Joe Root remains confident that his team can force a series-levelling victory over New Zealand on the final day in Hamilton after his 226 put England in charge.
A benign pitch, an iffy weather forecast and eight New Zealand wickets are all major roadblocks for England. Towards the end of day four, they were frustrated by Williamson and Ross Taylor, slimming their hopes of victory. But, win or not, this has been a Test of progress for England and, most importantly, the embattled captaincy of Joe Root (left).
“It would have been nice to get a couple more wickets, but I still feel if we can sneak a couple in the morning first thing, I know there’s a bit of weather around, but you just never know,” said Root.
“One big last push from everyone and [we can] try to come away from here with a levelled-up series.
“If we can make an early breakthrough in the morning it could get us on a bit of a wicket train, because they’re such key figures in their batting line-up. It would give our guys a lot of confidence.”
