Second Rothesay Test, The Kia Oval (day four of five)
New Zealand 391 (Phillips 100) & 362 (Nicholls 121, Ravindra 76, Mitchell 68)
England 291 (Gay 53, Fisher 50*; Henry 5-80) & 182-5 (Root 75*, Brook 58; Jamieson 3-37)
England require 281 more runs, New Zealand need five wickets
Joe Root stands between England and defeat in the second Test against New Zealand on a day when absent captain Ben Stokes made 95 for Durham.
Set a world record 463 to win at The Oval, England were reeling at 40-3 and in danger of not seeing out the fourth day.
At the same time, Stokes, unavailable for this Test pending an investigation into an incident at a London nightclub, was making his highest score in any cricket since a century in the fourth Test against India almost a year ago.
But with the exiled skipper at the crease 275 miles away, stand-in captain Root began a typically masterful unbeaten 75 to take England’s rearguard into the final day.
Root received a standing ovation on only two as he became the second man after Indian great Sachin Tendulkar to reach 14,000 Test runs.
He shared a thrilling stand of 97 with Harry Brook, the vice-captain largely aggressive for his 58. Both Root and Brook overturned being given lbw to Matt Henry, who eventually had Brook held at slip.
James Rew erased any lingering fears of a four-day finish, only to be lbw on review to Kyle Jamieson in the dying moments, leaving England 182-5 and New Zealand one wicket from the tail.
England hold a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
