Key events
Rain stops play
O’Rourke to Root with a field set for short pitched bowling. Gah! That is the rain here at the Oval after just five balls. Here come the covers…
Good news! The rains have stayed away/ skirted around and the players are emerging for the evening session.
27th over: England 116-2 (Gay 48, Root 19) Gay clips for two into midwicket to go to 48. The brace brings up the the fifty partnership with Root on the cusp of tea and a potential rain shower. There’s a hint of drizzle in the air now actually so not a bad time to break for some sustenance. Proper criggit in that session, England trail by 273 with 8 wickets in hand. Back soon!
26th over: England 116-2 (Gay 46, Root 19) Gay takes a nip-backer into the nether regions from Henry and is momentarily felled. Deep breaths, Emilio. Root and Gay exchange singles, they’ve batted nicely in testing conditions. Four! Soft hands from Gay, guided wide of the cordon for four, he’s heading for another fifty and certainly looks the part.
25th over: England 109-2 (Gay 40, Root 18) We’ve had Leonard, now it is time for Blond on Blond. Kyle Jamieson is back on from the Vauxhall End, all hulking 6ft 8 Dolph Lundgren menace. Root’s not fussed, a short and wide ball is cut away for four.
24th over: England 105-2 (Gay 40, Root 14) Matt Henry on for a burst before tea, he’s too straight to Root and England’s finest does not miss out, pinging it to the square leg fence with apparent ease. Root keeps strike with a tap and run into the covers, no danger with that one. Ahem.
23rd over: England 100-2 (Gay 40, Root 9) Root plays across his front pad and the cordon get excited but Root doesn’t miss, albeit with the inside edge of his blade for a slightly spawny single. Smith goes too straight and Gay doesn’t miss out, clipping fine for four. That’s the ton up for England.
22nd over: England 93-2 (Gay 36, Root 8) The floodlights beam into life, a probing over from O’Rourke is negotiated by Gay who collects two with a push into the covers. Tricky batting conditions right now but the weather for the rest of the Test is hot and sunny, a crucial little period here before the tea break.
21st over: England 93-2 (Gay 34, Root 8) Gay rocks back onto his toes to pull Smith in front of square for a couple and then leans forward to glance for a single to leg. New Zealand give away a no ball for having one too many men behind square on the leg side. It’s gone gloomier than Eeyore at a Leonard Cohen listening party here at the Oval, we might be getting some rain soon you know. Hope not. Hope not.
Songs of Gay and Root?
20th over: England 88-2 (Gay 31, Root 7) O’Rourke spears one down the leg side, it tickles Root’s thigh pad and squirts away for four. Root then gets a single with a clip off his toes. England re-building after the loss of Bethell. Can I just shock you? This feels like a proper Test match.
19th over: England 83-2 (Gay 31, Root 6) Nice batting from Gay who leaves well outside off to Smith and the bowler blinks first, straying onto the pads and Gay doesn’t miss out, flicking with aplomb though the legside for four. Shades of one A Cook in that passage.
18th over: England 79-2 (Gay 27, Root 6) O’Rourke is back of a length to Gay, this is what they talk about when they talk about the step up from county to international cricket and the necessity to be able to play off the back foot at balls arrowed in at the ribs… at a decent lick. Gay has looked up to the challenge so far and gets a four for his graft, using the pace to run a boundary away past gully. Like a Saga holiday in a Costa Brava heatwave, It’s gone a bit grey and clammy here at the Oval, decent conditions for bowling and an absorbing passage of play.
17th over: England 74-2 (Gay 22, Root 6) Joe Root arrives to a chorus of Rooooooots and gets a boundary first ball with a guide away behind point. Look Joe Root up in the dictionary and it might well have that shot next to it. Root taps a couple more out past point to finish the over, New Zealand buzz about in the aftermath of getting rid of Bethell, another low first innings score for the peroxide haired dasher.
WICKET! Jacob Bethell c Blundell b Smith 9 (England 68-2)
James Wallace
Thanks Taha, hello all. It’s gone decidedly muggy here at the Oval. Ah, it has gone a bit wicket-y too! Smith gets Bethell with a decent nut that zips outside off and draws Bethell into fencing when he could perhaps have left alone. Blundell swallows a sharp catch diving away to his left.
And that’ll be all from me. James Wallace is here to do his thing.
16th over: England 68-1 (Bethell 9, Gay 22) O’Rourke v Gay continues, the quick trying to square up the rookie opener. After four dots, O’Rourke finally loosens up, offering some width; Gay sends it to the ropes. This is a lovely tussle. Time for drinks.
15th over: England 64-1 (Bethell 9, Gay 18) Nathan Smith is in, fresh off running out Ben Duckett. He bounds in from around the wicket, tight with his line to Bethell, no room there to let the arms flow. New Zealand have been very disciplined in the last few overs.
