England and New Zealand faced off on day four of the second Test at Headingley.
The Kiwis began the day 338 runs ahead of Alastair Cook's men and quickly added to their total, taking the score over the 400-run mark with some excellent hitting around the ground.
Brendon McCullum declared on 454-8 leaving England a victory target of 455. Alastair Cook and Adam Lyth faced 13 overs before rain forced play to be abandoned with the score at 44-0.
New Zealand now require 10 wickets to win the Test and square the series on the final day, while the Three Lions can bat out the scheduled 98 overs to win the series.
Read how all the events unfolded on day four in our commentary below.
Good morning and welcome to the live commentary of day four of the second Test between England and New Zealand.
The Kiwis are in a strong position in the match as BJ Watling's century on day three has given his side a 338-lead, leaving England with an uphill task to drag themsevles back into the game.
England put in a poor performance on day three as they slipped from 252-2 to 350 all out, which was only reached due to some good lower-order hitting by Stuart Broad. However, the bowlers allowed New Zealand to score at speed to take the game away from Alastair Cook's men at Headingley.
One of England's main problems has been the lack of control provided by spinner Moeen Ali as he was dispatched for 70 runs in his 15 overs yesterday without taking a wicket. Ben Stokes also struggled to keep the runs down, which allowed the Kiwis' batsmen spread the field to ease the pressure.
As it stands, England would require their highest-run chase in their history in Test cricket to overcome Brendon McCullum's men to take the series 2-0. However, the Kiwis will have their sights set on a even higher total than they have now, which could push them above the 400-run mark. The highest total successfully chased in the fourth innings of a Test match was by the West Indies in 2003 when they managed to scored 418 to beat Australia.
The weather forecast is good for all of today with no rain expected at Headingley until around 8pm BST. So both teams will have an excellent opportunity to set up a winning platform on day four.
To highlight the difficulty in England's potential chase in the fourth innings. The last time they successfully chased over 300 to win a match was back in 2001 against Australia at Headingley where Mark Butcher scored an unbeaten 173 to earn the Three Lions their solitary victory in the Ashes that summer.
New Zealand bowler Tim Southee believes that early wickets in the fourth innings of the match will be crucial in deciding whether his side can record a victory to square the series.
He told BBC Sport: "There is enough there (in the wicket) but saying that there is still value for shots as well. Early wickets is key in any game you play."
The players are amassed on the behind the boundary ropes waiting to come on to the pitch so we should be ready for play in the next few minutes.
Here we go, James Anderson will bowl the first over of the morning.
Anderson starts well outside the off stump with four good deliveries that Watling can't get away. However, the bowler then drifts into Watling's legs and he has no problem putting the ball away between mid-wicket and mid-on for a boundary. Watling ends the over with a cover drive for three runs to take the strike for the next over.
Solid work by New Zealand as Watling and Craig rotate the strike off the bowling of Mark Wood in the second over of the day to pick up three singles. Every run is so vital at this stage of proceedings.
Anderson pitches the ball up around the off stump to Watling, but the Kiwi managed to find two runs off the third ball of the over by whipping the ball off his legs. Anderson ends strongly with a couple of dot balls, but New Zealand continue their dominance by reaching the 350-run mark.
England continue to struggle to contain the runs as Wood pitches the ball up to Craig, but the number eight shows composure at the crease to belt the ball back down the ground for four runs. He follows that shot up with another excellent strike for a boundary off the final ball of the over to reach 24*.
DROPPED! Craig drives the ball on the up into the direction of Broad at mid-off, but he cannot make the catch as he dives to left. Broad went to his left, but tried to make the catch with his right which prevented from holding on. An opportunity missed for the Three Lions, while the Kiwis churn out another three runs from the over.
Another boundary to Watling as he hammers a poor delivery from Wood through the gully region to bring up the 50 partnership between Watling and Craig. The duo reach the milestone in just 76 balls and look very assured at the crease.
WICKET! WATLING (120) C ROOT B ANDERSON
Watling's brilliant innings of 120 comes to an end as he gets a good ball from Anderson which squares him up on the crease and he gets a leading edge. The ball travels quickly to Root at third slip, but he dives to his right to make the grab. A great knock by Watling which could well be a match-winning innings.
