Summary

  • NZ close day three on 394-6, leading by 41 runs

  • Watling hits superb unbeaten 119, Santner 31 not out

  • England only take two wickets all day

  • Nicholls falls lbw to Root for 41 and Sibley takes stunning catch to remove De Grandhomme for 65

  • Watling & De Grandhomme put on 119 for sixth wicket

  • Watling dropped on 31 by Stokes

Live Reporting

Callum Matthews and Matthew Henry

  1. Farewell

    That's us done for today. Thanks for your company on this extremely difficult day for England.

    You can read Matt Henry's report over here.

    The latest Test Match Special Podcast will be available to download in the next few hours here.

    The full scorecard is here.

    We'll see you again at 21:30 GMT to see if England can fight their way back into this game.

  2. Tune in

    BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    Australia have amassed a massive lead of over 300 at the Gabba but they are now nine down.

    Marnus Labuschagne has hit his maiden Test century while Steve Smith had a rare failure in only scoring four.

    You can listen to that over here.

    Marnus LabuschagneAFP

  3. 'Not a flat performance'

    England coach Chris Silverwood, speaking to TMS: "It was a very hard fought day. There was some attritional cricket played by both sides. Both teams made it very difficult for the other. We made it hard for them to score. They batted very well so it is a good days cricket.

    "I wouldn't say it was a flat performance in the slightest. It is a flat pitch. We implemented plans and gave them time to work. We showed decent discipline with the ball but that is the game.

    "We are working very hard on it [catches]. We are making an effort and it will improve."

    On Sam Curran taking the new ball:"We wanted to give Sam the best chance swinging it. This morning we felt he was the right way to go."

    On Jofra Archer's performance: "Jofra is still very young in Test cricket. I can't fault his effort. He charged in all day and bowled fast at times."

    On the match situation: "I wouldn't say we are out of the game yet. They have a small lead. If we show the same attitude there is reason we can't pick some wickets up.

    "It hasn't done a great deal. We have spent a lot of time trying to stop them scoring. There is no reason we can't score runs on it in the second innings. We will bat and see how it takes us."

  4. Jeremy Coney
    Ex-New Zealand captain on BBC Test Match Special

    If New Zealand can extend this lead to 80 and beyond, that is a session of pressure on England.

  5. Steven Finn
    England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    You can't take anything away from BJ Watling and the way he has played today. Apart from the Ben Stokes drop, he didn't give England anything.

  6. Mark Ramprakash
    Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

    I am gobsmacked that New Zealand have got a lead. They have batted so well.

    If England lose one or two wickets early on when they bat next, they will be under real pressure. We've seen with this side that if they get behind early, they don't always repond well to that.

  7. New Zealand finished the day on 394-6, a lead of 41.

    BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner will resume on 119 and 31 respectively.

  8. That brought Mitchell Santner to the crease and he initially struggled to play the short ball before he and BJ Watling - who hit his eighth Test century - moved New Zealand into the lead.

  9. Colin de Grandhomme fell to the first ball of the evening session as Dom Sibley took a brilliant diving catch down to his right in the gully.

    That ended a 119-run partnership between De Grandhomme and Watling.

  10. England took the new ball straight after lunch but went wicketless in the middle session - the 29th time that's happened in a 20+ over session since 2017 as BJ Watling and Colin de Grandhomme piled on the runs.

  11. Joe Root eventually broke the partnership as he got one to go on with the arm and trap Henry Nicholls infront for 41.

  12. New Zealand resumed on 144-4, 209 runs behind England.

    Henry Nicholls successfully overturned an lbw decision and BJ Watling was dropped by Ben Stokes on 31 as the pair moved New Zealand closer to parity.

  13. Right, let's have a catch-up of the days action...

  14. Mark Ramprakash
    Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

    I have no problem with Sam Curran taking the new ball. Whether you give it to England's quickest bowler and most hostile bowler in Jofra Archer, maybe, but if he is he cannot bowl five bouncers an over.

    I don't agree with the way Jofra Archer is being asked to bowl. Mark Wood was asked to bowl in a similar fashion at Lord's and it didn't work.

    He has not been picked because he bowls five bouncers an over. That was not why he was selected for England. Joe Root has a new toy and there has to be communication and some understanding of how to get the best out of him. I don't mind the odd spell but England overdid that.

  15. England head coach Chris Silverwood is currently talking to Simon Mann.

    We'll bring you what he had to say shortly but he has just said "he doesn't think the game is over".

  16. Steven Finn
    England bowler on BBC Test Match Special

    The guys will have decided on a plan. At times on wickets like this you search too much for openings. Maybe England did that today.

    Archer coming in and bowling short is almost trying to convince the New Zealand batsmen to contribute to their own downfall.

  17. Mark Ramprakash
    Ex-England batsman on BBC Test Match Special

    It's a placid, benign pitch. I think in hindsight some of England's tactics were wrong - they overdid the short ball and it became predictable. There were men stationed back on leg side when New Zealand's batsmen were not looking to hook or pull. It became a bit monotonous.

    Jofra Archer is a better bowler than the role he is being asked to do. The role he is being asked to play in this match is the wrong one. He should be bowling more bowls at the top of off-stump. He bowled an excellent inswinger to BJ Watling that almost had him out lbw.

    If he can up the number of balls in that area then I think he can get his rewards.

  18. 'It was a pleasure to watch Watling'

    New Zealand batsman Henry Nicholls, speaking to TMS: "It is a great day. If you look where we were at the start, with a lot of work to be put in, we knew we were good enough to put ourselves in a position to control game. The role BJ [Watling] played was a real pleasure to watch throughout the day.

    "He is great. He is such a hard-worker. He is a guy you know what you will get. He kept for 110 overs and to come out last night, and today, it is great to have someone like that in the team."

  19. For England to only take two wickets in the day is bitterly disappointing.

    It's becoming a recurring theme on the road - since the start of 2017, England have gone wicketless in sessions where they've bowled 20+ overs 29 times. Only Sri Lanka have a worse record.

    That's simply not good enough and it's one of the big questions that new Head Coach Chris Silverwood is going to have to work on answering.

  20. Jonathan Agnew
    BBC cricket correspondent

    If New Zealand can muster another 100 runs then England will be in some trouble.