Aspect	Details
Match	England vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, 25 June 2026
Venue	Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Toss	NZ won and chose to bat
NZ First Innings	438 all out
ENG First Innings	354 all out
NZ Second Innings	288/9 declared
ENG Second Innings	103/4 (15 overs)
Day 4 Close	England need 270 runs to win

(Source: ESPNcricinfo)

Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket mid-session, bowled an 11-over spell that yielded two wickets, opened the batting with a blistering 30 off 20 balls, and still could not prevent New Zealand from taking firm control of the series decider.

Daryl Mitchell’s battling unbeaten century (100 off 241) was the backbone of the visitors’ second innings, absorbing blows to his gloves, arms and helmet on a deteriorating surface before the declaration set England 373 to win.

At stumps, the hosts were 103/4 after Zakary Foulkes took three quick wickets to undermine a fast start, leaving Joe Root (9) and debutant Emilio Gay (6) to contemplate how England can chase 270 more on Day 5.

Stokes Bowls, Bats and Bows Out

The day’s biggest story broke during the afternoon session. Stokes had told his teammates that morning that this would be his final Test, but the news reached the public only as he completed his 10th consecutive over after lunch.

The very next ball, he found Foulkes’ outside edge to spark scenes that will live long in the memory at Trent Bridge. Stokes ran away from his celebrating teammates, arms aloft, before being mobbed. The crowd rose as one.

Earlier, Stokes had bowled with relentless accuracy from the Radcliffe Road End, sending down 11 overs unchanged after lunch with Archer operating in tandem. Together they squeezed New Zealand into submission, conceding no boundaries across 16.2 overs as the hosts took four wickets for just two runs.

Stokes had Santner caught behind via a review he initially did not want to take (Jamie Smith and the close fielders pushed him into it), then dismissed Foulkes after the retirement announcement. Archer accounted for Blundell (18, top-edged pull) and Nathan Smith (1, gloved to the keeper) in a hostile spell.

When he walked out to bat in the evening, Stokes received a guard of honour from the New Zealand players and a standing ovation from the crowd. He responded by charging Nathan Smith first ball, then lofting Foulkes for six over the bowler’s head and scoop-flicking another maximum over backward square leg.

He and Duckett raced to a fifty-run opening stand before Stokes top-edged a slog to Mitchell at slip, who took a brilliant diving catch. The farewell knock lasted 20 balls and produced 30 runs, two sixes and two fours.

Mitchell Grinds Through Pain for a Gutsy Hundred

While Stokes provided the theatre, Mitchell produced the substance that shaped the match. Resuming on 26 overnight, he survived an lbw decision overturned on review in the second over of the day when ball-tracking showed the ball bouncing over the stumps.

From there, scoring was painfully slow. Mitchell managed just 20 runs in the first 13 overs as Archer and Stokes probed relentlessly, and the variable bounce meant he was struck repeatedly on the gloves, forearm and body.

Rachin Ravindra (94 off 149) was far more fluent at the other end, extending his overnight 60 to within six runs of a century before Shoaib Bashir trapped him lbw with a non-turning delivery. Their partnership was worth 129, stretching from 51/3 to 180/4 and giving New Zealand the platform to declare.

After Ravindra fell, the innings became a procession of wickets around Mitchell. Blundell, Santner, Nathan Smith and Foulkes all fell cheaply, but Mitchell kept fighting. He reached his fifty off 169 balls with a gentle dab through point, survived several plays and misses, and then pulled Tongue for six to accelerate toward his landmark. A jab through backward square leg off Atkinson brought up his 17th Test century, and New Zealand declared at 288/9.

Chase Starts Fast, Then Collapses

England needed 373, and Stokes’s decision to promote himself as opener set the tone for an all-or-nothing approach. The first 50 came in just 7.1 overs, with Stokes and Duckett attacking from ball one. But once Stokes fell to Foulkes at 50/0, three wickets tumbled in 16 balls.

Bethell shouldered arms to one angling in and was lbw for a duck. Brook hit a first-ball six but then picked out fine leg for 21 off 9. Duckett battled on to 36 before gloving a lifter from Sears to Mitchell at slip.

At 103/4, the required rate is manageable but the pitch is not. Variable bounce troubled every batter across the day, and Santner found sharp turn in his single over. England’s hopes rest on Root and the remaining order finding a way to survive and score on a surface that is only going to get worse.

ENG vs NZ Day 4 Key Performers

Player	Performance
Daryl Mitchell (NZ)	100* (241)
Jofra Archer (ENG)	4/53 (20.0)
Ben Stokes (ENG)	2/49 (25.0) & 30 (20)
Zakary Foulkes (NZ)	3/42 (5.5)

What Day 5 Holds

England need 270 from a minimum of 85 overs with six wickets in hand and Root at the crease. The pitch is deteriorating, the bounce is uneven, and Santner’s turn in the evening suggests spin will play a bigger role on the final day. New Zealand need six wickets and have the conditions in their favour.

For Stokes, this was always going to end on his terms, and regardless of the result, Trent Bridge delivered a fitting stage for one of England’s greatest cricketers. The only question now is whether his teammates can give him the farewell he asked for.