"Some forward-thinking cricket has left it in the balance with all to play"; Ben Foakes says "anything is chaseable" for England at Trent Bridge as they aim to force a win against New Zealand on day five of the second Test but Simon Doull believes the Kiwis are still in with a chance
Tuesday 14 June 2022 10:25, UK
England are ready to chase down whatever total they are set by New Zealand on day five of the second Test, according to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
An action-packed fourth day ended with New Zealand 224-7, leading by 238, to leave all results possible at Trent Bridge and the home side arguably the better placed to force a win.
Foakes scored a half-century as England batted positively to get within 14 of New Zealand's mammoth 553 and a similarly front-foot approach with the ball has helped to open up the game.
"It's in the balance for tomorrow," Foakes told Sky Sports. "It was an eventful day. Obviously, we managed to get close to them and then some aggressive cricket, some forward-thinking cricket has left it in the balance with all to play for tomorrow.
"That's the beauty of Test cricket, so many runs can be scored and then things happen so fast. We always knew there was an outside chance that there could be results to be played for tomorrow and that's the way it has worked out."
Asked if England would try to push for a victory, even if New Zealand were able to push on as far as 300, the 29-year-old Surrey gloveman was unequivocal in his response.
"Definitely. It's a quick scoring ground and I bat behind Stokesy, everyone knows how he plays! He keeps you on the edge of your seat so if guys like that get in, on this ground, anything is chaseable."
He added: "The whole vibe in the camp is brilliant. I found that in the West Indies as well, it was all very positive, but obviously Baz (McCullum) is a pretty chilled guy and always takes that forward approach. Stokesy is a similar sort of character and it sort of rubs off on the team."
Sky Sports pundit Nasser Hussain has been impressed by the resolve shown by Stokes' team and can already sense a shift in attitude under the new captain and head coach Brendon McCullum.
"They deserve a lot of credit in that dressing room for giving away 553 and they're in this position now," the former England captain said. "They've gone out there with real positive intent with the bat, put up 539, they've wrestled back the initiative - they've done that with the ball.
"Incredible turnaround from England with bat, ball and the captaincy.
"One thing is certain with this management - last year 273 was set in 75 overs with no World Test Championship points at stake and they didn't go for it at Lord's, it'll be around that unless something remarkable happens tomorrow morning - they'll give it a go. That is for certain."
However, while the WinViz predictor has the draw as favourite and England the more likely of the two sides to claim a last-day victory, ex-New Zealand seamer Simon Doull is not ruling out a series-levelling win for his countrymen just yet.
"I think one of these sides wins the Test and New Zealand are well and truly in the game," he said. "(A target of) 260 or 270, I know England will go for it.
"I know everybody believes that England will go for it under this management so that brings New Zealand right back into the game. The draw is about 10-15 per cent, for me, and either side winning it is quite close.
"England are better off, granted, but New Zealand will be OK with another 40 runs on the board tomorrow if they can eek them out."
Watch the fifth and final day of the second LV= Insurance Test between England and New Zealand, at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am on Tuesday.
