LONDON (AP) \u2014 New Zealand had to beat England at The Oval.<\/p>\n
Not just to square their series, but because England made itself an easier picking.<\/p>\n
To the team that won at Lord\u2019s<\/a>, England made an off-the-wall five changes, four of them enforced by nightclub antics, injury and paternity. Three players debuted, two others had one cap each, and Joe Root stepped up as the stopgap captain<\/a>. Root had more than half the team\u2019s caps and was suddenly the leading active wicket-taker.<\/p>\n England did everything but gift a rare seventh win to New Zealand in 95 years on home turf and the Black Caps went and grabbed it in style. It came to fruition on Sunday in the first 48 minutes of the fifth and final day when fast bowler Matt Henry cleaned up<\/a> the last five wickets in 31 balls of a metronomic masterclass.<\/p>\n England collapsed from 182-5 overnight to all out for 209 and New Zealand won by 253 runs, its largest victory in England by runs. That set up a series decider in Nottingham starting Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to unfold like that today but probably saved a hot day in the field,\u201d Henry said after leading New Zealand off the field, match ball raised high.<\/p>\n His 6-29 beside 5-80 in the first innings gave him 11-109, best-ever figures by a New Zealand bowler against England and his first 10-wicket match haul in 35 tests.<\/p>\n He completed a magnificent team effort.<\/p>\n Glenn Phillips withstood body blows from a venomous Jofra Archer on the first evening then reached his maiden test hundred \u2014 and the series\u2019 first century \u2014 with Kyle Jamieson the next morning while Archer rested from the previous night\u2019s exertions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat spell from Jofra, we wanted to take that wicket that night,\u201d Root said. \u201cJofra was on a roll, full of confidence, bowling a great pace. You break the game open there and it\u2019s a very different concept. Phillips played brilliantly, same with (Henry) Nicholls in the second innings.\u201d<\/p>\n Henry took out Root and Harry Brook in the span of three deliveries to help secure a 100-run lead on the first innings. No team had overcome a bigger deficit at The Oval in 124 years.<\/p>\n Nicholls, tasked with filling the shoes of the retired Kane Williamson, added his hundred<\/a> in the second innings in a 161-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra that batted England out of the game. The phenomenal 463 target was 45 runs above the most successful fourth-innings chase in test history.<\/p>\n Jamieson undermined England hopes immediately and Henry polished off the win on Sunday starting with Root. England\u2019s last glimmer of hope added only two runs from overnight and was lbw between bat and pad on 77.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t going to be easy on that surface and the pace going out of it but the way the bowlers were able to operate, hitting the top of off, bit of old-school cricket,\u201d New Zealand captain Tom Latham said.<\/p>\n Stokes returning as captain<\/p>\n England was already thinking of Trent Bridge before play on Sunday, by withdrawing regular skipper Ben Stokes and pacer Gus Atkinson from their county sides to prepare for the third test. Both were dropped for breaking England\u2019s midnight curfew<\/a> while celebrating the Lord\u2019s win.<\/p>\n Stokes warmed up with 95 on Saturday and Atkinson took four wickets.<\/p>\n \u201cBen will be back,\u201d coach Brendon McCullum said at The Oval. \u201cHe\u2019ll be back and he\u2019ll be captain. Everyone is excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n Stokes and Atkinson were cleared to play by a disciplinary panel but given a written warning following a nightclub incident. \u201cNo blame should be attached to the players for violent conduct at the nightclub,\u201d the England and Wales Cricket Board said, adding Atkinson \u201cwas the victim of unprovoked attacks and did not retaliate.\u201d<\/p>\n Also available was wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after the Tuesday birth of his second child. His replacement, debutant James Rew, conceded the most byes by an England keeper in 12 years and dropped two catches. Ollie Robinson<\/a>, who took seven wickets at Lord\u2019s, was missing at The Oval because of knee soreness, the third straight test in which he\u2019s suffered an injury.<\/p>\n Rew and pacer Sonny Baker were dropped from the squad for the third test.<\/p>\n Root captained England for the first time since 2022, and was the only survivor from that side. He said he enjoyed leading again through an \u201cunsettling\u201d buildup; he became the second man to 14,000 test runs, though his record as test captain fell to 27-27.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of depth and exposure, normally when guys come in it\u2019s one at a time and they\u2019re helped through by seniority and guys around them,\u201d Root said. \u201cThis week\u2019s been quite different with the circumstances. Off the back of that, all you can really ask of players is to come in and give everything and they definitely did that.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n