🏏 Updates from Trent Bridge, play starts 11am BST 🏏 Day three report | Read the Spin | Mail James

Daryl Mitchell defends a ball near the stumps in white cricket gear on a pitch

36th over: New Zealand 122-3 (Ravindra 60, Mitchell 28) Stokes beats Daryl Mitchell with a full ball outside off stump that jags away late. Ooosht! That kept low! A ball of similar length then squirts a few inches off the ground after pitching, we might well see some more misbehaviour from this wicket today. Mitchell collects two runs through the covers and that’s the first over. Here comes Jofra Archer.

Ben Stokes is going to start with the ball for England, cometh the BIG FIRST HOUR…

The players head out to the middle the the strains of Jerusalem. No hangovers out there… you’d hope (!) A fair few bleary eyed folk shuffling around the ground though, which made me feel a lot better about myself.

Andy Bull laments England’s current situation:

Simon Burnton dipped his quill on Kiwi super sub Zak Foulkes:

We’ve got about five minutes until the start of play, just enough time to catch up on yesterday’s action. It was New Zealand’s day, that’s for sure:

Rachin Ravindra looked in ominously good form yesterday, particularly at the start of his innings where he hit some pristine strokes to wrestle any momentum back from England.

Hello and welcome to day four of the deciding Test between England and New Zealand from Trent Bridge. It’s balmy and bright, the players are on the outfield going through their motions. I’m in the press box going through my emotions. Am I late starting this blog because I’m a wee bit dusty this morning. I couldn’t possible comment… but any typos are entirely deliberate, it’s all part of the process.

New Zealand lead by 204 runs with seven second innings wickets in hand.

It’s been said before but… BIG FIRST HOUR this morning*.

Please do , it would be nice to have some help you on board for what is a very big day in English cricket.

England v New Zealand 2026

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