Alex Lees and Ollie Pope rode their luck and held their nerve as England attempted to build a worthy response to New Zealand’s record total in the second Test at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
Spurred on by a sterling 190 from Daryl Mitchell and 106 from Tom Blundell, the tourists helped themselves to 553 all out – their highest ever score on English soil.
After 145.3 overs of sapping work in the field, the mixture of scoreboard pressure and weary legs looked a recipe for disaster for the hosts, who lost opener Zak Crawley just 12 balls into the reply.
But they were able to recover to 90 for one at stumps after centurion Mitchell put down both Lees and Pope at slip.
Mitchell had benefited from an early slice of luck himself, dropped on just three by Joe Root, and England must hope at least one of their overnight duo cashes in just as emphatically.
Lees made an encouraging 34 not out, his best effort yet in a short international career, while Pope’s unbeaten 51 offered tantalising glimpses of the dominant county batter who has too often shrunk in an England shirt.
But their efforts so far represent a start and no more. New Zealand have the luxury of a handsome score behind them and have plenty of margin for error as they hunt for wickets on Sunday.
Crawley will be kicking himself after falling for four – the 20th single-figure score among his 41 England knocks – but it took a brilliant piece of new-ball bowling from Trent Boult to take the edge.
Lees could have fallen similarly when he nicked Tim Southee on 12, with the chance evading Mitchell at first slip.
The left-hander felt his way into the innings by leaving well and picking off width, but it was Pope’s bright cameo that will most excite an England set-up who doubled down on their investment in his promise by promoting the 24-year-old to No 3 despite a modest Test record.
He top-edged Matt Henry for sixes on a couple of occasions but also produced a series of glorious cover drives that would have left his Surrey faithful nodding in appreciation.
It would have meant precious little had Mitchell snapped up his nick on 37, but like Lees he lives to fight another day.
FIGHT%20CARD
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The years Ramadan fell in May
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The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
