Test Match Special - New Zealand dominant in decider at Trent Bridge

Episode Date: June 27, 2026

Daniel Norcross is alongside former England captains Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook, as well as BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew for reaction to the third day's play between England... and New Zealand at Trent Bridge.Hear from England spinner Shoaib Bashir, and New Zealand allrounder Nathan Smith.

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Starting point is 00:00:30 Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to the TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. So we're going to look back here on the third day of the test match between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge. And it's been a day that has definitely belonged to New Zealand. England started it in a strong position, really, at 223 for 2. where they contrive to be bowled out for 354,
Starting point is 00:01:03 conceding a sizable lead of 84, and then, after a little burst, they picked up a couple of early wickets, Bart Ratchin, Revinja, and Darrell Mitchell have got New Zealand into a terrific position, 120 for 3 at the close, a lead of 204 on a pitch, that has really started to show signs
Starting point is 00:01:20 of movement, danger and peril for the batters. I'm glad to say I'm joined by us. So, Alastair, Michael Vaughn, and Jonathan Agnew to look back on the day, and let's start at the very beginning Jonathan England's two overnight batters would have been not just dreaming
Starting point is 00:01:36 but genuinely expecting that they could get England into a position to get to 448 and beyond to give themselves a lead. Well I think all the talk up here was 500, 600 England were going to bat on and there was always that sort of cautionary tone of well hang on a minute
Starting point is 00:01:49 they're still over 200 behind you know but it just felt yesterday that all the momentum was with England that they were just going to carry on but then 13 balls of course that had gone because both those two batsmen are being dismissed, Root and Bethel, and broke apart, you know, I have to be quite critical of the batting.
Starting point is 00:02:07 I've got to say, I don't think, I think there are one or two balls that did account for wickets, but not that many. We've got the same issue again with bats from being wary of the week. He was standing up to the wicket, to the impact that that has had. But that's a chastening day for England. That really is.
Starting point is 00:02:24 You know, New Zealand here in a fantastic position. They lead by 204. got seven wickets left on a pitch that is yes it is it is it is increasingly misbehaving but that is not the day that that England would have planned at all and they're they're facing defeat at the moment I mean you can always turn around again but that's that's that's that's New Zealand's day is it time to worry Michael Bourne about Joe Root because it's a third LBW on an umpire school we've had and the New Zealanders got a very clear plan they're keeping him and Brooke tight in their crease and they're getting
Starting point is 00:02:57 them out at LBW or at least keeping them quiet. Yeah, I mean Joe Rout I'm sure I'll work it out but I just always watch this England side and when Joe Rout gets out in a certain way on a consistent basis and it's not been often and this last
Starting point is 00:03:13 a few innings Matt Henry at the Ovalon now Nathan Smith here New Zealand has found a way as did Australia in Brisbane with this keeper up tactic to eight odd miles an hour quite a skilful seamer in Nisa now we've got Smith we've had Henry have got Volks
Starting point is 00:03:28 I just know I've watched England enough that it sends a shudder down the England dress room when Joe Root gets out you know this England batting line-up has got very good players but under Basque McCollum
Starting point is 00:03:41 in this England environment for four years now they've only batted over 150 and over twice in the first that's 48 attempts so I look back to this morning I arrive like I guess said and I think most of us right well
Starting point is 00:03:52 the pitch was pure yesterday I'm sure it'll deteriorate a little bit and England or bat the day they should be able to bat, you know, with eight wickets in hand on that pitch against this New Zealand attack. You fancy that they've backed the day and have a 100 run lead by the end of it. But actually, having seen Joe Root get out and then Jacob Bethel, I actually said to myself, why was I so confident when I looked at the stats of information that this team have delivered for four years when they only bat twice in 48 attempts over 115 overs and to get 500,
Starting point is 00:04:23 550, which we all thought they were going to do on this pitch? The history books of stats and information told you that it wasn't going to be possible. You have to give New Zealand a huge amount of credit. You know, last week England were depleted. This week, New Zealand are depleted, but they found a way. And they found a way with skill. They found a way with determination. Yesterday, England dominated the day, and I thought that would be it from New Zealand.