Tim Southee is the new man at the crease and he manages to get off the mark with a single from his first ball. Anderson bowls out the over with a good line to Craig, who opts to leave the ball outside his off stump.
Wood will be furious with a number of people after this over as Southee manages just wafts at the ball outside off stump and plays and misses five times without getting anywhere near the ball. When Southee finally gets the edge, it flies between Bell and Root in the slip cordon with neither making an attempt to make the catch. England's fielding in this match has been extremely poor and the effort from the two players highlights their continuing struggles.
Anderson bowls a good line to Craig for four balls of the over before he strays into his pads and the batsman dispatches the ball past Ali on the boundary, who tried to make a diving stop.
Southee swings from the hip and fires a boundary over mid-on from the first ball of the over, and he then gets away with another chance as he edges the ball onto his pad for a single. Craig keeps up the pressure on Wood with two boundaries off short deliveries which he plays well. The frustration increases for England and so does their potential chase total.
400 UP for New Zealand! Southee is really getting to England here as he swipes at the ball and gets away with a poor shot as the ball lands safely over the head of cover. He registers another boundary this time with a good shot off the back foot. He and Craig then manage to rotate the strike, which brings up the 400-run mark for the tourists.
Southee takes the attack to Broad, as he replaces Wood in the attack, and takes 20 off the over. His first boundary is smashed through square leg as Ballance is unable to cut the ball off in time, but his second is a wonderful shot with a six over mid-on. He keeps up the pressure with a sublime strike through cover to the boundary to bring up the 50 partnership between him and Craig off just 33 balls. Remember, Bell and Root failed to attempt a catch in the slips when he was on one.
Good batting from Craig as he puts Anderson to the sword with two excellent shots off the back foot through cover. England's bowling has become indisciplined over the past 30 minute as frustration has started to creep in.
DRINKS! After an hour's play New Zealand have extended their lead to 432 runs, leaving England with a mammoth challenge to avoid defeat in the match. Southee and Craig have chanced their arm a bit and have had a bit of luck, but they've started to produce quality shots in the past 20 minutes or so to frustrate the England bowlers.
WICKET! SOUTHEE 40 C ANDERSON B ALI
Southee's entertaining innings comes to an end as he tries to blast Ali down the ground and just doesn't get enough on his shot to beat Anderson on the long-on boundary.
Craig also brought up his half century in the last over as capitalised on a mis-field to reach his third Test match 50.
NEW ZEALAND DECLARE! An exceptional over for New Zealand as they power over the 450-run mark as Craig belts the ball down the ground for a huge six with a baseball-like swing of the bat. Henry gets away with a top edge, but then proceeds to smash two of his next three balls over the rope over fine leg. As a result, McCullum called his troops in and have set England 455 runs to win in a day and two and bit sessions.
I don't think that session could have gone any worse for England if they tried a few hundred times. Watling, Craig, Southee and even Henry scored runs with ease as they picked up boundaries with absolute power strokes. The bowling was horrendous by Cook's men as they just put the ball on a length waiting to be hit. There were very few yorkers and slower balls to put the tailenders in trouble, while the fielding was also abject.
England will now have to pull off the highest-run chase in Test match history or bat out nearly two days to claim a series win over the Kiwis.
Alastair Cook and Adam Lyth are making their way out onto the field for the England innings. Trent Boult will open the bowling for McCullum's men.
Solid start to the innings from Lyth as gets off the mark with a couple and then picks up a single, while Cook sees out the opening over from Boult.
England continue their decent start as Lyth scores the first boundary of the innings as he cuts a short ball from Southee off the back foot past point. Cook gets off the mark with a couple of twos.
No scares for England at the moment as Lyth gets a single to continue his solid start, while Cook knocks the ball off his legs for another couple. Boult has yet to find his rhythm in the innings.
A good shot by Lyth as he waits for the ball to come on to his bat and strokes it through cover for his second boundary of the innings. Southee displays his inaccuracy not for the first time in the series with a wide on the off-side. The Kiwis have failed to find their groove with their bowling at the moment.
Cook rides a delivery from Boult and knocks it away for a couple of runs down to third man. Boult then responds with an absolute beauty outside of off-stump that has the England captain feeling for the ball, but he just misses it to save his wicket. The skipper takes the strike for the start of the next over with a single down to fine leg off the final ball.
