England vs New Zealand, 2nd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2026 - CommentaryENG vs NZ, 2nd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2026 - Commentary

It took New Zealand less than 50 minutes to wrap up the proceedings on the final day. They needed five wickets and Henry, inarguably the best bowler of this Test, trapped Root lbw before running through the hosts' lower-order. So we head into the series-decider with the scoreline 1-1. England have lost six of their last eight Tests. The Kiwis, on the other hand, have won six of their last eight Tests. All eyes will be on England's team selection for the final Test. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been withdrawn from their respective county games. Will they be back in the XI? We'll get to know in a day or two. The pitch was more of a lottery at Lord's but we got a sporting deck here in Kennington Oval. What will Trent Bridge offer? The third and the final Test commences on Thursday (25th June) and we'll be there to bring you all the action. Until then, it's goodbye from Abhinand Raghavendran, Nikhil Jadhav, Kumar Abhisekh Das and Venkatesh.

Tom Latham (2/2): (On Phillips and Nicholls) I think from GP's point of view, we certainly know the talent that he's got and I guess some of the crucial innings that he's played for us in that role and from to do what he did, I thought what he did on the first evening, obviously Jofra bowling a pretty hostile spell. I think to show to the group the ticker that he has and the method that he had and to then get through that and capitalise on that in the next morning. And obviously Henry, we spoke about before the game, someone in a slightly different role, but I think he's got the second most amount of Test matches in our group, so he's got a lot of experience and I thought the way he came out and played fantastically well, absorbed a lot of pressure early on, certainly in those moments at the start of that third innings. and again, to put the team in the position that we were in, fantastic job. (On Matt Henry) Yeah, and that was sort of our method. What we thought was based on the surface, being able to pretty much hit the top of off repetitively and just keep asking questions. We knew the surface was going to offer a little bit of variable bounce throughout the game. And I guess Henaz is a pretty good exponent of putting it on the mark for long periods of time. And we saw that today, first innings and the second innings, the way he was able to build pressure, through dot balls, but also getting the crucial wickets at times. And he's been a spearhead for us for a long period, and it was nice for him to get the results today. And I guess also someone, Tom Blundell, for him to stand up to the stumps pretty much the whole innings, to keep guys in their crease, I thought, a lot has to do with him as well.

Tom Latham (1/2): Yeah, it's been a fantastic week. It was a week of sort of moments and throughout the game, we managed to just get our nose in front. And when you look back on it now, some crucial moments. And I spoke to you last week about just trying to do things for a little bit longer and be better just for a little bit longer. I thought we did that fantastically well this week. (The crucial moments?) I think after day one, obviously built a few partnerships. Guys got a lot of starts. I think that partnership between Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson to get us close to that 400 mark. And, you look at the bowling innings in certain phases where we got back-to-back wickets and then probably another partnership, in our third innings with Henry and Rachin to be able to just, stop a little bit of momentum on England's side and then manage to put a bit of pressure back on them. And, to be in the position we were in, to understand that it wasn't going to be easy on that surface with it, sort of tiring, the pace sort of going out of it. But again, I think the way the bowlers were able to operate, pretty much hit top of off, a little bit of old school cricket for a period of time there and we managed to get the results.

Joe Root (2/2): (On the tactics) Well, I think, again, credit goes to, especially Glenn Phillips, the way he played that evening. It was a very fiery spell from Jofra, I thought, was excellent throughout the whole Test match. And it's a good lesson for our batters if we're going to evolve as a team and keep looking to find ways of improving, then it's the way that he recognised that scenario, getting through a very tough period, a good spell of bowling, and reaped rewards the following morning. So, these are the sort of lessons that, as a young side, these guys coming into Test cricket, if we can learn from that very quickly, apply that to our own games and how we can bring that to the fore, then we'll very quickly become a better team for it. So, you always look at those situations, especially when the lower-order come out and swing in and you think, what's the right way to do it? In the second innings, I thought we did it perfectly. So in many ways, the way that we responded to that and went to something slightly different is really pleasing. Again, you always look at things when you lose as, you know, what did we do wrong? I think it's sometimes unfair on the opposition who rightly are allowed to play well, and I think they definitely did that this time round. (On Stokes being withdrawn from the County game) Yeah, well, I've been very busy and occupied this week with this job, so we'll see what happens over the next couple of days.