Starting point is 00:04:47 But they found a way of finding a real kind of mindset of fight and skill. And they're the favourites to win the test match from here. That lower middle order, Alice Cook played in the side, which had a very strong lower middle order, six, seven, and then an eight and a nine, sometimes with Swan and Broad that were scoring runs. And there's no sense of permanence in that part of England's batting order. And it's a lot seems to depend on Harry Brooke to keep things going.
Starting point is 00:05:10 He couldn't quite keep it going all the way through a century today. He got another 58, but it was undone by a good bit of bowling from folks. Were you surprised by how what is actually New Zealand's third string, Alistair, was able to bowl on this pitch? Sometimes as a captain, it's better been lucky than good and I think Tom Latham with the unfortunate redrawal of Tickner Blair Tickner with the blow which arch a nasty ball
Starting point is 00:05:38 but you ask every England bats and who they would rather face it would have been Tickner rather than folks who's come off and he's just found that perfect air of control A to our man now the keeper comes up and he just bashes away and he found a crack where it did all sorts occasionally like some odd balls you know Harry Brut missed one by about
Starting point is 00:05:57 I reckon four or five inches on 40 odd and now that played doubt in England's mind and the odd one nipping back it's a very simple ploy there straight fields and England weren't good enough actually I thought the lower order stuck around we've seen quite a lot of the lower order with this team under McCullum
Starting point is 00:06:14 just backing away and trying to score as many runs as quickly as they can actually Archer Atkinson they hung around really desperate to get as many runs as they can because suddenly runs became really valuable because we thought it was going to be a low-scoring game. And they were, so I can't blame them, I can't blame them. You're blaming the, you have to blame the top seven because that's what it does.
Starting point is 00:06:34 They haven't got on to get that. The pitch was changed a lot more than I thought it did, but it still wasn't a pitch I think you would get out on. And then when England are bowled it, not get out, that's not right, it would have been as difficult it as was? Have New Zealand found something in that pitch that England couldn't do apart from, you know, 10 overs or so? you know, they're seeing when Archer's bowling.
Starting point is 00:06:54 Stokes bowled again, clean bold. It's happening regularly, isn't it? You know, in a big booming drive at a ball that wasn't there for it. He's getting in his habit of walking off as if he's been burgled. He's had the most unplayable delivery in the history of the game. Well, that wasn't. That was just the really poor shot selection. It just came back a little bit at him, but, you know,
Starting point is 00:07:15 a bowler's entitled to do that with a massive gap, booming drive. And he's getting bowled too often. And I don't know how many times you two were in clean bowl in your career or percentage, put it that way. But Stokes' percentage of being bold now
Starting point is 00:07:27 in recent times is far too high. Well, if you actually look at the big drive that Ben played on a few occasions he got dropped at Gully by Devin Commey. He could have been out to the big drive.
Starting point is 00:07:36 He aged one past Gully. That went in the air, could have been caught and obviously gone to hand and then he plays the big drive to a length ball. He's clearly in that kind of mindset of the minute.
Starting point is 00:07:46 He played well for Durham last week being ultra-agreffive but guess what he was doing? He was dancing down because the keeper wasn't stood up. Keeper stood up, I'm telling you now, and they'll hate me of say they have an issue. They have an issue with this skill set
Starting point is 00:07:59 and this tactic that's been produced against them. Now they need to be coached or coaching themselves to play it better because in the second news, guess what's going to happen? The keeper will be stood up. Guess what will happen against Pakistan? Mohammed Abbas will probably play. And guess what will happen? The keeper will stood up in a year's time, Australia.
Starting point is 00:08:16 But it's not rocket side? Why is it suddenly happening? I mean, Tom Cartwright and dear old Derek Shackleton were doing this. in the 1960s. It's slightly concerning when we're hearing the likes of Shackleton and Cartwright being mentioned. But what's going on? I mean, they say it's not rocket science.
Starting point is 00:08:30 It's not something that's new. Why is it suddenly come a thing? In this modern era of the game, and a lot of these players, the real great players, Joe Roots, K.N. They try and put the percentages back in their favor.