A maiden from Southee, which I believe is our first of the day! There was nothing for Cook to hit in that over as the bowler kept a tight line around off-stump from around the wicket.
England continue to be solid as Boult drops short and Lyth picks up three runs as he guides the ball through cover. His strike didn't quite have enough power to reach the boundary, so Cook faces the final few deliveries of the over and he once again takes the strike with a quick single to square leg.
McCullum brings Craig into the attack for a bit of off-spin before lunch. The change almost produces a wicket as his fifth delivery spins at the last second and hits Cook on the back leg, but the ball was just going past off-stump. England get a single off the final ball thanks to a mis-field, but there was plenty of promise there for Craig and New Zealand.
LUNCH! England reach the break without losing a wicket as Cook and Lyth have been solid at the crease. Southee and Boult haven't provided a threat with the new ball yet, but the Kiwis are certainly favourites to win this match and square the series after their exploits earlier this morning. Cook ends the session on 15* after scoring a boundary with a flick off Boult in the last over, while Lyth is also unbeaten on 15.
An excellent morning for New Zealand as they have put themsevles in a dominating position with a day and two sessions to play in the match. Alastair Cook's men will rue their poor bowling display as they allowed McCullum's side easy runs to set a target of 455, which leaves the Three Lions needing the highest-run chase in the history of Test cricket to claim victory at Headingley.
Right, grab yourselves some lunch and join us at 1.40pm when the afternoon sessions begins. Catch you soon!
We're back for the afternoon session at Lyth and Cook make their way to the crease.
Productive first over of the afternoon session for England as Lyth hits two boundaries off Matt Henry's first over of the innings. The first was streaky as the Yorkshire man hit the ball on the up, but it flew past over and raced to the fence, while the second was more controlled and trickled away. Lyth has reached 23 off 21 deliveries as he looks to build from his century in the first innings.
A single from Boult's first over aftert lunch as Cook just manages to squeeze the ball past the man behind square and down to fine leg. Boult keeps a tight line to Lyth to keep the batsman from his attacking shots.
Another single from Cook stops a maiden over from Henry with a strike down to fine leg. The paceman bowled well for five deliveries, but just strayed into his pads to alleviate the pressure.
Cook and Lyth continue their good work as they rotate the strike off Boult. The skipper notches a quick single through cover, while his opening partner hammers a shot straight to deep backward square leg to keep the scoreboard moving.
RAIN! Rain has descended at Headingley and it has forced the players from the field. It didn't look too bad a few minutes ago, but the cloud has closed in around the ground which looks quite ominous. Good be a lenghty stop here.
In the context of the match this stoppage could be key for England's hopes of hold outing for draw to secure a series win. There is plenty of time left in the game, but if the stoppage wipes out a session or two, Cook's men could battle out the remaining time to earn the draw.
The stoppage could also disrupt England's rhythm as Cook and Lyth have started the innings quite well. Lyth especially has started to look comfortable at the crease after his difficult time at Lord's. Obviously his century will have given the Yorkshire man plenty of confidence, but he has started to display an attacking edge to his game, which could be a huge boost for England given the passive nature of Cook and Gary Ballance at the top of the order.
The form of Cook will also be a relief to the ECB as he continues to look in excellent touch. The 29-year-old left the ball well outside his off-stump to Boult and Southee, which has forced them to straighten their lines and with it allowed Cook to play off his pads. There is probably no better player in the world playing off his pads than Cook. It will be very interesting to see whether he can keep his form up in the match and into the Ashes later this year.
UPDATE! The delay will be lengthy one as the ground staff are putting pegs and weights on the sheets surrounding the wicket at Headingley. We will keep you posted on when play will resume in Leeds.
England's bowling will be a concern ahead of the Ashes following their performance earlier in the day. The Three Lions have struggled immensely in recent times to dismiss tailenders cheaply, which like in today's case can add an extra 50 to 100 runs to a run chase. Cook and his bowlers have to develop better tactics when the opposition decides to take the game to them.
The issue of spin will also be a major talking point after this match because Moeen Ali has failed to replicate his form of the Test series against India last year. His wicket tally has dramatically decreased and he is also failing to keep the runs down at his end, which is putting more pressure on the seamers. Conditions have suited for the pace bowlers to pitch the ball up, but that also comes at the risk of going for runs, which has been highlighted in this Test.
