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England’s top three folded in pursuit of a world record chase as New Zealand moved into a dominant position on day four of the second Rothesay Test.
Set a foreboding target of 463 for victory at the Kia Oval – 45 higher than any other team has ever made to win a Test and 85 more than England’s best – they lost Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett cheaply.
By tea the score was 54 for three, rendering any other result than a series-levelling win for the tourists a colossal upset.
Stand-in captain Joe Root became just the second player in history to reach 14,000 runs in Test cricket, joining India great Sachin Tendulkar when he reached two, and will need to add plenty more to get his side anywhere near.
He had 24 not out at tea with Harry Brook, the last established batter in an experimental line-up, at his side.
England’s inexperienced attack raised its game to take seven wickets for 110 in the first half of the day’s play, but their efforts did little to paper over the cracks of what had come before.
By the time the Kiwis were all out for 362, the task in front of England was firmly into uncharted territory, with worse to come.
Kiwi quick Kyle Jamieson dismissed Gay and Bethell in the space of five deliveries in his second over, tilting the scales emphatically. Rookie opener Gay, coming off back-to-back half-centuries, looked jittery throughout his short stay before flicking the 6ft 8in seamer off his pads and into the hands of midwicket.
The left-hander could hardly believe his mistake, throwing his hand to his helmet and dragging himself reluctantly from the crease after a few seconds of contemplation.
Bethell followed for a duck, his first at this level, lbw by one that jagged into his front pad. Root offered a deflated crowd a welcome moment of cheer when the second run of his innings took him to his latest career milestone, but with the perilous match situation he was initially reluctant to acknowledge the achievement.
He eventually waved his bat to the crowd but New Zealand celebrations took over again when Duckett produced a grisly dismissal, taking on an ambitious hook shot off Will O’Rourke and plonking a simple catch off the toe end of the bat.
It left Root and Brook with mountains of work to do against a bowling group offering precious little leeway.
England had earlier produced an efficient effort as New Zealand looked to embrace risk in exchange for quick runs.
Jofra Archer removed Henry Nicholls for 121, with just two added to his overnight score, and also won his latest duel with first-innings centurion Glenn Phillips.
Matt Fisher picked up three soft wickets as Daryl Mitchell, Jamieson and Nathan Smith swung the bat with abandon and debutant Sonny Baker grabbed the last wicket to end a difficult spell.