Starting point is 00:08:43 So by coming out of the crease to scene bowlers, who are bowling 8-odd miles out, they're not worried about the short ball, what they're worried about LBW. You come out your crease, you get outside the line, you can't be out LBW.
Starting point is 00:08:52 How are you going to get out? Now they've gone, a-a-a, keeper up, you've got to go back in your crease. Guess what we've brought into the equation, the LBW, extra covers in place, mid-wickets in place, mid-on and mid-off, quite tight.
Starting point is 00:09:04 You're looking down as a batter going, where am I going to score? So you really have to get quite a bad ball to score a boundary when the keeper stood up. And when you've got real consistency in Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Michael, Nisa, now Falkch, you're going. Plugging away.
Starting point is 00:09:19 Yeah, and they're just hammering, that fourth stump line. They know they're not going to go for too many runs. And the runs that you do score of them, if it's a good ball, you're opening the blade of the bat to that cover point gap, or you're coming across your front pad to go square the wicket on the on side.
Starting point is 00:09:32 It's a brilliant tactic. You've still got to deliver it. Now, England have got to find a way. So Marcus, the batting coach, Bazma Cullum, his team of coaches, have got to get the bats to get. They have to find a solution. Because if they don't find a solution,
Starting point is 00:09:45 they're going to lose this series, and they'll be challenged against Pakistan, South Africa probably will do some something similar. It's not going to go away. It's always going to arrive and it's always going to be the target of this England batting unit. The best batsmen are problem solvers. And Joe Root will solve this problem
Starting point is 00:10:01 because that's what he's done over 13, 14 years and there's been other periods where he's had little issues and he'll overcome them quicker than the best players. The reason it's working for Joe, for New Zealand's working against Joe at the minute because he's not doing anything differently
Starting point is 00:10:16 apart from staying a bit close to the stump. So when he was a bit further down, he'd missed the ball to hit his pad and exactly the same ball, but because the ball had further to travel, and it would nip, it would go down and miss legs done. That's the reason for Joe. I have no doubt, you know, the second leading run score ever.
Starting point is 00:10:32 What would you do if you were Joe, what would you advise? I would just be making sure that I hit more of those. Just get into your mind, just hitting whether... I would actually come a little bit more leg side of the ball. I would just come a little bit leg side of the ball. He was then worried, I reckon that he would then be hit in line,
Starting point is 00:10:48 but I'll trust myself that the reason he's so good is he doesn't miss them very often. He's been LVW, what's it, six times, the last eight innings or so. It's now been 1,000 balls, now it's 100 balls. But these little things creep in and longevity, and no matter how good you are, you do it. So just realign yourself a little bit, I would, for Joe, and just stay a little bit leg side of the ball,
Starting point is 00:11:09 and trust yourself that you'll be fine. So I know Michael's got to go, but so we're talking technology and wobble scene? Are they the two sort of game changes here? Yeah, I mean, technology is obviously a little bit, harder but you know the wobble seems a good skill you know we've seen so many demos on the television about the wobble scene but you know the skill sets from vaults and particularly Smith that just seems to be able to get the ball just nipping it's going quickly you know the one thing i say about joe ru he's always getting beaten on the inside edge at the minute you know
Starting point is 00:11:35 he's not getting beaten on the outside edge so alistair's right if he could just stay a little bit leg side of the ball so if he's then beaten on the inside edge it's probably going to go down the leg side i've not seen joe play and miss at many from when the keeper's stood up to Matt Henry to Smith to Fox. I've not seen him playing misset balls outside off stumped. So I wouldn't be worried about that one at the minute. If I was Joe, I'd be worried about that one that's nipping back onto the stumps. What I don't understand is how Daryl Mitchell was able to bat perfectly
Starting point is 00:12:04 with the keepers up to the stumps. What's he doing differently from what Joe... Hitting the ball. And Harry Brook is. Well, put it very simply, yes. There's two things. There's two things that the actual New Zealand bowlers are different. style of bowlers, as in a bit skidder, Matt Henry's skiddy bowler, where actually, I'm going to
Starting point is 00:12:23 Atkinson, Archer, tongue slightly different, but Atkinson Archham to hit the pitch bowlers. And Darrell Mitchell is very open, so he's a very open stance player, so he gets his leg out of the way. That will be less of an issue to him. Are we crying out for an English semen of bowls 80 miles an hour? It does rather sound like it, doesn't it? Because ironically, this is how England had been undone, both in Australia we've talked about before, with Boland and Nisa, and now here with New Zealand's, like I said,
Starting point is 00:12:53 almost third string in some cases, and it all looks incredibly simple. Isn't it great, though, the way the game does revolve? And I've talked about Shackleton and Carr, right, with a slightly tongue-in-cheek, but that's what they were doing, you know, 70, 60, 70 years ago. Did they cause problems? Well, I guess so, yeah, but there wasn't the technology.
