Matt Henry’s maiden 11-wicket haul delivered an emphatic 253-run victory for New Zealand as the tourists levelled the series with England inside an hour on day five at The Oval.
England resumed on 182-5 but saw their hopes of completing an improbable record run chase of 463 fade the moment Henry dismissed Joe Root (77) with his seventh delivery.
Henry (6-29) removed Jofra Archer, Matthew Fisher and Josh Tongue in back-to-back double-wicket maidens to leave England on the brink before he bowled Jordan Cox (25) to wrap up the victory and finish with 11 wickets in the match.
England were ultimately left to rue a disastrous morning session on day two, beset by questionable tactics with the ball, as New Zealand plundered 100 runs from which the hosts never recovered.
The Black Caps head into the deciding third Test buoyant but wary of a sterner test to come, with England captain Ben Stokes and seamer Gus Atkinson expected to return at Trent Bridge the final instalment of the series .
New Zealand thrash England inside an hour
Angling into the stumps, Henry breached Root’s defence, trapping him on the pads to remove him for the second innings in succession, with technology failing to come to his rescue.
It was the first dismissal in a first double-wicket maiden for Henry, who sent Archer back for a two-ball duck with a wicked delivery that kept low before cannoning into middle stump.
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Matt Henry claims the wicket of Joe Root and Jofra Archer in the SAME over!
Matt Fisher claimed a maiden Test half-century in the first innings but chopped on in Henry’s next over, with Tongue following for a first-ball duck when he nicked behind to Daryl Mitchell at slip.
Jordan Cox, having ensured there was no match-winning hat-trick for Henry, led England’s brief resistance, upping four over slip to move the hosts up to 200 before and smashing a six over long-on.
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Matt Henry claims the winning wicket for New Zealand to level the three-match series at 1-1
But Henry delivered the final word on the Test match in emphatic fashion with a leg-stump yorker that confirmed his best-ever day as a bowler and hand New Zealand their biggest win by way of runs on English soil.
After the game, England were penalised by the ICC for a slow over-rate, and have accepted a penalty of 12 World Test Championship points as well as a fine of 50 per cent of their match fee.
England vs New Zealand – results and schedule
All times UK and Ireland, all games live on Sky Sports
First Test (Lord’s) – England won by 115 runsSecond Test (The Kia Oval) – New Zealand win by 253 runsThird Test (Trent Bridge) – June 25-29 (11am)
Watch the third Test between England and New Zealand from Thursday June 25 live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am (first ball 11am).
