England vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2026 - Player HighlightsENG vs NZ, 3rd Test, New Zealand tour of England, 2026 - Player Highlights

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, out Caught by Jamie Smith!! Back to back wickets. That will be stumps on day 1. What an end to the day! How big was that boundary save by Bashir? It not only brought about Ravindra's wicket but also Nicholls'. This is a brute from Archer. He gets the short of length delivery to climb awkwardly around off, Nicholls can't help but go feeling for the ball, the outside-edge is found and it flies to Smith, who takes it above his head. The England players are jubilant. They are waiting for the new batter but the umpires decide it is time. Stokes leads the team off the field. Nicholls c Jamie Smith b Jofra Archer 36(48) [4s-6]

Atkinson to Nicholls, 3 runs, short and slanting down leg, Nicholls swivels and helps it along to fine leg. Bashir runs to his left and puts in the dive, then another dive and manages to haul it in. The third umpire has several replays and decides it is a clean stop

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 135ks fuller and angling in, Nicholls pushes and the ball pings off the middle, goes quickly to Stokes at mid-off

Atkinson to Nicholls, FOUR, creamed! Atkinson dangles a carrot outside off and Nicholls takes the bait. Full and outside off, he gets a good stride in and smashes the drive in front of square. The new ball races away off the turf..

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 135ks attacks the stumps, Nicholls stays back and knocks it to mid-wicket

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, wasted delivery outside off, too far out and Nicholls ignores

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, 1 run, 140ks fuller and close to off, Nicholls blocks off the outer half to cover and crosses over

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 135ks another short of length delivery, Nicholls defends comfortably into the off-side

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 133ks back of a length angled across, Nicholls watches it closely and lets it go

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 138ks fullish delivery on off, Nicholls offers the vertical bat in his block

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, short of length delivery, Nicholls hops and fends it with soft hands in front of mid-wicket

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, short of length delivery, Nicholls stands tall and defends it to the off-side

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 136ks back of a length outside off, Nicholls lifts his bat and lets it go

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 138ks fuller and attacking the stumps, Nicholls' feet don't quite move and he squirts it off the outer half to cover-point

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, ouch! Nicholls has been struck. Well-directed short ball and Nicholls has no time to duck or sway out of the line, he decides to take it on and is beaten for pace. Struck on the helmet and the ball drops down on the pitch

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, back of a length angled across, Nicholls lifts his bat and lets it go. Nice carry to Smith

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, FOUR, wrong line and punished. Short and around leg, Nicholls plays his trademark one-legged pull, gets on top of the bounce and rolls his wrists over to place it fine

Atkinson to Nicholls, 1 run, 128ks short and well below the hips, Nicholls goes on one leg and pulls to deep backward square

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 140ks fuller than good length, Nicholls is drawn into the forward defensive

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, defended to the off-side

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, there's a sound. But Atkinson is not interested. No appeal from Smith either. Atkinson suggests it was off the thigh pad. Sliding down leg, Nicholls looks to glance and there's a clear deflection. It must have been the thigh pad. Smith dives to his right takes it with one hand. Yes, UltraEdge confirms it was the thigh pad

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 135ks pounds away on the hard length, Nicholls turns it to mid-wicket

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 136ks back of a length around off, Nicholls knocks it with a straight bat to mid-on

Root to Nicholls, 1 run, shortens the length and gets it to drift in, Nicholls tucks it in front of square and settles with a single

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, on a length and outside off, Nicholls lifts his bat and lets it go

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, full pitcher outside off, Nicholls drives and finds cover perfectly

Atkinson to Nicholls, no run, 138ks fuller and around off, Nicholls leans forward and blocks solidly

Atkinson to Nicholls, 2 runs, 140ks too straight - on middle and leg, Nicholls clips it through the vacant mid-wicket region and picks up a brace

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 133ks back of a length delivery, Nicholls rides the bounce and knocks it to mid-wicket

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, FOUR, nicely done! Again Archer does not get the height on the short of length delivery, the angle too was taking it down leg, Nicholls hops on one leg and pulls it to fine leg. The fielder was square in the deep and had no chance of stopping that

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 138ks angling in from round the wicket, Nicholls turns it to mid-wicket

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, 131ks strays down leg, Nicholls tries to help it along but does not connect with the glance

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, 2 runs, 130ks this short of length delivery hardly gets above the hip, Nicholls swivels around and pulls backward of square, easy brace

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, no run, 138ks short of length around off, Nicholls hops across and tucks it to mid-wicket

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, no run, ufff! That wasn't far. Good length ball slanting in, Nicholls is rooted to the crease and replays show he was late on the shot, the bat came down after the ball had passed him

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, no run, 128ks good length ball on off, Nicholls prods forward and blocks it back

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, no run, 127ks back of a length angling in, Nicholls tucks it with soft hands to mid-wicket

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, no run, 128ks short of length delivery, Nicholls hops and defends it to mid-wicket

Josh Tongue to Nicholls, FOUR, lovely shot! That's his third boundary but it is the best of the lot. Full pitcher around off, Nicholls transfers his weight into the front foot, brings his bat down straight and caresses the drive through extra cover. No need to run for that..

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, 1 run, back of a length and leg-lined, Nicholls tucks it to deep square leg

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, fuller and drawing Nicholls forward, blocked back with a straight bat

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, FOUR, short of length delivery, does not quite bounce high to trouble Nicholls, he swivels around and pulls it to deep square leg. He was in complete control of that shot

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, FOUR, in the air and just wide. Short of length around the hips, Nicholls can't control himself and plays the glance, the ball goes uppishly towards leg slip and it just evades the fielder's grasp

Jofra Archer to Nicholls, no run, uhhh! Back of a length and slants away, Nicholls is camped in the crease and has a tentative poke, beaten on the outside-edge

Stokes to Nicholls, no run, 135ks fuller and close to off, Nicholls eases it to mid-off

Stokes to Nicholls, 1 run, 136ks full and outside off, Nicholls pushes it wide of mid-off and races to the other end. That was a tight single

Stokes to Nicholls, no run, 135ks back of a length outside off, Nicholls watches it all the way and lets it pass

Stokes to Nicholls, no run, good length ball around off, Nicholls stays back and toe-ends it to the off-side