowl first. FOW 188/7
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 21, 2026"The end is nigh for England"
Matt Henry is loving life out there with a wicked delivery to send Jofra Archer on his way 💥 pic.twitter.com/RyYyGj2iDe
Wicket
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Root LBW Henry 77 Is that any hope of an England miracle extinguished? Henry is good with his line and gets one to nip back at Root. The finger goes up and Root looks pretty resigned to his fate but, as England’s last hope realistically, opts to review. It is three reds and Root has to go. FOW 188/6
The keeper up trick works in the end. Joe Root did not review this because he thought it would save him, he reviewed it because he knew he had to. With him goes any sliver of hope for England, of winning or saving this game. He gets a nice ovation as he leaves the field, but has only been able to add two to his overnight score.
OVER 50: ENG 188/5 (Root 77 Cox 4)
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The very, very tall figure of Kyle Jamieson will start from the Pavilion End. Jamieson offers up a bit of width outside the off stump and Cox plays a lovely punch off the back foot through the covers. He did not try to hit it too hard and gets three, with Nicholls flicking it back in at the boundary rope.
Jamieson finds the outside half of the bat but Root had it under control. It falls a long way short of Latham at second slip and a slight misfield allows Root to come through for a single.
OVER 49: ENG 184/5 (Root 76 Cox 1)
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The weather is set fair, perhaps even perfect, at The Oval, with England still needing a further 281 runs to win this Test. Or alternatively New Zealand require five wickets to take us to a series decider next week.
Matt Henry will send down the first over of day five from the Vauxhall End. As he has been a fair amount, Tom Blundell is up to the stumps, keeping Joe Root in his crease. Henry is on the money straight away and Root has to make sure he gets his bat down in time before the ball crashes into the pads. That was a similar delivery to the one that dismissed Root in the first innings.
The first run of the day comes off the bat of Root, who flicks down fine leg for a single.
Cox is off the mark with a single through the point region.
Only 279 more runs for England to get!
Joe Root batting superbly while his team crumbles around him. It could be 2021 all over again.
Nearly ready for action
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I think it is fairly safe to say that any hope England have of chasing down this mammoth total rest solely on the shoulders of Joe Root. I do not think I am going out on a limb saying that! He resumes on 75 not out and will have Jordan Cox, yet to get off the mark, for company.
Exclusive: Lord’s set to lose World Test final over state of pitch
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The 2027 World Test Championship final could be played at the Oval amid concerns over the quality of the Lord’s pitch.
England will host the showpiece final for the fourth time next year. Lord’s hosted it in 2025, when South Africa beat Australia, and had been expected to become its regular venue. The home of cricket was slated to host the match in 2027.
However, it now appears the most likely outcome is that the match will be moved across the Thames to the Oval, in part because of concerns over the Lord’s pitch. Sources insist no final decisions have been taken, but they will be during the next month, with next summer’s schedule to be announced soon.
Sky Sports crew on the potential return of Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson
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Michael Atherton:
“That formal investigation is not yet complete, but this is the clearest indication yet that both will return, given they have been pulled from the County Championship. If that is the case, and Stokes is able to play, there is no reason why he should not captain, so one assumes he will come straight back in as skipper. And if Ollie Robinson is fit and Jamie Smith is good to go after the birth of his child, we could see five changes, with England reverting to the team that won at Lord’s after this interim period of utter chaos.”
Nasser Hussain:
“The regulator still has to announce what they found from the incident, but it suggests they probably have not uncovered anything beyond what is already known. This week has shown how much England have missed Ben Stokes; not just as a batsman or a bowler, but as a cricketer, a captain, and someone who balances the side. England were forced to go with spinner Shoaib Bashir because they could not find that balance without him. England are a better side with Ben Stokes as their all-rounder and captain.”
Duckett has been shielded from criticism but is in a real trough
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“The best all-format opener in the world.” So England Cricket’s official X account labelled Ben Duckett almost exactly a year ago to the day.
On one level, it spoke to modern society’s inclination to rank everything: “all-format opener” is an invented category. And yet the praise for Duckett was also richly deserved.
After scoring 149 at Headingley on June 24, as England chased down 371 to beat India, Duckett extended his Test record since his recall in 2022 to 2,511 runs at 47.4. He was also established as first-choice 50-over opener, and recently installed in the Twenty20 side, too.
Stokes and Atkinson set to return?
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Good morning. It’s hot and steamy at the Oval. You’d think if Root goes early England are not long for this world.
The news is elsewhere really. Stokes and Atkinson have been withdrawn from their Test returns. ECB say their investigation hasn’t concluded yet, but they want them ready if available.
Highlights from day four
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 202614,000 Test runs for Joe Root 🔥
3-fers for Archer and Fisher 👏
A hard-fought day at The Kia Oval 💪Full highlights below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ogV1J1395e
Yet another milestone for Root
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Can he chase down Sachin Tendulkar?
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 21, 2026"You're one of the toughest blokes I've ever seen in a cricket changing room."
Harry Brook and Brendon McCullum pay tribute to the legend that is @Root66 after our No. 4 passes 14,000 Test match runs ❤️ pic.twitter.com/0m37dQe14S
Huge news from Durham
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— Durham Cricket (@DurhamCricket) June 21, 2026ℹ️ Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from the remainder of Durham's County Championship match against Northamptonshire at the request of the ECB.
Colin Ackermann will replace Stokes in the Durham 11.#ForTheNorth pic.twitter.com/ykICRxlymz
Can England pull off the unthinkable?
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New Zealand require just five more wickets to beat England on day five of the second Test to take the series to a decider next week in Nottingham. New Zealand finished up their second innings on 362, setting England an improbable 463 to win the Test. England closed day four on 182/5, still a sizeable 281 runs away from victory.
England’s very faint hopes seem to rest on the shoulders of Joe Root, who resumes this morning on 75 not out. Yesterday was a historic day for Root as he became just the second player in history after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 14,000 Test runs. Root is 25 runs away from a 42nd Test century and that feels like a bare minimum if England are to have any chance of winning this game. Whilst Harry Brook, who made 58, and fellow Yorkshireman Root were at the crease, there was growing hope of England chasing down the mammoth total but Brook’s departure to end their 97-run stand put a massive dent in England’s chances.
Kyle Jamieson has taken three of the five wickets to fall in England’s second innings and was delighted to take the wicket of debutant James Rew late on day four.
“It is certainly nicer to have them five down than four down,” Jamieson said. “It was a nice one to grab at the end of the day and it sets us up well for tomorrow [today]. Tom [Latham] was asking if I thought it was straight. I said it was definitely straight, it was just whether it was umpire’s call on height, lucky it kept low and I managed to grab that one. We have just got to try and stay patient tomorrow [today], stay ruthless. Whether it comes quick or in the last over of the day, we have got to make sure we are there.”
Whilst England’s hopes were fading on day four of this game, up in the north east England’s captain Ben Stokes was smashing 95 for his county Durham. Stokes could return to the fold for England for the third Test and Josh Tongue has admitted that they have missed their captain.
“Stokesy is an unbelievable player,” Tongue said. “It is always nice to see him get some runs. I made my debut when he was captain, I have got huge respect for Stokesy. Yeah, we have missed him, but we have got a lot of leaders in that team. Obviously Rooty can step in as captain as well and he is an unbelievable player, unbelievable leader. It has been good.”
Root will be joined at the crease by debutant Jordan Cox, who is yet to get off the mark, with England needing one hell of a miracle to win this game. Play on day five from The Oval gets under way at 11am.