Brilliant Henry wraps up victory for New Zealand as England collapse
Cricket – England v New Zealand – Second Test – Kia Oval, London, Britain – June 21, 2026 New Zealand’s Matt Henry celebrates after taking the wicket of England’s Josh Tongue Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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LONDON, June 21 : Matt Henry produced New Zealand’s best ever bowling figures against England on their soil with five wickets in a deadly display of pace to wrap up a 253-run win in the second test at The Oval and level the series at 1-1 on Sunday.
Starting the fifth day on 182-5 chasing a huge 463 for an unlikely victory, England folded inside 50 minutes and were all out for 209.
Henry took all five wickets in the morning, beginning with the crucial removal of Joe Root lbw for 77 with the first ball of his second over of the day – Root adding only two runs to his overnight score.
Two balls later he flattened Jofra Archer’s middle stump with an unplayable ball that scuttled low.
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Continuing to torment England, in his next over he had Matthew Fisher chopping on to his stumps without scoring and with his next ball he had Josh Tongue edging to Daryl Mitchell.
Henry then finished it off in style by bowling Jordan Cox with an in-swinging yorker to finish the innings with six for 29 and take his match figures to 11 for 109 – the best display by a New Zealand bowler against England.
“Didn’t expect it to unfold like that, but it saved a hot day in the field,” said man of the match Henry, who suffered a back spasm in the defeat at Lord’s in the first test.
“The way the guys applied themselves with the ball was relentless.”
MISERABLE END FOR ENGLAND
It was a sorry end for England who have now lost six of their last eight tests. They will have to regroup quickly for the series decider at Trent Bridge next week when captain Ben Stokes is expected to return having missed the Oval match because of an investigation into an incident in a nightclub.
After a relatively even first day of the match, New Zealand seized control on the second morning when a shambolic England bowling display allowed them to put on more than 100 runs for their last three wickets with Glenn Phillips making a century.
Henry took the crucial wickets of Root and Harry Brook in the first innings – a feat he also managed in the second.
Having earned a 100-run, first-innings lead, New Zealand piled on the runs in their second innings with Henry Nicholls making 121.
“I’m disappointed that we found ourselves on the wrong side of the result but that’s how it sits,” said Root, who returned as captain for a record-extending 65th time.
“Without sounding too sort of cliche, there have been a lot of good things in between some pretty ordinary stuff.
“Credit to Phillips, I thought he played brilliantly, same with (Henry) Nicholls in the second innings. Our batters have got to learn from that.”
Source: Reuters
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