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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

6 talking points including England's team hat-trick and Ben Stokes' lucky reprieve

The first Test between England and New Zealand looks set for a dramatic finish, with the hosts needing 61 runs to win with just five wickets in hand and Joe Root unbeaten on 77.

After resuming on 236-4 with a lead of 227, New Zealand looked to stretch their lead. Daryl Mitchell quickly reached three figures after being left on 97 not out overnight, before an England team hat-trick turned the game on its head.

With the second new ball, England took the remaining six New Zealand wickets in just 8.1 overs to bowl them out for 285. Mitchell was the first wicket to fall, getting caught behind off Stuart Broad for 108.

His dismissal sparked New Zealand's collapse, with two more wickets falling of the next two balls. First, Colin de Grandhomme was run out in bizarre fashion by Ollie Pope, before Broad bowled Kyle Jamieson.

Anderson then pinned Tom Blundell lbw for 96, a heartbreaking end to a brilliant innings, before Matty Potts and Matt Parkinson took the final two wickets. With England need 277 runs to win, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley made a decent start before Lees was bowled by Jamieson for 20.

New Zealand then began to pick up regular wickets after lunch, with Jamieson getting both Crawley and Jonny Bairstow and Trent Boult dismissing Pope. When captain Ben Stokes joined former skipper Joe Root at the crease, England were in real trouble at 69-4.

And things almost got much worse for England when Stokes dragged a delivery onto his own stumps. However, replays showed that De Grandhomme had overstepped and Stokes was handed a lifeline.

Together, he and Root began formed a crucial partnership worth 90 before Jamieson dismissed Stokes for 54. Root brought up his own half-century late in the day and reached the close on 77 not out alongside Ben Foakes.

With England 216-5 and needing 61 runs to win with such a long tail, Root clearly holds the key for their chances of coming away from Lord's with a victory.

Here are six talking points from the day's play...

Daryl Mitchell scored his second Test century (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Mitchell makes the most of his opportunity

Had it not been for a calf injury picked up by Henry Nicholls in training, Mitchell may not have been picked for this Test by New Zealand. However, Nicholls was ultimately not fit enough to play and Mitchell was drafted in at five, instead of competing with Colin de Grandhomme for the number seven spot.

And the 31-year-old certainly capitalised on his opportunity, scoring a superb hundred in partnership with Blundell that helped rescue New Zealand after they lost four cheap wickets.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England spinner Phil Tufnell said: "What a knock for his side, when he came in their backs were against the wall. It was a special ton."

England's team hat-trick

In the third over with the second new ball, Broad threatened to turn the game on its head as England picked up a team hat-trick. First, Broad got the key wicket of Mitchell caught behind for 108.

De Grandhomme was then rather bizarrely run out after a huge lbw appeal from Broad. The all-rounder took a few steps out of his crease after being hit on the pad and was caught unawares by Pope, who promptly threw down the stumps and ran him out.

The very next ball, Broad produced a beauty to bowl Jamieson for a duck and reduce New Zealand to 251-7 in a stunning passage of play. "Breathless stuff, you got the feeling from the way Broad got the crowd going that something was lurking," Tufnell said on BBC Test Match Special.

Tom Blundell fell just four runs short of a century (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Blundell's heartbreak

After batting so well alongside Mitchell on day two, Blundell resumed on day three needing just ten runs to reach a well-deserved third Test century. However, he fell a heartbreaking four runs short of three figures.

Just three overs after England's team hat-trick, Anderson pinned Blundell lbw for 96 to leave New Zealand 265-8. As a result, the wait continues for a New Zealand wicketkeeper to score a hundred in England, with Blundell becoming the four to be dismissed in the 90s.

John Reid was out for 93 in 1949 at the Oval, while new England Test coach Brendon McCullum was out for 96 at Lord's in 2004 and out for 97 at the same venue in 2008.

Jamieson's brilliance

After England dragged themselves back into the game by finishing off the New Zealand innings quickly with the second new ball in the morning, they were desperate to get off to a good start in their pursuit of 277.

And England's openers did get off to a decent start against Southee and Boult, before the introduction of Jamieson. In just his second over, he bowled Lees for 20 and proceeded to deliver a brilliant spell either side of lunch.

He also picked up the wickets of Crawley and Bairstow, ending with figures of 3-24 from an outstanding nine over spell that sent the majority of England's top-order packing. He also got the key wicket of Stokes later in the day, ending the day with X-XX from XX overs.

Jonny Bairstow was bowled for 16 (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Bairstow's "dumb" dismissal

With England in trouble at 46-3 when he came to the crease and Jamieson bowling brilliantly, Bairstow will be disappointed with the way he got out. After scoring three boundaries in one over, Bairstow was tasked with seeing out the final over of Jamieson's spell.

And after getting lucky with a poor shot that almost found the edge, he was bowled through the gate by the final ball of Jamieson's spell. And former England captain Michael Vaughan branded the dismissal "dumb".

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Vaughan said: "I am sorry but that is dumb. That is pathetic. You know it is going to be Jamieson's last ball of a terrific spell.

"There was a bit of nip. It is an OK delivery. But when you are throwing your hands at a ball with a gap between bat and pad that you and I could swim through...

"You can have all the preparation and team meetings but until you play smart... See him off. Get rid of him. Play a defensive shot. It is just dumb."

Ben Stokes scored 54 after being handed a reprieve early in his innings (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Stokes' reprieve

De Grandhomme certainly did not have his best day in a New Zealand shirt, which began when he was run out for a duck. And things only got worse as the day wore on, with the all-rounder thinking he had bowled Stokes for just one.

However, replays showed De Grandhomme had overstepped and Stokes was given a reprieve. To make matters worse, De Grandhomme limped off the field after suffering a suspected strain to his right heel.

And Stokes also looked to capitalise on his reprieve as he struck an important fifty and shared a 90 run partnership with Root. When he fell to Jamieson for 54, England were 159-5 and needed 118 more runs to win.

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