Starting point is 00:13:12 They had uncovered pitches, so there might have been the movement. They didn't have technology and they didn't have wobblesing. And both of those have made a difference to this, haven't they? Yeah, and they played on uncovered wickets. But it's great.
Starting point is 00:13:23 But that's what the challenge of cricket throws it, doesn't he? And that's why it's so hard. You never conquer it. We're talking about Joe Rutt, who is England's best batsman. He's up right out there the best world has ever seen.
Starting point is 00:13:34 And yet this creeps into anyone's games and he'll have to find a way. And I have no doubt he will find away. Another question for me, I'm just talking about it, I'm talking about it. I've got a question, because it caught my time.
Starting point is 00:13:44 attention yesterday when whoever was being interviewed by from the England Capcom, who it was now, but it was Ben Duckett, wasn't it? They have a name for Joe Root. England's best ever or England's best. They have like a title for him. So when he gets out, oh no, best player ever's gone. Do you think that's got any sort of impact on it?
Starting point is 00:14:04 I don't think so. I mean, the one thing it might do, it's comforting, isn't it, watching when you know, he's out there because, you know, most of the time he delivers. average is 50 in test cricket for 160 test matches. He's going to score 100 runs a test match. So the rest of no, what's that noise?
Starting point is 00:14:20 Oh, Joe's out. Oh, no. Well, I think you will have that feeling. Well, no. But I don't think that's... I don't think you walk out of the back because in any different frame of mind. I mean, there are some quite dominant personalities in that line up. So I imagine Harry Brooke probably thinks that he can handle this. You'd imagine Ben Sokes would think that. I think there's a worry about Jamie Smith because his form started well at the county championship the season,
Starting point is 00:14:42 but we're seeing familiar failing. and today's this missile was not a good one. It was a ball that didn't do anything and he drove at it loosely at the wrong time. And no, it wasn't brilliant behind the stump. So just to wrap up on England's innings, Nathan Smith was a leading wicket-taker with four for 91. Zach Fawkes, three for 35,
Starting point is 00:14:58 but also Willow Rourke bowled well and very differently to pick up his three for 53. Then New Zealand came out to bat with a surprising lead of 84. The game has churned yet again from one side to the other and it looked like it might change back towards England when Archer picked up two early wickets.
Starting point is 00:15:17 Latham in the first over. Latham and Conway, both been 150, both out for single figures. That was a good spell from Archer. And at that point, England were back in it, Jonathan. Yeah, he's only bowling 82, 83 miles an hour, but still getting this quite steepling bounce. He just found an area outside the left hand is off stumpy.
