Daryl Mitchell was to blame for England’s two unfortunate failures, which left Lis at 12 and for a more difficult opportunity to leave Pope, but he will be fined for failure after the best 190 of his career. It was an organized, attractive presence with elegant touches. Yes, it fell twice, first by Joe Root in three, and led to a blank third bulletin on the first day, but it relentlessly punished England for its mistakes. His second hundred in a row was the highest score of his professional career with 190, including 23 four and four sixes, the best of which were gloriously beaten under Jack Leach. Tom Blundell joined him for a century, their 236th place record in New Zealand for the fifth wicket and just one week after 195 they wore at Lord’s. New Zealand as a whole was the highest in England, their opponents found it difficult to move the ball and were forced to try to dry instead. Matthew Pots withstood a second test run, dropping Mitchell to 104, followed by Lord’s 7-68 numbers at 126 from 30 overs. He took on the weight, working harder than any other sailor, a bowling wage with James Anderson and Stuart Brod. They bowled only nine and eight overs each on the second day and were left out of the attack after just over half an hour in the morning when it was clear that the second new ball was not swinging. Brod’s mind was beyond doubt, as he reconciled himself to the news that his pub had been destroyed by fire overnight.
