Day three was action packed at Trent Bridge new zealand Are firmly in the driver’s seat in the third Test against England In nottingham. After posting a good total of 438 runs in the first innings, the Black Caps took advantage of England’s dramatic collapse before taking a strong lead of 204 runs at stumps.
This match, which started on June 25, 2026, has turned into a classic battle of attrition, but New Zealand’s disciplined execution in all three sessions on Saturday has given them complete control of this ENG vs NZ encounter.
Nathan Smith destroyed England’s batting on the third day
Starting the day with a comfortable score of 223/2, England looked set to threaten New Zealand’s huge first innings score. overnight batsman jacob bethel And Joe Root The target was to extend the innings, but the visitors had other plans. kiwi pacer nathan smith An extraordinary display of swing and seam bowling turned the game around.
Smith broke significant resistance early on by trapping the legendary Root in leg before action on 21. That success led to a major downfall. Shortly afterwards, Bethel was out after scoring 74 runs and was caught out. Tom Latham Close Will O’Rourke. Whereas harry brook Smith continued to wreak havoc at the other end, hitting a counter-inning of 58 off 80 balls to take England past 300.
He dismissed the middle and lower order jamie smith Return for 11 and clean up later jofra archer For 15. beautifully supported by zak faulx (3/35) and O’Rourke (3/53), Smith took 4 for 91 in 23 overs. England’s aggressive approach collapsed under sustained pressure, as they lost their last eight wickets for just 131 runs and were all out for 354 just before the tea break.
Rachin Ravindra ends the day with a brilliant performance against England
After falling behind by 84 runs in the first innings, New Zealand’s second innings had a very poor start. jofra archer Revived life under the cloudy skies of Nottingham, removing the captain Tom Latham for 4 more devon conway For 5 in quick succession. When? Gus Atkinson rejected henry nichols At 16, the Black Caps were in trouble at 51/3, and England felt a start to their return to the Test match.
However, the young batting sensation Rachin Ravindra Steps were taken to stabilize the ship. Displaying excellent composure, Ravindra weathered the early hostility of the English fast bowlers before playing some breathtaking strokes. He found a capable ally in the experienced darryl mitchellAnd together they systematically neutralized England’s bowling attack.
Ravindra scored a brilliant half-century in 81 balls and during this he hit 8 brilliant fours. By the time the umpires announced stumps on the third day, New Zealand had reached 120/3 after 35 overs. Ravindra remained unbeaten on 60* off 90 balls, while Mitchell provided solid support by scoring 26*. Their unbroken 69-run partnership took the total to 204 runs, giving England a huge mountain to climb in the final two days.
This is the third day stump. pic.twitter.com/aJZTaIDyF9
– England Cricket (@englandcricket) 27 June 2026