Starting point is 00:15:35 I mean, clearly unsettled Conway. Nasty blow on the head. There's a long break while I had to get a helmet to fit, all that sort of stuff. Conreras had a long time to think about it and his shop was a little bit, a little it windy I thought it'd been unsettled. For me, Ravindra was always going to be the danger because it's a free flowing batsman, left-handed and the lead could quickly grow which puts so much pressure then back on the fielding side, fielding positions and so on
Starting point is 00:16:02 and there was a nick that went through the slips at a very catchable height but there wasn't a second slip. There's signs that obviously Stokes had to be very well about that lead but he's the danger man for me because he's got he's got the shots he plays freely I say left-handed has opened up the field and to see him sickedy not out that's that's a concern for me the tms podcast from BBC Radio 5 live he's widely recognized as one of the greatest footballers in history he's won the prestigious ballandor award five times he's the all-time leading goal scorer in professional football and according to the Bloomberg billionaires index, he's the first active footballer in history to achieve billionaire status.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Guess who we're talking about yet? That's right. Good Bad Billionaire is exploring the life and fortune of football icon Cristiano Ronaldo. That's Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Only one other wicket fell, that of Henry Nichols, caught by Brook, Atkinson, who had bowed well, but then something curious happened. And it was that Shera Bershear bowled a lot of overs from the end where folks had actually got quite a lot of joy.
Starting point is 00:17:21 Alistair, were you surprised by that captain? See, I mean, he didn't bowl badly, Bashir. Nine overs done for 28, but it felt like a missed opportunity. In a session where they only bowled in total 35 overs. And the series is on the line, and possibly the whole, like jobs are on the line. Don't you say to your four fast bowlers right, you've got nine overs each, you've got to bowl them all? Well, the thing for me is, so the left-hander, which we Archer exploited, New Zealand's top order, there's a crack bowling from the Stuart Broad End towards us
Starting point is 00:17:51 which Archer hit and made life very uncomfortable for the New Zealand of it you're crying out on this end bowling from our end at the media centre end that New Zealand found that crack to the right-hander and only one ball was bowled at a right-hander from this end to tongue and I couldn't wait for it it was a 17th over Mitchell's I think it was 17th over Mitchell's on strike tongue would bowled five or six over is plenty still you know The game's on the line, right, Mitchell, what are you going to do to this crack?
Starting point is 00:18:20 And the next time I saw Bashir bowl, and my head went into my hands. And if it turned out to be a great tactical move and Bashir got wickets, fine, but it didn't in that there. And I thought, oh my God, what's happened here? Let's have a look, let's see. I was really genuinely excited about someone bowling, because he bowled at 91 now. The crowd was roaring, but he was bowling mainly at the left-hander, and he got the right-handle-and-strike-Mitchell, and he just didn't happen. And from that moment on the initiative, lost, ask every... And Mitchell had been stood at slip all time.
Starting point is 00:18:48 watching folks bowl these balls to Brooke. He'd have been thinking, oh my God, what happens when I face this end? He didn't get it, and you're saying, who do you want to face? Bashir, who bowled nicely fine, or a bloat by a night and miles hitting a crack? I could not. I genuinely could not believe it. There was no pressure, was there? That's the trouble. It's like, pressure off. And he just, just, he spun one or two. I think I had the rough more than anything else, wasn't it, from outside the off-stump. But that was disappointing. In a way, it is quite typical Stokes.
Starting point is 00:19:16 Stokes can often do that quite. deliberately, I think, because he knows that people are saying he shouldn't be doing it. He can be quite a stubborn individual. I mean, he wants Bashir to do well. There'll be part of him thinking they want to big Bashir up a bit. And therefore we're going to give him a bowl, but it's a bad decision. Wrong decision. Well, Simon Mann is speaking to Shera and maybe we'll find out about that decision.
Starting point is 00:19:37 Well, show, when you started off this morning, what was your hope, expectation as a team? Yeah, I mean, yesterday we fought ourselves back into quite a good position. and for us this morning to lose a few wickets was a few wickets early was quite disappointing we would have liked to got close to their score or a lead if possible but that yeah that didn't turn out to be
Starting point is 00:20:00 but I thought the boys when we went out here today we bowled well we were restricted them but yeah tomorrow we've got a job to do and got to bowl them out tomorrow yeah I mean how did you assess the overall state of the game yeah it's
Starting point is 00:20:15 obviously they're probably ahead of the game at the moment I'd say but you know the game's changing massively the wicket's spinning now which is good signs for me and yeah it looked like the ball was doing a lot more today than it has done in these last few days so yeah we know we'll come tomorrow quite positive and see where we can get it. So it felt like an unusual game I mean there being big fluctuations
Starting point is 00:20:39 throughout the match yeah it has I mean the wickets played very strangely it's a good wicket We saw on day one where Lundle and Conway. Yeah, two openers, obviously the 300-run partnership, which shows you how good that wicket was. But yeah, it's changing, so we're looking forward to seeing where we can get to tomorrow. What do you think might be quite difficult to chase? What do you feel you need to keep them to?
