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5 hours ago
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Key events
Here’s some Stokes on his retirement: “I accept that people might be asking questions. But at the end of the day this is a decision I’ve made. And I hope people can understand and respect that the reasons I’ve made this decision is it’s best for me.”
Ben Stokes is starting his media rounds. Will relay the reaction as and when we have it.
England’s first home series defeat since 2012 is confirmed (of series of three or more matches) and the curtain is called on Ben Stokes' career.
What an utterly surreal four weeks of cricket. We’ve had two of the greatest ever retire. We’ve had a nightclub incident. We’ve had off-the-pitch speculation for the ages. And now we’ve had New Zealand make history on the pitch.
Let us know your thoughts here.
New Zealand win by 160 runs
A fitting way to end. Jamie Smith goes for another big shot down the ground, and Nathan Smith, arguably the player of the series, takes an excellent low catch down to his left sprinting along.
New Zealand have been very, very, good. And England, well as Michael Atherton says on the Sky airwaves:“Bazball dies where it began.”
51st over: 212-9 (Smith 60, Bashir 0)
Maiden over. Bashir faces the last five balls and now Smith will be left to take on Santner on his own.
WICKET! Tongue run out Santner 2 (England 212-9)
New Zealand have just been awesome. This time Tongue ticks one around the corner and goes to set off but is sent back by Smith. At square leg, Santner runs around the ball, picks up with his left-hand, takes aim, and nails one stump. Tongue dives but to no avail. New Zealand one wicket away.
50th over: England 212-8 (Smith 60, Tongue 2)
Well, play some shots he did. Three consecutive boundaries from Smith to bring a close to Santner’s over. Smith moves on to 60.
Fifty for Jamie Smith!
It’s been tough going, but Smith has reminded us of his qualities. “Positive but not reckless,” says Nasser Hussain, after Smith cuts away for four to bring up an 87-ball half century.
Would you look at that, first-ball and Smith pumps a cover drive that is well stopped. Deep breaths everyone…
49th over: England 200-8 (Smith 48, Tongue 2)
Tongue manages to play out a maiden with several beauties wrapped in there from Smith. One ball is edged just short of a diving Daryl Mitchell at first slip who takes a lovely catch but on the bounce.
Now Smith will be on strike against Santner. I just have a feeling that something’s going to give here and we may see some shots.
48th over: England 200-8 (Smith 48, Tongue 2)
200 up for England! The moral victories continue to flow. Tongue is hogging the strike here which probably isn’t the game plan but jeez it looks hard to play Santner at the moment. Every other ball spinning sharp from the surface.
47th over: England 199-8 (Smith 48, Tongue 1)
Tongue faces the last ball of the over and pinches a single. It’s now his turn to face Santner.
Let us know your general thoughts on this England team by getting in contact here. We already did the changes after the Ashes, so unsure what or how difference the XI will be when they line up against Pakistan in six weeks time.
WICKET! Archer c Blundell b Smith 2 (England 198-8)
What a weird way to go. Smith drops a shorter ball in, it doesn’t really get up and as Archer attempts to leave the ball it kisses the face of his bat and Blundell has a simple catch. Tick-tock. The New Zealand win is approaching ever closer.
46th over: England 198-7 (Smith 48, Archer 2)
Five runs off Santner’s over as one slips down the legside for four byes. Off the last ball of the over Archer pinches a single. He’s got five men around the bat still when he’s facing Santner.
45th over: England 193-7 (Smith 48, Archer 1)
Smith runs in and completes another hustling, bustling over. Two runs off. He’s the last man standing of the New Zealand attack who started the Lord’s Test. Will O’Rourke has also played in all three, but has done a hamstring today.
Mitchell Santner is going to continue from the other end.
Three wickets to go for New Zealand. 182 runs to win for England. Let’s get into it.
The players are making their way back out to the middle. I imagine it’ll be another Nathan Smith burst to get things going and would you look at that, it is.
Right, time for a break. But to keep you company for the lunch interval, have a read of Vic Marks who wrote this tribute to the outgoing Stokes (as in departing, not that he likes going out, although…).
Jeopardy and Stokes have often been frequent bedfellows, on the field and off it.
Lunch - England 191-7, trail by 181 runs.
And that’s your lot from the morning session. Three wickets for New Zealand as they keep on churning towards victory.
Smith and Atkinson showed a bit of ticker to add over 60 together, but it was without doubt New Zealand’s morning after Emilio Gay edged behind and Joe Root was brilliantly run out by Henry Nicholls.
Archer fights his way through the last over with five men crowding the bat. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s time for a break.
