England's Test Cricket Struggles: Root's Resilience Amidst Wicket Collapse

Greetings, all! Bacon sarnies are on, the kettle is boiled and Sunday is perfectly poised for some cricket. Well, firstly, most of us thought that this game wouldn't get dragged this far, but we love to get proven wrong for all the good reasons. And that's the beauty of Test cricket, isn't it? At once, someone has the upper hand, and check half an hour later, the other is bossing it up. New Zealand have been the dominant side across four of the five days. However, it can’t be denied that England have showed far more toughness in the second innings, but they are still far, far away from turning this over. Hello and welcome to the fifth and final day of the second Test. Grab a cuppa and settle in for this exciting ride.

Into the final day

Root, who else? The English batting maestro is at it once again. The Oval gave him a standing ovation when he reached two on day four, the moment he became only the second batter after the great Sachin Tendulkar to cross 14,000 Test runs. That’s a lot of runs and he is hungry for more. He acknowledged calmly and got back to the job. He is only 25 runs away from a 42nd Test hundred, but the number occupying his thoughts right now is 281, that England need to pull off something that has never been done before. And on an up and down surface that has tested most of the batters, including the rookies who were handed one of their toughest assignments, Root has been the one immovable wall.

Three captains leading from the front - Wait. Three captains? Yes, you read it right. On Saturday, three England (former/stand-in, current and probable future) captains batted at the same time. Root is both Stokes' predecessor and his stand-in this week. Brook is widely seen as the successor. And his cameo was exactly what it always is, breathless and audacious, enough to briefly pull attention away from whatever Stokes was doing around 300 miles north for Durham, who himself was making his case stronger for Trent Bridge. But it is Root who is still out there, unbeaten, and it is Root who gives England every reason to believe in Sunday.

5 wickets away - And now, the Kiwis are just five scalps away from something that has been a long time coming. But England's resistance today will prove the weight of that word 'just'. Their last Test win in England vs England was back in 2021 in Birmingham. Furthermore, their last win at The Oval goes even further back, to 1999, and remarkably, this is also the first time they have played here since. So the history is stacking up, and so is the opportunity to level the series. A very engaging final day beckons at The Oval. The first ball ain't that far now.

Weather watch and conditions - June 21st is the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, but can it be a long day for the bowlers? Umm, not likely. Yes, it is set to be a touch hotter than yesterday, nudging into the late twenties with comparatively less cloud cover as well. The pitch has been deteriorating, and there is possibly some spin on offer for the part-timers, and New Zealand have that variety in their attack to exploit what The Oval serves up.

All set are we then, to watch some action. A Kiwi fan would want this to end within the next hour. Break this current partnership and you are into the bowlers. An English fan would want the Root masterclass to continue, first a century, then possibly a double. A neutral cricket fan would want good cricketing action. Hoping that it would go till the final hour of the final session would be too much to ask, one guesses, but at least, two fighting ones? Say, England get close to somewhere between 350 and 400?

Matt Henry to Joe Root, What a start. For someone who has watched the highlights of Day 4, the person would have felt that the highlights have prolonged. What Henry did for the whole of the innings, he starts exactly in the same way. On a length, just outside off, Joe Root looks to defend but the ball nips back in, takes the inside edge and hits the pad. Unrelenting.

3

Overs49.2

Score187 - 5

Kyle Jamieson to Jordan Cox, Nicely played, well stopped. Good cricket all around. Fractionally short, outside off, Cox gets on top of the bounce and punches it through the covers. Glenn Phillips gives it a chase from that region, gets to the ball and pushes it back in with a slide. Someone is partnering him, probably someone from gully or backward point and he does the mop up. One saved, three runs taken.

1

Overs49.6

Score188 - 5

Kyle Jamieson to Joe Root, Edged, but does not carry! Back of a length, seaming away on the off stump line. Joe Root gets slightly squared up and looks to guide it to the off side but gets a thick outside edge. But since he plays with soft hands, the ball dribbles in front of Tom Latham at second slip. He makes a half stop to his right and parries the ball away, allowing the batters to cross for a single.

W

Overs50.1

Score188 - 6

Matt Henry to Joe Root, OUT! LBW! Did Root get any bat on it though? He has sent this upstairs. If no bat, this looks stone dead. Nothing on UltraEdge. This could be it. Ball Tracking - Impact in line, hitting leg stump! No century for Root and more importantly, New Zealand have crushed England's hopes of resistance on the 13th ball of the morning. Simply relentless bowling. Henry lands this on a good length outside off and gets it to nip back in. Joe Root comes forward to defend but misses the movement and gets hit on the pads. Henry appeals and umpire Nitin Menon's finger is up in a flash. Unlike last evening, Root does not not review immediately. He takes a while, probably knowing that he is gone for all money, before taking a chance with the review. Technology did not help him. The Oval is stunned before it recovers to applaud its legend, giving some sort of a respect to the side. ENGLAND ARE 188/6, CHASING 463.

W

Overs50.3

Score188 - 7

Matt Henry to Jofra Archer, OUT! BOWLED! Not allowed. No matter how good a batter you are, you just cannot play that kind of a delivery. Archer is disappointed to no end and he has every right to be so. Henry targets the stumps, keeping it full and straight, landing just around off. Jofra Archer tries to be half forward, aiming to play it straight, but the ball pitches and goes at a height of around just 1 centimetre above the surface. A total grubber. Goes well beneath the bat and crashes into the stumps. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do. This is one of those times. Second wicket in the over and Henry has 8 in the match! ENGLAND ARE 188/7.

Quick deceleration. Matthew Fisher walks in next, at number 9, replacing Archer. He takes a long time to come out, either probably because he was not expecting the wicket to fall so soon or maybe, was not initially rostered to go out at 9. Takes a long time to find his gear before eventually walking out.

This is a big innings for Jordan Cox. Don't know why, everytime I see this guy, I am remembered about former Aussie Cameron White and he bats also like him. Anyway, roughly 2-and-a-half years ago, Cox was supposed to make his Test debut in New Zealand. But a finger injury delayed that. Now that he has got a chance here, he needs to make it count. 463 is too far a bridge to cross, but a 50, or possibly even a 100 would go a long way in cementing his attitude under pressure.

Sunday's tea at? Umm... let's say, at the players' hotel? Given that only 5 wickets are left in this innings, and 281 runs needed, it genuinely looks like a session more of cricket, nothing more. If any, say, Joe Root manages to get to his century and he and Jordan Cox are unseparated in the opening hour, then maybe, we could have a second session of play on the final day. We don't mean to berate anyone. But with only the bowlers to come after this and the footmarks creating a rough on the pitch, batting will only get difficult. Day 5 is scheduled to start at 10 am GMT on Sunday, 21st June, 2026, but our buildup will begin well in advance. Would we have an exciting day in store? Possibly an exciting finish? Or expect the usual predictions? Join us early to find out. In the meanwhile, you can catch all the action from the Women's T20 World Cup and the T20I series between Bangladesh and Australia. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!