Watling and New Zealand opt against the waiting game and set the tone for England

BJ Watling became the first New Zealander to score a Test century at the Headingley ground. Philip Brown / Reuters

Brief scores

New Zealand 350 & 338-6 (Watling 100 not out, Guptill 70, McCullum 55, Taylor 48; Wood 3-64, Broad 2-52)

England, overnight 297-8: England 350 (Broad 46; Southee 4-83, Craig 2-48, Boult 2-98)

England must pull off a record run chase for victory after BJ Watling became the first New Zealander to make a Test century at Headingley.

Watling (100 not out), Martin Guptill (70) and Brendon McCullum (55), and for the hosts Stuart Broad and Mark Wood, were chiefly responsible as 435 runs were scored and 11 wickets fell on Day 3 of the second Test.

After both teams split honours with identical first innings’ total of 350 runs, the Kiwis ran up a total of 338 for six in quick time.

After Ben Stokes’ record-breaking Lord’s century a week ago, this was just another manic day in an exhilarating back-to-back two-match series.

New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee, who had finished with four wickets earlier, lauded Watling’s contribution himself. “With the way the guys batted it turned out to be a pretty good day for us,” Southee told the BBC.

“BJ Watling is just a gutsy, determined player and it’s nice to see him get the rewards for the hard work he puts in. If you’d said yesterday afternoon that we would end the day in the position that we are we would have grabbed it with both hands.

“My performance was disappointing at Lord’s but you always want to get better and I looked back on a few things over the break so it was pleasing to get wickets. There’s still a lot of time left in the game so hopefully we can edge that lead.”

Only after the comparative sobriety of a 79-ball half-century from arch aggressor McCullum in a 121-run fifth-wicket stand with Watling was it clear the Kiwis were on top as they try to level up at 1-1.

In the morning Stuart Broad and Mark Wood counter-attacked in a ninth-wicket stand of 51 but they still lost seven wickets for the addition of 111 runs.

When the tourists began their second innings, Broad was in the thick of action again with two wickets in 12 balls.

He found enough movement off the pitch to take Tom Latham’s inside edge from round the wicket, and then the outside for a second caught-behind as Kane Williamson registered a rare double failure.

If the situation demanded caution at 23 for two, it was over-ridden by the Kiwis’ new vibe under McCullum as Guptill and Ross Taylor blasted their way out of trouble with a stand of 99 in under 15 overs.

Taylor was dropped on six, a tough head-high slip chance for Gary Ballance off James Anderson.

But there was no chastening effect in his run-a-ball 48 or for Guptill – whose strike rate was higher still in an innings containing seven fours and a six.

Wood (three for 64) had Taylor poking a low catch to cover, however, with the first ball of his second spell - and then Joe Root was safe at third slip to see off Guptill too before tea.

After tea, McCullum batted against his own ethos but to great effect until Wood struck again to pin him lbw on the back foot.

Luke Ronchi went before the close too, caught-behind pushing forward to Anderson. But on a pitch beginning to offer variable bounce, Watling - who had survived one tough caught-behind chance on 50 - completed his 136-ball century.

That prompted Guptill to drive down the advantage of going into bowl with two days of play left. “There is still a bit of up and down movement. it can only be good signs for us as we have to bowl last,” Guptill said.

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