England captain Ben Stokes was seen calling out Jofra Archer after the fast bowler did not join the team’s celebration following Shoaib Bashir’s catch-and-bowled out during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. Stokes pointed towards Archer and urged him to join the rest of the players.
New Zealand, batting first, scored 438 runs in the first innings with the help of centuries from Devon Conway and Tom Latham. England responded by scoring a total of 354 runs and took a lead of 84 runs in the first innings. After this, till the stumps on the third day (Saturday), the visiting team scored 120/3 and increased their lead to 204 runs in the series decider.
Ben Stokes urges Jofra Archer to join team’s celebrations
The incident occurred during the 114th over of New Zealand’s first innings when Shoaib Bashir dismissed Nathan Smith in a caught-and-bowled attempt. As England players gathered to celebrate, Jofra Archer remained away from the team crowd.
Ben Stokes immediately saw Archer’s reaction and motioned him to join the rest of the players. Later fans pointed out the possible reason behind Archer’s frustration. Bashir had dropped the return catch of Tom Blundell on Archer’s ball in the previous over.
Archer looked disappointed after missing the chance, especially after spending a long time in hot conditions. However, they responded brilliantly in New Zealand’s second innings. Archer reduced the visitors’ score to 12/2 early on and dismissed both the first innings centurions, Tom Latham and Devon Conway, on single-digit scores.
Ben Stokes had a few words for Jofra Archer after the fast bowler initially did not join in the celebrations after being caught and bowled by Shoaib Bashir. Bashir had dropped a catch on Archer’s ball in the last over. pic.twitter.com/7FiKNzQdKV
– SherAli (@Sher__Ali) June 27, 2026
Ben Stokes joins Jacques Kallis in exclusive Test Club
Ben Stokes reached a big milestone with the ball In the first innings of the ongoing test match. The England captain took 4 for 70 against New Zealand and became the second player in Test history to score 7,000 runs and take 250 wickets.
Stokes joins South African legend Jacques Kallis in the exclusive club of all-rounders. Kallis finished his Test career with 13,289 runs and 292 wickets in 166 matches.
Stokes reached the mark of 250 wickets in his 122nd Test. He has also scored 7,243 runs including 14 centuries. The England captain has recently overtaken Matthew Hoggard to become England’s ninth highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
New Zealand take lead after early collapse
Jofra Archer gave England a dream start by restricting the visitors to 12/2 in New Zealand’s second innings. He dismissed both the first innings centurions, Tom Latham and Devon Conway, on single-digit scores.
However, New Zealand recovered through Rachin Ravindra, who remained unbeaten on 60 at stumps on the third day. His innings took the visitors to 120/3 and helped them extend their total lead to 204 runs.
Earlier, New Zealand took a lead of 84 runs in the first innings after bowling out England for 354 runs. Concussion substitute Jack Foulkes had a brilliant performance with the ball, taking 3/35, including the key wickets of Ben Stokes and Harry Brook.
The third Test remained evenly balanced till the last two days. New Zealand will try to take a match-winning lead, while England face the challenge of chasing a big target to win the series.