Swann strikes as England chase win

Graeme Swann, right, took two wickets before tea as England continued to dominate New Zealand
27 May 2013

England took three wickets in the afternoon session as they looked to convert a mammoth lead in the second Investec Test into a Headingley victory.

Alastair Cook's 25th Test century and 76 from Jonathan Trott helped the hosts set New Zealand a notional target of 468. In reality, the battle was all about England's attempt to bowl the Black Caps out before the rain that washed out day one returned to Leeds.

They made relatively serene progress in that regard, with no sign of bad weather and New Zealand going into the tea break at 68 for three. Graeme Swann, thriving on a turning track, accounted for Hamish Rutherford and Kane Williamson, while Stuart Broad got the ball rolling by seeing off Peter Fulton.

England started the day on 116 for one, with Cook on 88 and Trott on 11 - the latter having entirely stagnated on the third evening. A total of 41 runs were added in the first 10 overs, during which time Cook brought up an effortless century with a driven four off Tim Southee.

Trott was happy enough to take risks, finding the boundary with increased regularity but keeping the close catchers interested. The 100 partnership and Trott's half-century followed before Williamson gave New Zealand something to cheer as Cook went for 130, lobbing a catch to mid-off.

Ian Bell came and went cheaply attempting to attack Williamson, leaving Joe Root and then Jonny Bairstow to provide the entertainment alongside Trott. Root (28) struck four boundaries, including an impudent reverse sweep off Neil Wagner, while Bairstow (26no) managed two fours and a six.

Trott went for 76 immediately after lunch and having added 171 to the overnight total, Cook eventually declared.

With the possibility of heavy rain on day five, England wanted to draw blood early and Fulton duly departed in the eighth over. Broad generated some extra bounce that surprised Fulton, struck the top of the bat and provided Bell with a simple catch at gully.

After 12 overs with the new ball, Cook turned to the spin of Swann, who immediately found some grip. It took him nine balls to strike, Williamson given lbw on the front foot. He referred the decision upstairs but was on his way when technology suggested the ball was clipping leg stump.

Moments earlier Rutherford had moved to 26 with a crisp driven four off Steven Finn. He had 42 before becoming Swann's next victim, offering a simple bat-pad catch to Root at short leg.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in