LONDON: Matt Henry captured the prize wickets of England stand-in captain Joe Root and Harry Brook at the Oval on Thursday as New Zealand built on Glenn Phillips’s maiden Test century.

England slumped to 222-6 at stumps on the second day of the second Test in reply to New Zealand’s first-innings 391, a deficit of 169 runs.

Henry was troubled by back spasms during England’s 115-run win in the first Test of this three-match series at Lord’s a fortnight ago.

But the fast bowler had both Root (46) and Brook (24) lbw just when it seemed the pair were about to cut loose, with Henry having taken 2-57 in 16 overs at the close in south London.

Root was leading England for a record-extending 65th Test after Ben Stokes, his successor as captain, was dropped from the side for breaking curfew following victory at Lord’s.

White-ball skipper Brook has long been England’s designated Test vice-captain.

But he was not put in charge at the Oval after his late-night drinking exploits in Wellington in November, ahead of a woeful 4-1 Ashes series loss, prompted team chiefs to impose the curfew in the first place.

After Phillips was out for exactly 100 to end New Zealand’s innings, England’s Ben Duckett made a fluent 36 off just 25 balls, only to be run out by Nathan Smith’s direct hit from mid-off after opening partner Emilio Gay set off for a needless single.

Smith then had Jacob Bethell caught for nine by wicket-keeper Tom Blundell off a ball that nipped away.

Gay put the run-out mix-up behind him to compile a second fifty in as many Tests following a debut half-century at Lord’s.

But Gay faced just two more balls, edging to Blundell while trying to evade a rising delivery from Will O’Rourke.

Brook stepped outside leg stump to carve O’Rourke over point for an outrageous six, with Root stroking boundaries in more orthodox fashion.

But Henry, with Blundell standing up to the stumps to keep the batsmen in their crease, had the home captain plumb lbw.

And 170-4 soon became 177-5 when Henry got another ball to nip back off the seam to remove Brook.

Wicket-keeper James Rew, one of three England debutants, gloved an intended pull off O’Rourke to slip.

Earlier, Phillips received fine support from Kyle Jamieson (41) in an eighth-wicket partnership of 87 as the pair capitalised on wayward England bowling and sloppy fielding.

Phillips, dubbed the “energiser bunny” by team-mate Daryl Mitchell, top-edged a pull to reach a 76-ball fifty.

Jamieson should have been out for 15 when his swipe off debutant fast bowler Sonny Baker sailed gently to deep midwicket, only for Duckett to drop a simple chance.

England, however, overdid the short-ball ploy, Root failing to call a halt to their naive tactics as New Zealand blasted 74 runs in 12 overs.

Phillips’s single off Jofra Archer saw the all-rounder to a century, his first in his 19-Test career, before he holed out off Matthew Fisher.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings, overnight 291-7):
T. Latham c Bethell b Archer27
D. Conway c Rew b Fisher9
H. Nicholls b Tongue24
R. Ravindra c Bethell b Baker33
D. Mitchell c Gay b Baker44
T. Blundell c Root b Bethell51
G. Phillips c Gay b Fisher100
N. Smith c Cox b Bethell4
K. Jamieson b Bethell41
M. Henry c Tongue b Archer5
W. O’Rourke not out0

EXTRAS (B-22, LB-20, NB-3, W-8)53
TOTAL (all out, 96.2 overs)391
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-14 (Conway), 2-58 (Latham), 3-79 (Nicholls), 4-107 (Ravindra), 5-188 (Mitchell), 6-263 (Blundell), 7-280 (Smith), 8-367 (Jamieson), 9-391 (Henry)
BOWLING: Archer 20-4-61-2 (3w, 1nb), Fisher 23.2-6-62-2, Tongue 21-1-97-1 (2nb), Baker 19-2-94-2, Brook 3-0-9-0, Bethell 10-1-26-3

ENGLAND (1st Innings):
B. Duckett run out36
E. Gay c Blundell b O’Rourke53
J. Bethell c Blundell b Smith9
J. Root lbw b Henry46
H. Brook lbw b Henry24
J. Rew c Mitchell b O’Rourke24
J. Cox not out22
J. Archer not out0

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-4, NB-3)8
TOTAL (for six wickets, 59 overs)222
STILL TO BAT: J. Tongue, M. Fisher, S. Baker
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-45 (Duckett), 2-68 (Bethell), 3-142 (Gay), 4-170 (Root), 5-177 (Brook), 6-217 (Rew)
BOWLING: Henry 16-3-57-2, Jamieson 12-2-63-0 (1nb), O’Rourke 17-2-61-2 (1nb), Smith 14-5-36-1 (1nb)

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2026