Ben Stokes’ return as England captain descended into a day of punishment before a late fightback gave his side new hope in the Rothesay Series decider at Trent Bridge.
Stokes, back to lead the side after a turbulent fortnight that saw him stood down for last week’s defeat at the Kia Oval, lost a crucial toss and saw the tourists post 361 for four in sweltering heat on a perfect batting pitch.
But it could easily have been much worse, all four wickets coming for the addition of 44 runs late on – including two off the last two balls of the day.
Stokes received a rousing welcome from the Nottingham public – reiterating the support he enjoys among the country’s cricket fans – but his comeback threatened to turn into a nightmare as twin hundreds from Tom Latham (151) and Devon Conway (157) flogged the bowlers in draining temperatures.
Together they put on 317 in 73 overs, the highest ever partnership for New Zealand against England, before finally departing in the space of seven balls. Stokes was the man to deliver the breakthrough, cramping Latham just outside off stump and snaring the edge, before Joe Root’s part-time spin drew Conway into a rare misjudgement.
There was a late gift from Rachin Ravindra as he top-edged a hook off Gus Atkinson before Henry Nicholls nicked Jofra Archer behind to leave the hosts smiling after a day of toil.
England did not created a single clearcut chance in the first session, failed to review a sound lbw shout against Latham in the second and then saw wicketkeeper Jamie Smith drop a regulation catch as their woes got even worse in the evening.
The score was 276 when Atkinson, also back in the side after joining Stokes on the night out which saw both men handed written conduct warnings, flicked Latham’s glove on 129. Several England players started to raise their arms in celebration as the ball carried cleanly through to Smith, but he somehow misread the flight and botched the chance.
When the team-sheets landed, it was New Zealand who looked to be in trouble with injuries to their leading wicket-taker, Matt Henry, and their leading run-scorer, Glenn Phillips. But their worries were shelved as soon as the coin came down in their favour.
By lunch they had laid their foundations at 108 without loss. There was one missed opportunity early on, Latham nicking Jofra Archer through third slip just moments after Stokes had rearranged his cordon and taken the extra catcher out.
The crowd were waiting for the chance to see Stokes in action and, when he took the ball in the 20th over, he was treated to a loud, sustained round of applause. There was a second big reaction when his first ball took Conway’s inside edge and sprayed awkwardly into the on-side, and another when a misfield led to even more encouragement from the stands.
But he was unable to rattle the Kiwi openers as they helped themselves. They added another 105 between lunch and tea as England searched in vain for a solution.
The closest England came to a concrete chance came midway through the afternoon session when Latham, on 71, was hit in front of the stumps by Shoaib Bashir. Perhaps sensing an inside edge, his appeal was gentle and Stokes opted not to call for DRS. Had he sent the decision upstairs, Latham would have been gone.
The wheels came off in the early evening, with costly overs from Bashir and Tongue adding 25 to the total in just two overs and kicking off a spell of rapid scoring.
When Smith got the chance to end the suffering with a simple take, he made the most glaring error of the day and added to a list of dropped catches that now tallies double figures in the series.
Smith held on when Stokes found Latham’s edge and substitute fielder Matt Fisher took a good deep catch to add Conway as Root chipped in. Nicholls and Ravindra almost shut England down before back-to-back mistakes gave England a sniff.
