ENG vs NZ, 2nd Test: Visitors lead by 238 runs
A century stand by Will Young and Devon Conway extended New Zealand's lead on Day 4 of the ongoing second Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Although the duo departed eventually, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell negotiated the England seamers. Earlier, England were bundled out for 539, with Joe Root scoring 176. New Zealand's Trent Boult took his 10th five-wicket haul in Tests.
How did Day 4 pan out?
England resumed from their overnight score of 473/5 on Day 4. Root and Ben Foakes took England past 500 before the former departed. Michael Bracewell and Boult cleaned up England's tail. England ended up scoring 539. James Anderson removed NZ opener Tom Latham (4), however, Young and Conway shared a 100-run stand. Mitchell and Matt Henry returned unbeaten as NZ finished on 224/7 (stumps).
First pacer to take 650 Test wickets
By taking the wicket of Latham in the second innings, Anderson attained a historic feat. He became the first-ever fast bowler to take 650 wickets in Test cricket. He is presently the third-highest wicket-taker in the format after Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Shane Warne (708). Among fast bowlers, former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has the second-most Test wickets (563).
Number 650 for Anderson!
Boult registers his 10th Test five-for
Boult took three wickets on Day 3 (Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, and Jonny Bairstow). The left-arm seamer, on Day 4, got rid of Root and Matty Potts to complete his 10th five-wicket haul in the longest format. He has become the seventh Kiwi bowler to register at least 10 Test five-fors. Boult registered figures of 5/106 in 33.3 overs.
Root leaves behind Younis Khan and Sunil Gavaskar
Root was in pursuit of his sixth double-century in Test cricket. However, he departed on 176 early on Day 4. The former England captain surpassed Younis Khan (10,099) and Sunil Gavaskar (10,122) in terms of Test runs. Root now has 10,191 runs at an incredible average of 50.20. Earlier in the series, he became the 14th batter to complete 10,000 runs in the format.
Seventh 50+ score in nine Tests for Conway
Young and Conway added 100 runs for the second wicket after Latham departed early. Young slammed his sixth half-century in the format, while his compatriot Conway put up his seventh 50+ score in his ninth Test.
A look at the other notable numbers
As per Opta, Tim Southee has become the fifth NZ bowler to concede over 150 runs in a Test innings without taking a wicket (154/0). These are also the most expensive wicketless figures at Trent Bridge (Tests). Root struck 26 fours in the first innings, the most in an innings by an English batter since Zak Crawley (34 vs Pakistan) in 2020.
