2nd Test: Mitchell stars for New Zealand as England eye fightback

Daryl Mitchell hit a sublime 190 as New Zealand amassed 553 before England started to fight back on a free-scoring second day of the second Test at Trent Bridge. Taking advantage of a docile pitch and lacklustre England bowling, Mitchell pummelled his way to his highest Test score. Tom Blundell joined the run spree with 106 in a 236-run fifth wicket partnership with Mitchell. New Zealand Test debutant Michael Bracewell scored a brisk 49 as New Zealand took control in their bid to level the three-Test series after losing the opener at Lord's by five wickets.

After quickly losing Zak Crawley in their reply, England recovered impressively as Ollie Pope (51 not out) and Alex Lees (34 not out) led them to 90-1 at the close. It was Mitchell's day as the journeyman with little Test pedigree, until this series, continued to seize his chance. Six years ago, Mitchell had a season playing for Blackpool in the Northern Premier League and scored just two centuries. The 31-year-old batsman arrived in England with just one Test hundred to his name since his 2019 debut, but now he has three following his 108 at Lord's. Mitchell's latest century came in 318 balls, including 23 fours and four sixes, with England dropping him for the second time in the match just after he reached his ton. "It was very rewarding to get the individual achievement but also to help the boys out," Mitchell said. "It's cool to get some scores. That is the wonder of Test cricket, when you get a few chances you have to make the most of it." New Zealand showed why they are the Test world champions, ruthlessly pressing home their advantage after scoring 318-4 on Friday. "It was good to see the guys having a good time out there and scoring runs after a couple of