Stokes sparks England fightback as New Zealand reach 418-7 at Trent Bridge

Ben Stokes hauled England back into the third Test with three wickets before lunch, including Mitchell Santner on review, yet New Zealand still reached 418-7 at Trent Bridge and kept the match on their terms. Stokes’ morning spell carried him to 250 Test wickets, a milestone that underlined both his return as captain and the scale of the task England faced after losing control early.

New Zealand had already built the innings around a record opening stand from Tom Latham and Devon Conway, who put on 317 without loss and set up a first day of total authority on a batting-friendly pitch. Latham made 151 and Conway 157, and by the time England found a way in, the tourists had already turned the match into a test of damage limitation rather than immediate parity.

The conditions did England few favours. Nottingham baked at 35C, making it the second-hottest day’s cricket in England, and the heat only sharpened the strain on a surface that had already offered little to the bowlers. Stokes’ 3-13 across eight overs before lunch gave England their first meaningful opening, and his dismissal of Santner after a tight review call was the clearest sign that pressure, rather than pace alone, was beginning to bite.

Even then, New Zealand’s position remained commanding. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 438, but only after losing their final 10 wickets for 121 runs from the platform of 317 without loss. That collapse blunted what had been an imposing start, yet it still left England chasing the game against an attack that had room to breathe and a total that reflected the depth of the visitors’ first-innings advantage. ESPNcricinfo described the 438 as the third-lowest Test total in history for an innings containing a 300-run partnership, and the lowest when those runs came from openers.

England’s response after lunch showed why Stokes’ morning mattered. Ben Duckett hammered 113 off 99 balls and shared a 179-run stand with Jacob Bethell, lifting England to 223-2 by the close of day two and trimming the deficit to 215. Blair Tickner’s concussion, which ruled him out and brought Zak Foulkes into the attack for the rest of the match, left New Zealand with a less experienced bowling unit as England’s chase gathered pace.