43rd over: England 191-7 (Smith 47, Archer 0)
We will have time for another as Sears quickly gets through another maiden. One ball in that over lifting nastily but well wide of Smith’s flailing bat.
Rich has been back in touch with another captaincy suggestion. One that may be the most fun of all the options: “Jonny Bairstow, playing as captain and batting at 6.”
42nd over: England 191-7 (Smith 47, Archer 0)
Archer has one ball left to survive from Santner before the over is complete. England have one, maybe two overs until lunch.
WICKET! Atkinson lbw Santner 19 (England 191-7)
He’ll review. But this is out.
Santner chucks in the arm ball, Atkinson goes back and is struck on the back leg bang in front. The partnership is over, and after facing over 150 balls in this Test with the bat, Atkinson’s race is run.
41st over: England 189-6 (Smith 46, Atkinson 18)
A not-so-pretty stat has just emerged from this Test match. Gus Atkinson has now faced more balls than any other England batter in this Test match.
40th over: England 188-6 (Smith 46, Atkinson 17)
England are halfway there. A roar goes up from the crowd as the home team enter the home stretch. Just score exactly the same amount of runs again, but don’t lose any wickets. Simple game.
Six runs from that Santner over, including a lofted four back over his head from Smith.
39th over: England 182-6 (Smith 41, Atkinson 16)
Atkinson finishes the over with a lovely clipped boundary out to the legside. These two have put on 66, but a brief period where England can take some solace from. Maybe? Can they? I don’t know.
38th over: England 177-6 (Smith 40, Atkinson 12)
A ripple of applause goes around Trent Bridge as the runs required to win dips below 200. A couple of almost quarter-chances in the over as the ball squirms past leg slip slightly airily.
Ben Sears, for what it’s worth, is currently bowling with a broken index finger on his bowling hand.
37th over: England 173-6 (Smith 37, Atkinson 11)
A maiden over for Sears. I’m feeling funny watching all this now. The tension had left me and now I’ll be sad again when the inevitable wicket falls.
36th over: England 173-6 (Smith 37, Atkinson 11)
Santner is mixing up a series of unplayable deliveries with an occasional loss of length. Two runs from the over.
Let’s bring back the sweepstake game. When is this finishing? Only 29 minutes until lunch now…
35th over: England 171-6 (Smith 35, Atkinson 10)
Three runs off Sears’ first over. This partnership is worth 55 now. Been steady stuff from England’s pair.
34th over: England 168-6 (Smith 35, Atkinson 8)
Sixer! Five troublesome deliveries from Santner and then he overpitches and Smith drop-kicks him back over his head for six.
And we’re going to have a new face into the bowling attack today. Ben Sears is going to have a bowl.
33rd over: England 162-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 8)
A boundary for Atkinson from his 41st ball faced. Tickles Foulkes around the corner and to the fence.
Uneventful otherwise as the lurch to lunch continues. A replay of that previous Santner over has been played. The ball was spinning miles *and* on occasion skipping on. Tough stuff.
32nd over: England 158-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 4)
An excellent over from Santner. This pitch is turning and skidding now. One could bring all four here. But England survive another over.
31st over: England 157-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 3)
Just a leg-bye off that Zak Foulkes over. We keep on keeping on for now.
30th over: England 156-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 3)
Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. England have batted for 30 overs. Meaning they have passed the 29.5 overs at Melbourne which was the shortest ever England innings in the Stokes era.
29th over: England 155-6 (Smith 29, Atkinson 2)
This has been a really unusual period of calm in this Test match. Maybe even these last six months. A couple of pairs for Smith adds four more runs to the total.
I must admit I didn’t know the below story from Kimberley, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot as the players take a drink.
Nearby vandals, activists and protestors. Your country needs you now.
“Headingley is in my thoughts. Not the 1981 resurrection of English cricket by Ian Botham and Willis, but the cricket pitch being most infamously dug up by vandals and protesters in August 1975 during the third Ashes Test. Activists protesting the imprisonment of George Davis broke in overnight, dug large holes in the wicket, and poured oil over it, forcing the match to be abandoned as a draw. If any of those activists are still alive, your country needs you once more, RIGHT NOW.”
28th over: England 151-6 (Smith 25, Atkinson 2)
Just the one run off Santner’s third over. Atkinson now on 2 off 29.
One thing I’ve noticed. It doesn’t appear that Ben Sears is on the pitch. He was injured yesterday, O’Rourke injured today. New Zealand are basically down to three bowlers. But, England are already six wickets down.
