A magnificent 163 not out from Joe Root, a brilliant hundred from Ollie Pope and a brutal cameo from captain Ben Stokes saw England whittle down New Zealand 's first-innings lead to just 80 on day three of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
After resuming on 90-1 and trailing by 463 runs, Pope and Alex Lees picked up where they left off on day two and quickly brought up their hundred partnership. Lees then went on to make his first Test match half-century, before getting caught at slip off Matt Henry for 67.
Together, Leeds and Pope added 141 runs for the second wicket and Root looked to make the most of coming out to bat with England already having almost 150 runs on the board, something he has rarely had the luxury of doing in recent years. After lunch, Pope reached three figures for the first time at home in Test cricket, while Root quicly raced to his half-century.