Starting point is 00:21:08 I wouldn't put a number on it at the moment, but as little as possible, obviously. as possible, obviously. What about your experience? You bought a lot early in the season, didn't you, in the championship 200 overs before the Lord's test? Not much bowling in the last or month or so. What was it like coming into this game without that, a lot of recent bowling behind you?
Starting point is 00:21:29 Yeah, to be honest, I've been training a huge amount. I made the move to Derbyshire, where Mickey Arthur took me under his wing. And yeah, I've bowled a lot more overs than I have done in the previous years, so I feel like my bowling is in a good place at the moment. and what about your role tomorrow? Yeah, as you saw, the wickets deteriorating a bit. So obviously my role is going to be a more important role.
Starting point is 00:21:54 I've bowled here before in second innings, and yeah, it's been special, so I see what I can pull out on my sleeve tomorrow. Are you surprised how the pitch has turned out today? Not in particular. The weather's allowed the pitch to dry out, so and there has been lateral movement and a bit of bounce but yeah we're at Trent Bridge so yeah anything can happen
Starting point is 00:22:20 thanks very much your time great thanks a lot thank you and that was Bashir with Simon Mann he said anything could happen he also said earlier in that interview that it was really starting to turn and spin was really going to come into it and he was going to have a massive role to play now what we watched was New Zealand getting the pitch to do all sorts with seamers we saw England doing it themselves a little bit not so much with the pitch but taking their wickets with Seamers but everything that we saw today was
Starting point is 00:22:45 assisting Seamus. Do you think that's an unusual reading of the pitch? Well I mean it's unusual he was put up in the first place who had not not out and naught for 28. A poor old showb has to go out and talk about England's performances so he's just trying to make it himself I suppose really relevant tomorrow I mean someone's got to bowl them out
Starting point is 00:23:03 but from what we saw today it's unlikely to be him it's more likely to be a fast bowler bowling at right-handers from this end They've got to get Revinja out quickly. So, you know, I want Archer coming in at the far end bowling to the left handers crack. And I want to see Atkinson or tongue, preferably actually, bowling from this end at the right handers.
Starting point is 00:23:24 And they've just got to get, they've got to roll them over tomorrow. Otherwise, I mean, 250, 260 is going to take a lot of getting. Because the problem for England is that, you know, folks who was not even playing in the game and look steady. He does look steady. But because the pitch, the way it's playing, he's actually dangerous. If you look at the attack,
Starting point is 00:23:43 first thing this morning thought, oh, you know, England will get a lot of runs here. But actually, they've got just the attack for these conditions. That would be very difficult for England.
Starting point is 00:23:52 I mean, I've given up predicting because who would have predicted that on day two that England will have that kind of day, bowl New Zealand out for 100 runs, basically for eight wickets, and then be in the position they were at the end of day two
Starting point is 00:24:08 to the position we are and the day three. You can never, ever, right off this England side because they have produced. I think Ben Duckett is going to be so crucial for the start of the chase because how he plays and the pressure he transfers back onto the New Zealand bowlers. So yeah, I can't write England off. And Agers is right. I hate to admit it sometimes.
Starting point is 00:24:31 Revinja, the way he plays, New Zealand missed that on day two morning where both like Blundell, Mitchell not went into the shelves but tried to grind their way into a situation. They got it wrong, didn't they? Yeah, rather than putting their foot a bit more aggressively, they allowed England to bowl, and England countered that. So who knows in this test match? And that's why we love it. We try and predict, and we...
