Stokes bows out with a blaze, but England's chase hangs in the balance

The scorecard suggested New Zealand held the upper hand, but the fourth day at Trent Bridge became a celebration of Ben Stokes. On the day he announced that the third Test would be his final appearance for England, the captain delivered one last reminder of his brilliance. He bowled continuously in the second session and then promoted himself to open the batting in his farewell innings, as he blasted 30 off 20 in his final Test appearance.

The day also belonged to Daryl Mitchell, who battled his way to his sixth Test hundred, soon after which New Zealand declared at 288 for 9. Needing 383 for victory, England rekindled the glory days of Bazball with Stokes setting the tone at the top. But they also lost wickets regularly and ended the day at 103 for 4, needing 270 more, with Joe Root still at the crease.

Stokes walked out to another guard of honour - from the New Zealand team this time. Already without Ben Sears at the start of the fourth innings, New Zealand also saw Will O'Rourke leave the field after a powerful drive from Stokes struck his finger. Zakary Foulkes, who came to complete the over, was struck for a six over his head by Stokes, who also edged one but it evaded the 'keeper up to the stumps and also slip. Stokes continued to dazzle as he scoop-flicked Nathan Smith for a six, and then edged Foulkes for another boundary.

England raced past fifty in quick time but Stokes' entertaining innings ended when he hit a Foulkes delivery to mid-on, leaving the field for the last time as the New Zealand players rushed to shake hands with him and the England captain made his way to the pavilion to a standing ovation. Jacob Bethell's stay was a short one as he fell in the same over, lbw after shouldering arms, and he also took a review with him. Harry Brook got off the mark with a six off Nathan Smith and struck three more fours before hitting a short ball from Foulkes straight to fine leg to depart for a nine-ball 21.

Root announced his arrival with a reverse scoop for a four off Nathan Smith while Duckett dealt in regular boundaries too as England continued to score quickly. But Sears, back on the field, struck in his first over to have Duckett caught at slip for 36. Emilio Gay managed a boundary off Mitchell Santner in the final over of a dramatic day.

Earlier, New Zealand weathered a probing first session despite England's disciplined efforts with the ball. The hosts conceded only 60 runs in 25 overs but had just one wicket to show for it, as Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra frustrated them on a surface that continued to produce uneven bounce. The pair added 129 for the fourth wicket before their stand was broken in the penultimate over of the session.

Mitchell was given out lbw to Jofra Archer in the second over of the day, but successfully reviewed the decision. The right-hander, however, endured a testing passage, taking several blows as deliveries reared awkwardly from a length. Ravindra looked more assured at the other end, timing the ball well and capitalising on scoring opportunities as he moved into the 90s. But just as he appeared set for a century, Shoaib Bashir struck in his first over of the spell, beating Ravindra with one that went on with the arm to trap him lbw for 94, leaving New Zealand at 180 for 4 at Lunch.

The variable bounce continued to aid England's seamers after Lunch, with Mitchell stuck on 49 for a while even as Tom Blundell found the fence a few times. Archer eventually ended Blundell's stay, inducing a top-edge on the pull. Mitchell then brought up his 17th Test fifty, but wickets continued to fall at the other end as Stokes had Santner caught behind after Jamie Smith convinced him to review, while Archer claimed his fourth wicket by forcing Nathan Smith to edge a short ball through to the 'keeper. Despite the regular setbacks and difficult scoring conditions, Mitchell and Foulkes dug in to extend New Zealand's lead beyond 300.

England then lost a review as Stokes took a caught-behind appeal upstairs but replays revealed there was nothing off Foulkes' bat. The England captain bowled unchanged in the session, 11 consecutive overs, and finally ended the resistance by having Foulkes caught at slip. The wicket came soon after the announcement that this Test would be Stokes' last game in international cricket. Players from both sides congratulated Stokes before he led England off for Tea, with New Zealand moving to 234 for 8, having added only 54 runs in the session in 23 overs.

Stokes walked back onto the field for the final session of the day, with the England players, the New Zealand batters and the onfield umpires all getting together to form a guard of honour for the England captain. Mitchell, who resumed his innings on 64 off 214, decided to accelerate in the final session as he struck a four and a six off Josh Tongue and also boundaries off Gus Atkinson and Jofra Archer. Ben Sears, who also got a couple of boundaries, was struck on his glove by Archer and retired hurt, only to return immediately after Will O'Rourke's dismissal as Mitchell closed in on a hundred. With a boundary and a single off Atkinson, Mitchell reached three figures and New Zealand declared soon after.

Brief scores: New Zealand 438 & 288/9 decl. (Daryl Mitchell 100*, Rachin Ravindra 94; Jofra Archer 4-53) lead England 354 & 103/4 (Ben Duckett 36, Ben Stokes 30; Zakary Foulkes 3-42) by 269 runs.