Joe Root (1/2): (It just proved to be a little too deep and a little too messy this week?) Yeah, and credit to New Zealand for that. I thought they played very well. There were a number of occasions when the game was in the balance and they won those crucial moments. So, fair play to them on a brilliant performance. And, it's still one all in the series and everything to play for at Trent Bridge. (How difficult was it for you this week?) Yeah, but it was fun. I really enjoyed coming back into that space and working with Baz. And, it was brilliant this week to experience that. And a great opportunity for those young guys coming into the team. And I think there was a huge amount of good that happened throughout the five days. And we just have to do things better for longer. At times, we need to make sure we're a bit more switched on in the field and we're ready to take those opportunities when they come. And whenever you lose or you miss eight chances, catches in particular, against a good team on a reasonably good wicket, it's going to hurt you. And we've got to learn those lessons, be slightly smarter and better in those areas. But there was a lot of good things in between all of that. And as I say, if we do that for longer, we'll be brilliant. And credit to those guys coming in and stepping up to the challenge. Normally when you make your debut, it's one guy coming into that space. But for a number of guys to be right at the front of their careers and give a really good account of themselves, credit to them as players.

Henry (2/2): (On Tom Blundell standing up to the stumps) We actually played in New Zealand a few years back. We brought Tommy up at the Basin. Tim and I were talking about it, just trying to keep guys in their crease for as long as we could because they wanted to walk out and get busy. So yeah, thankfully, having a world-class operator like Tom is huge and he's always up for it as well. That day at the Basin, it was bouncing and he was absolutely loving it. Credit really goes to him because you can't do it unless you've got someone so good behind the stumps and he was just absolutely outstanding. Yeah, a little bit (keeping ego in check as a fast bowler), and that's the thing with Tommy. I've always said I'd rather be the effective than look like a hero, so for me it's actually how do I get a job done early and then create pressure. We know that England like to score, and how do we create pressure on something that's probably not offering as much and what's the biggest threat  and that was the stumps in play. So huge credit to Tommy. Definitely couldn't have done it without the work behind the stumps. (On leading the bowling attack) It's pretty easy when you've got such a strong bowling group. Obviously, Kyle and Will O'Rourke coming back from a couple of injuries, that says a lot of their character to come back the way they have and then Nathan Smith just going from strength to strength, learning his craft and there's more as well. All the guys on the side are equally as good to be playing out here as well. So you're only as good as the strength of your whole bowling group, so it makes my job easy. Yeah, it was on the back of the mind (quick finish today), but the first job was to get the job done today but we'll definitely appreciate a couple of guys not having to starting the engine up today.

Matt Henry | Player of the Match (1/2): Probably didn't expect it to unfold like that today, but probably saved a really hot day in the field. (On the long gap between the 1st and the 2nd Test after the back spasm at Lord's) Yeah, massively, I was trying to regain some confidence in the body. So, yeah, it wasn't ideal and it feels pretty bad when you let the guys down on day one. So it was great to come here and be able to actually get my quota out. (On the first innings runs, especially Glenn Phillips's hundred) From all the batters, I think little moments in that first innings, set the platform for the ball to get soft and Glenn to do his thing as well. So I think some of those ones get overlooked a little bit, but our top-order have done a great job for us because it's definitely challenging work on day one to get done. And I just think the way the guys applied themselves with the ball as a group, we talked about being relentless and slightly different from each end because it was gonna probably go till the last session today we thought. So I think credit goes to all of us. We stuck at it and it was nice to get the rewards.

11:50 Local Time, 10:50 GMT, 16:20 IST: New Zealand hammer England by 253 runs at The Oval to level the three-match Test series 1-1. It was a complete team performance from the visitors across all five days. Glenn Phillips laid the foundation with a superb century in the first innings, helping New Zealand post a commanding total. Matt Henry then produced a devastating spell in England’s first innings, claiming five wickets and securing a valuable 100-run lead for his side. The Kiwis capitalised on favourable batting conditions in the third innings, with Henry Nicholls registering his 11th Test century and Rachin Ravindra contributing a fluent 76, as New Zealand set England a daunting target of 463. Chasing such a massive total, England were under pressure from the very beginning. The openers failed to make an impact, Bethell couldn’t get going, and although Joe Root and Harry Brook briefly threatened to mount a fightback, Matt Henry removed both to extinguish England’s hopes. Coming into Day 5, New Zealand required five wickets and Henry completed the formalities in quick time. Five wickets in the first innings, six wickets in the second and it was a magnificent 11-wicket match haul for Henry, who was the standout performer with the ball. Behind the wickets, Tom Blundell showcased his class with some outstanding glovework throughout the Test. Overall, a thoroughly professional display from New Zealand, who deservedly level the series heading into the decider. Stay tuned for the presentations.

Matt Henry to Jordan Cox, THATS OUT!! Bowled!!

Short leg in place now. Short ball coming?