New Zealand defeated England by 253 runs, leveling the series in the second Test at the Oval on Sunday, thanks in large part to Matt Henry, as England announced that Ben Stokes will take the captaincy again for the final third Test.
After his team’s victory in the series opener at Lord’s, Stokes was dismissed for violating a team curfew.
“Ben will be back. He’ll be back as captain,” AFP quoted England head coach Brendon McCullum as saying after the match.
England, who had been 182-5 overnight, fell to 192-9 after fast-medium bowler Henry’s incredible burst of four wickets for 0 runs in 12 balls. England, who were seeking a record-breaking 463 to win, were destroyed for 209 after Henry bowled Jordan Cox to end the game.
On Sunday’s fifth day at the Oval, New Zealand required just 48 minutes of play to level the three-match series at 1-1 ahead of the Nottingham final next week.
Henry’s overall figures were 11-109 thanks to his outstanding second-innings return of 6-29 and his five wickets in England’s first-innings 5-80.
Dion Nash’s 11-169 at Lord’s in 1994 was surpassed by Henry’s first 10-wicket haul in a Test, which was also the greatest by any New Zealand bowler against England.
“I probably didn’t expect things to unfold like that today. With the ball, we talked about being relentless. We stuck at it and it was nice to get the rewards,” said Henry, the player of the match.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham added: “We thought hitting the top of off stump repetitively was the way to go on this surface and Matt Henry is a good exponent of that. He built pressure through dot balls and also wickets. He has been a spearhead for some time.”
Stokes and Gus Atkinson were both withdrawn from county action with Durham and Surrey, respectively, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed just before play began on Sunday.
After being stood down this week for violating a team curfew during England’s 115-run victory in the first Test at Lord’s earlier this month, it was the most obvious indication that the two will be called back to Test-match action at Trent Bridge.
England needed an additional 281 runs to reach what would have been a record-breaking goal when they resumed all but defeated at 182-5. The West Indies’ 418-7 victory against Australia at St John’s in 2003 is the biggest winning fourth-innings total in 149 years of Test cricket.
Stand-in skipper Joe Root, who was 75 not out overnight after being the only batsman to reach 14,000 Test runs alongside India great Sachin Tendulkar, held the key to England’s unlikely victory. However, after adding only 2 runs to his overnight score, Root was dismissed lbw to Henry. The New Zealand pace spearhead exposed a long tail in an England team that had undergone five changes from the one Stokes captained at Lord’s, including three debutants.
“Credit to New Zealand, who I thought played very well. There were a number of occasions when the game was in the balance and they won the crucial moments. It is 1-1 and still everything to play for at Trent Bridge. We just have to do things better for longer. Be smarter,” said Root.
The 34-year-old Henry bowled Jofra Archer for a duck with a delivery that stayed low before crashing into the stumps two balls after Root’s dismissal. After hitting his first Test fifty in the first innings, new batsman Matthew Fisher was clean bowled for a duck by Henry on Sunday.
With England at 192-9, the pacer’s next ball saw new batsman Josh Tongue edge to Daryl Mitchell in the slips for a golden duck.
In Test cricket, it is uncommon for a bowler to remove two batsmen in a single over without giving up a run. However, Henry, who was hindered by back spasms at Lord’s, now had two in a row.
Henry bowled Cox to seal an overwhelming victory in the Test that saw New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips and retired great Kane Williamson’s replacement, Henry Nicholls, both making hundreds.