Kevin Pietersen called for the inclusion of Yorkshire spinner Adil Rashid, which may go against the 27-year-old considering's Pietersen's current relationship with the ECB, but he would provide an attacking option with his leg spin. James Tredwell could also come back into the side in a role similar Ashley Giles in the 2005 Ashes series.
New Zealand's resurgence under Brendon McCullum has been fascinating to watch as a victory would see them remain unbeaten in their last seven Test match series. McCullum is arguably the best captain in international at the moment as along with his exploits in the five-day format, he also helped guide his side to the final of the World Cup earlier this year.
New Zealand's fielding throughout the match has also been outstanding. As former players will often say, you can tell a lot about a team by the demeanour and performance in the field. The Kiwis have been alert to the ball and have seemed to snag every chance that has come their way in the series, while England have been extremely poor. Moeen Ali had three chances dropped alone by his fieldeders on day one, while Ian Bell missed two chances to go for the ball in the slip cordon.
One of Trevor Bayliss's first job as the new coach of England will be to get their fielding back to a high level for the Ashes because the Three Lions will not be able to get away with missed chances against the Aussies.
UPDATE! An early Tea has been taken in the hope that if play eventually does resume today, then there will no need for a second stoppage in play.
The rain has not abated either as the covers have a series of puddles on their surface, so even if the rain stops we could be waiting a while for the groundstaff to remove the excess water.
The declaration from McCullum came at a good time as it gave the Black Caps' bowlers time to find their lines and lengths on the pitch before the rain came, meaning that they shouldn't need to too much time to bed in when play does get back underway.
If the Kiwis are to tie the series they will have to take these 10 England wickets within four sessions. Mark Craig got the ball to spin off the pitch in his only over in the second innings, which gave Cook a little bit of trouble, so a lot will be expected of him. However, his average is in the early 40s and has taken 33 wickets in his nine matches, so Craig is not renowned for his match-winning ability.
Trent Boult will be the main spearhead of the New Zealand attack following his nine-wicket performance in the first Test at Lord's. The 25-year-old only took two wickets in the first innings as he played second fiddle to Southee, but with conditions in his favour and a lot of left handers in the England batting lineup to go up against, he will fancy his chances of being McCullum's go-to man.
Tim Southee will also like his chances of winning the match for the Kiwis. The 26-year-old has had an excellent match so far as he took the attack to Alastair Cook's men earlier today with a blistering 40 runs off 23 balls to frustrate the England bowlers. He can compound their misery by adding to his four wickets from the first innings by continuing to pitch the ball up against England's out-of-form players, including Ian Bell and Gary Ballance.
Speaking of Ian Bell, it's vital that he gets himself back into form ahead of the Ashes series. The 33-year-old was England's standout player in their victory back in 2013, but since his hundred in the first Test against the West Indies in April he has failed to make a score over 30, including two ducks.
Despite his excellent record since entering team, Gary Ballance is also in need of a score on home soil after his failures in the first Test and innings of 29 at Headingley. There is not a great deal of time for players to get into form before the Ashes so the second innings is a vital time for a lot of players.
Just to give a picture of the scene at Headingley. Lots of rain unfortunately.....
Covers...
#EngvNZ pic.twitter.com/C3QmDupDof
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 1, 2015
A quick look at the rain radar doesn't give me hope that we might see more play today. A large cloud is currently making its way towards the east and Headingley, so we may have to keep everything crossed to hope that it avoids the ground.
The situation is getting quite bleak for play today. The cut-off time is 7.30pm to get overs in, but considering the work that needs to be done to the outfield the clear-up operation has to start by 5.30pm to have a realistic chance of play today.
Confirmation play has been abandoned for the day by the ECB and Yorkshire. England end the day 44-0, chasing a 455 for victory. New Zealand need to take 10 wickets on the final day to draw the series, while England can either bat out the day or scored a further 411 runs to claim a series win. It's all to play for tomorrow then!
Thanks for joining our commentary today. Be sure to join Sports Mole tomorrow morning for the final day of the series.
Written by
Simon Sinclair
Simon Sinclair
