Joe Root carried on in his rich vein of form, registering his second successive Test ton and, rather impressively, his 10th since January 2021, as England inched closer to New Zealand’s total of 553. Ollie Pope (145), who batted magnificently to registere his second Test hundred, was involved in a 187-run partnership with Root. England showed a positive approach throughout Day 3 at Trent Bridge. Root was unbeaten on 163 off 200 as England went into Stumps on Sunday, June 12 only 80 short of New Zealand’s formidable first-innings total.
Pope and half-centurion Alex Lees stretched their overnight partnership to 141 in a prolific first session for the batters, with 105 runs coming at a fair clip of 3.75. Lees extended his fours tally to 11 but got greedy as he drove a Matt Henry delivery away from his body and edged it to Daryl Mitchell at slip to perish for a well-made 67. Root then blazed off the blocks, stroking seven fours in the short period before Lunch. A couple of them were bonus runs off edges. Speaking of which, check out the awesome promo codes at betway review India.
England scored even more briskly in the second session, amassing 136 runs at a run-rate of 4.85 thanks to Root sticking to his proactive plans. There were nine fours struck in the first hour after Lunch while seven were scored in the second half of the session, as Root jetted to a 116-ball century. Apart from a top-edged sweep off Southee that eluded the fielders, Root looked in supreme touch as England continued to make merry with the bat.
Having toiled fruitlessly in the afternoon session, New Zealand reverted after Tea with a shiny Dukes ball that was only two overs old. Boult struck twice, first having Pope miscue a pull to fine leg and then sending Jonny Bairstow back with a delivery that swung in sharply and clipped the glove. The DRS came to New Zealand’s aid after the umpire overruled the appeal.
Henry, who had splurged 106 runs off the 20 overs he had bowled before the final session, continued with his profligate ways as Root cut the pacer for his first four after Tea. The former England captain also struck a boundary off Michael Bracewell coming down the track while Stokes went downtown to power England past 400. However, Stokes’ attempted slog-sweep in the same over brought about his dismissal, ending a partnership worth 61.
Root and Foakes dealt mostly in singles, unlike the previous partnerships, and were cautious at the start of their stand. Foakes played a nice cover drive for a four off Henry while Root pierced the off-side ring off Boult in the final over as England wrapped up the proceedings wiith 142 runs in only 32 overs in the last session to cap off a terrific day with the willow.
“Batting with Rooty as well, he’s unbelievable… it’s pretty special” ✨
Ollie Pope reflects on a brilliant day for himself and England, getting his second Test century, and what it’s like batting with Joe Root 🤠pic.twitter.com/OWpBhP9lvB
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 12, 2022
