For sure, and I think the scoreline really flatters England because the fielding by the Kiwis yesterday was shockingly bad, Brook alone was dropped three times and you can't give a bloke like him that many chances..
This is test cricket, but not as we knew it. Brydon Carse, in at No.10 has just scooped a fast bowler for six over fine leg.
Stokes goes for 80, strangely playing the anchor role to the tail enders, and that brings in Bashir, a true number eleven. The lead is 137
And that's the end.... brilliant knock from Atkinson and Carse. Very tidy lead. I think he was dropped 5 (maybe 6?) times in his innings
Bashir goes and England are all out a run short of 500. England were on the ropes at 71-4 but they recovered well to end the innings 151 runs to the good. Just looking at the scorecard when England were 71-4 it was after 21 overs, the next 80 overs went for 428!! Incredible.
Hold on a minute, just hold a minute.....Chris Woakes who as we all know travels about as well as a barrel of Guinness, is on a hat trick after getting danger man Williamson and then Blundell out in successive balls.......Phillips survives but the Kiwis are 133-5, still 18 runs behind..
Should wrap it up easily enough tomorrow, which will be a huge result. Saffers have pretty much put paid to Sri Lankas hope of making the WTC final too.
Carse is fast becoming our best bowler, that's 18 wickets now in his first three tests. I saw Stokes pull up and couldn't finish his over so that's probably him out of the next test. I'd love to see Liam come in at six in Wellington but it won't happen unfortunately..
He averages 35 with the bat and he didn't take a wicket in this test, in fact he was quite expensive, so he won't be missed that much..
Mitchell goes for a stubborn and well paced 84 and England need 104 runs to win on a pitch that's not doing anything to help the bowlers much. Interesting stat; Brydon Carse is the first English bowler since Monty Panesar to take 10 wickets in a match on foreign soil and the first quick to do it since Ryan Sidebottom (remember him?) in 2008.
Beautiful first over from Tim Southee, my how he will be missed by New Zealand. At the other end Zak Crawley gets his first run of the match but doesn't trouble the scoreboard furthermore as Matt Henry takes a lovely C&B. The commentator has just reminded the viewers that Zak Crawley' total combined score of one is the lowest total by an opener since 1999 when Michael Atherton did the same in South Africa..
Those first six overs were not far off being a T20 power play. Into the seventh over and Jake Bethel and Ben Duckett have both hit 26 off 17 balls. And the first ball of the eighth sees Ben hole out on the boundary, 55-2.
Brilliant entertainment from the England batsmen, hitting the 104 needed off just 12.4 overs with Jake Bethel getting his maiden test half century and hitting the winning run in the same shot. This Bazball lark can be infuriating at times and then at other times scintillating to watch.
