England vs New Zealand, Day 3: Report and key stats
England have the upper-hand heading into Day 5 of the third Test against New Zealand at Headingley. Resuming from 168/5, NZ paced their way to 326. Fifties from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell helped the cause. Jack Leach shone for the hosts, as he clipped a five-for to sweep the Kiwi tail-enders. Chasing 296, England (183/2) need 113 runs to win this Test.
Fourth five-wicket haul for Leach
Leach, who claimed figures worth 5/100 in the first innings, was at the top of his game even at the latter stages. He reaped rewards off the turn on offer, scalping a mouth-dropping 5/66 in the second innings. Most notably, Leach recorded his first ten-wicket haul in a match (10/166). The slow left-arm orthodox has now raced to 92 Test scalps at 31.64.
Leach unlocks an astounding feat
According to ESPNcricinfo, Leach has become the first English spinner to take two five-wicket hauls in a home Test since 1974. Derek Underwood had attained the feat against Pakistan at Lord's.
Seventh Test fifty for Blundell
Blundell belted youngster Matty Potts for boundaries at will. Later, the wicket-keeper batter ran a double off Leach to rack up his seventh Test fifty. Most notably, Blundell stayed put throughout as he compiled 88* off 161 deliveries (15 fours). His scores in this series read 14, 96, 106, 24, 55, and 88*. He now has 1,192 Test runs at 41.10.
Fifth Test fifty for Mitchell
Mitchell took his time before freeing up his arms. He struck a four toward backward point to bring up his seventh fifty in whites and third against England. Mitchell was out LBW by Potts but not before he compiled a 152-ball 56 (nine fours). His last six scores read 56, 109, 62*, 190, 108, and 13. He now has 941 Test runs at 62.73.
Mitchell smashes this record
Mitchell has hammered 538 runs in this series while averaging a prolific 107.60. He struck three hundreds and two fifties. Mitchell has become the first visiting batter to score over 500 runs in a series involving three or fewer Tests in England.
Mitchell-Blundell enter record books
Mitchell and Blundell fetched a 113-run stand among themselves for the sixth wicket in the second innings. They are only the fifth pair to post four 100-plus stands in a series in Test cricket. David Boon-Mark Waugh (Australia), Jack Hobbs-Herbert Sutcliffe (England), Vijay Hazare-Rusi Modi (India), and Mohammad Yousuf-Younis Khan (Pakistan) are the others to have attained the feat.
NZ punch early inroads; England steady themselves
England lost Alex Lees (5) after the opener was run-out by the duo of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult. Michael Bracewell then tamed Zak Crawley, tempting the latter to smash a floated-up delivery outside off that was caught by Williamson at extra cover. Ollie Pope (81*) and Joe Root (55*) were unfazed by the early breakthroughs. The duo added 132* runs by stumps.
