Stokes takes three wickets as England fight back against New Zealand

Ben Stokes dragged England back into the deciding Test at Trent Bridge, taking three wickets before lunch as New Zealand’s grip on the match loosened after a dominant start. In scorching conditions in Nottingham, the visitors reached 418 for 7 by the interval, but England had finally found the break they needed after a day and a half of pressure.

New Zealand had begun the second day on 361 for 4, already in command after Tom Latham and Devon Conway put on a record 317 for the first wicket on day one. That opening stand had set the tone for a series decider that was level at 1-1, and for long periods England looked as if they were chasing the game rather than contesting it.

Stokes’ return to the attack changed that mood immediately. The England captain, back in the side and back in rhythm with the ball, finished the morning with 4 for 70 and took his 250th Test wicket in the process. Mitchell Santner was the landmark victim, but the broader damage came from the way Stokes kept chipping away at an innings that had threatened to run away from England.

For New Zealand, 418 for 7 was still a powerful position, built on the foundation of Latham’s 151 and Conway’s 157. But the loss of wickets before lunch gave England a foothold they had not had when the session began, and it kept the innings from becoming the kind of match-defining total that can shut a side out of a Test.

New Zealand were eventually dismissed for 438, a total that underlined both their earlier dominance and England’s success in limiting the damage. The figure also carried a strange place in the record book: it was New Zealand’s third-lowest Test total in an innings featuring a 300-run partnership, and the lowest when that stand came from the openers.

England then began their reply in bright sunshine, and Ben Duckett quickly pushed back with a 40-ball fifty later in the day. That left the decider at a pivotal point, with Stokes’ spell having turned a one-sided morning into a contest that still had room to swing again.

The match formed part of the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy series, a three-Test Rothesay contest in England running from June 4 to June 29, 2026.