Starting point is 00:24:52 I haven't got anything right so far, I'm not. No, me neither. Well, it's Nathan Smith, who took the most wickets with four for 91, and he's with Simon Mann. Well, Nathan, what about that fight back today? Yeah, there's a fabulous day from us. With the ball, start off of the ball. I thought we put the ball in good areas for...
Starting point is 00:25:09 Got some rewards early, and then hung in there. long periods which was good. What were you thinking this morning because you totally controlled the first day and then England fought back on the second day were you fearing that they you know they might better get a lead? Oh I mean we never really sort of let ourselves think that too that far ahead but
Starting point is 00:25:26 for us it was just about keeping it as simple as possible and just try get our execution up a little bit more compared to the day two. What did you make of the pitch today? I actually felt like it offered a little bit more this morning than it did yesterday and obviously a few from folks there you saw seem quite sharply.
Starting point is 00:25:44 And then a couple of our wickets as well were starting to do a little bit more, especially with that newer hardball. So hopefully we can pile on a few more and then have a crack at them late tomorrow night. The tactic of having the keeper standing up worked so well for Matt Henry in particular at the Oval, but also for you as well. What about it? How do you see it? Yeah, it's an interesting one.
Starting point is 00:26:03 You're not really used to having the keeper up too much. But I think it just takes their feet away, both Root and Brook, especially. like to get out of their crease and be quite proactive. So I think it just keeps them on the crease. And obviously we're trying to set them up for that sort of, that LBW, that one that nips back. But it also keeps them a little bit leg side of it because they are worried about that. And I think you saw in the second innings at the Oval, Matt Henry knicked off, Harry Brooke as well. So I think it just gives you both edges, keeping them on the crease.
Starting point is 00:26:29 And obviously, Tom Blundell's, he's kept amazing these last two tests. So he's really got us back in the game. Are you surprised at how well it's worked? I'm not surprised. We're very happy it's worked well. I don't know about surprise because Tom's an amazing keeper. I mean, it's just something that we're not used to. Visually, it's a little bit different from a bowling point of view.
Starting point is 00:26:49 You used to sort of seeing the ball fly through past the outside edge. But I think, you know, even you saw there, Joffa got the keeper up for a couple of balls there. So you just have to adjust. What was it like to get Joe Root out this morning? I mean, that's the way you need to go early on, isn't it? For sure, yeah. I was definitely prepared to sort of have to work for it quite a bit this morning and put the ball in an area for a long period of time.
Starting point is 00:27:09 But luckily got one to nigh to do. knit pretty early and yeah we're pretty happy with that one yeah what about the state of the game you're about 200 runs ahead seven wickets in hand i mean how many do you feel you need not not saying to be safe but feel oh yeah we got a really good chance in the game yeah i was a little bit nervous when we were two for 12 i was thinking what can we get to here but you know the boys have batted really well this evening to get us through to 200 ahead um i'm not sure how many we need or i just know we we want a hell of a lot more tomorrow back for another session and a half if we can and obviously I think it does a little bit more in the morning here as well
Starting point is 00:27:44 so we'll see how we go there in that first hour but then yeah pile on over 300 for sure are you expecting the pitch to disintegrate a little bit more I feel like I feel like the heat's done its thing it's definitely I feel like it's definitely gotten worse for batting as the game's gone on so I'd assume it would continue with that trend okay well done today thanks very much yes thank you well obviously delighted Nathan smith bat on for a session and a half things are tricky in the morning wickets deteriorating. Alastair Kirk, it's all doom and gloom for England.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Is there any way back in this match? Well, absolutely, there is. They get Revinja Mitchell out early and suddenly then run scoring becomes harder and you're tating 270. Ben Duckett gets off to a flyer and Joe Wroo knocks him off with Harry Brooke. That's the dream scenario.
Starting point is 00:28:27 And in this test match it swung so violently from side to side. It's really hard to call. Guess what? It'd be exciting and be great to watch. As you say, an incredibly unpredictable game. Thanks to Michael, Alastair and Aggers. That's it for this episode of the TMS podcast. Make sure you subscribe so you'll never miss an episode. You can watch highlights on today at the test on iPlayer or the BBC Sport website and app where you'll find action from the England
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