14th over: England 64-1 (Bethell 9, Gay 18) O’Rourke has locked himself into a battle with Gay. He cranks it up to 90mph, Gay edging the ball low to gully, where Glenn Phillips pulls off the stop. It’s another over of dots from O’Rourke, already making a strong impression.
13th over: England 63-1 (Bethell 9, Gay 18) Bethell eases some of the building pressure with a drive through the covers for four off Henry.
12th over: England 58-1 (Bethell 4, Gay 17) Time for a change. In comes Will O’Rourke, windmill arms working from around the wicket. He swings the ball away from Gay at 86mph and the opener looks a touch uncomfortable, pushing at the next ball and missing.
11th over: England 58-1 (Bethell 4, Gay 17) Henry gets that ball to whizz past Bethell’s outside edge.
10th over: England 58-1 (Bethell 4, Gay 17) Gay likes it there: out comes the cover drive off Jamieson once again. Jamieson responds with a peach, squaring up the left-hander. Fascinated to see how Bethell goes: he’s got a first-innings best of 16 in Test cricket, having saved his best for the second half of games.
9th over: England 52-1 (Bethell 4, Gay 11) Gay whips Henry away for three. Just watching the replay of that run out: Gay’s hand went on to his helmet as he watched the horror unfold at the other end. An awkward reunion with Duckett awaits in the dressing room. Bethell punches behind point and is off the mark with a boundary. Henry responds with a gorgeous wobble-seam delivery, nipping it away from the left-hander.
8th over: England 45-1 (Bethell 0, Gay 8) Gay and Duckett are still getting to know one another out in the middle – there was a chance to run out Gay before lunch that Smith failed to take. He was grateful for the second opportunity.
WICKET! Duckett run out Smith 36 (England 45-1)
Gay drops the ball into the covers … and Nathan Smith hits this time. The New Zealand quick collects and sends in a low throw, taking down the stumps at the striker’s end. Duckett is gone, comfortably. He was looking in fine nick.
7th over: England 45-0 (Duckett 36, Gay 8) There’s not much happening off the surface for the quicks as Henry decides to go short; Duckett monsters a pull away for four. He’s moving at a T20 strike rate – a clip through midwicket takes Duckett to 36 off 25.
6th over: England 37-0 (Duckett 28, Gay 8) Duckett’s looking in good order – the arms flow outside off, Jamieson dispatched through extra cover. The left-hander looks particularly good going down the ground, punching straight for three more. Jamieson oversteps by some distance, prompting a seventh delivery in the over.
Stokes named in Durham squad
Elsewhere … Ben Stokes has been named in Durham’s 15-man squad for their County Championship fixture against Northamptonshire, which begins on Friday at Chester-le-Street.
5th over: England 25-0 (Duckett 17, Gay 8) There’s a leg slip in place as Henry skips in to bowl at Gay, who pokes outside off, very nearly giving the quick that precious edge. It’s a rare sight today: a maiden.
4th over: England 25-0 (Duckett 17, Gay 8) And we’re back, with Jamieson to resume from the Pavilion End. Duckett punches away for two as Mark Wood joins Stuart Broad on comms for Sky, making me feel very old. Duckett hangs the bat outside off but the ball evades the cordon, travelling to the ropes.
Mike Daniels sent this is in while Glenn Phillips was on the way to a ton:
Phillips – he’s such an admirable cricketer in a long line of kiwi players who get the utmost out of themselves and put in performance after performance.
Beyond the runs, he’s also put up some very decent numbers with the ball in Test cricket, taking 33 wickets at 31 with those hyperactive off-breaks.
It’s New Zealand’s morning, with England looking very messy in the field. Glenn Phillips, having had that tussle with Jofra Archer yesterday, didn’t have to face the quick today until he was on 97.
Lunch
3rd over: England 15-0 (Duckett 7, Gay 8) Gay survives! Duckett dabs the ball into the offside and wants a run, and Nathan Smith fires in the throw. Gay gets to the other end but was a goner if Smith had hit. The Durham man shakes off the scare quickly, punching Henry down the ground with another gorgeous shot. The quick responds with a tasty delivery that moves away from the left-hander. And with that: lunch.
2nd over: England 10-0 (Duckett 6, Gay 4) Jamieson, fresh from an important knock with the bat, is driven through the covers immediately by Gay: just like Lord’s, he begins with a boundary, welcoming the overpitched outswinger.
1st over: England 6-0 (Duckett 6, Gay 0) Matt Henry starts against Ben Duckett, who welcomes a pitched-up delivery: out comes the straight bat, the ball running through mid-off for four. Nicely done.
A tricky few minutes for Gay and Duckett coming up.