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Middle East crisis live: Iran reviewing peace proposal as Trump says a deal ‘very possible’ | US-Israel war on Iran
Trump says deal with Iran is ‘very possible’ while Iran downplays reports of peace talks
Morning and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US and Iran have offered conflicting messages over the state of negotiations to end the war, with Donald Trump signalling the talks were “very good” and a deal “very possible”.
Iranian officials, however, have sought to dampen expectations, with state media reporting that Tehran is, at most, reviewing the US’s peace proposal and considering its response via Pakistani mediators. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said the proposal to end the war was merely an “American wish list” and “not a reality”.
Still, the US president struck a positive tone last night while speaking to journalists about a possible deal, with a few threats sprinkled in.
“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. That’s the way it is.”
In an interview with US broadcaster PBS, he said there was a “very good chance” of the war ending, adding: “If it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them.”
In other developments:
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News of a possible deal followed Trump’s abrupt U-turn on a US military operation to guide ships out of the strait of Hormuz, dubbed “Project Freedom”. Trump said the decision to pause the mission on Tuesday – two days after it was launched – was to give peace a chance, but NBC reported that it was suspended after Saudi Arabia refused to allow the US military to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation. US officials told the American broadcaster that Gulf allies were caught off guard by the sudden announcement of Project Freedom, and that it had angered the leadership in Saudi Arabia.
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The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that the US’s behaviour had “deviated the path of diplomacy towards threats, pressure and sanctions” and that Tehran could not trust Washington. In a statement carried by the Iranian state-run Press TV, Pezeshkian said Iran had entered into dialogue with the US twice and “on both occasions, military aggression against Iran took place concurrently with the negotiations. Such behaviour is effectively like ‘stabbing from behind’”.
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Iran has denied any involvement in damage to a South Korean-operated vessel in the strait of Hormuz, which suffered an explosion and fire on Monday. Trump blamed the incident on an Iranian attack, while South Korea’s foreign ministry said the cause of the fire would only be confirmed after the vessel is inspected. The Iran embassy in Seoul issued a statement this morning rejecting the allegations, saying safe passage through the waterway requires strict adherence to Iranian regulations.
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The damage and destruction inflicted on US military sites across the Middle East during the war is far larger than what has been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration or previously reported, according to analysis by the Washington Post. Reviewing satellite imagery, the newspaper found Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 US structures or pieces of equipment, including hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and key radar, communications and air defence equipment. The US Central Command declined to comment on the report.
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In Lebanon, where a ceasefire has demonstrably failed to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, three people were killed this morning in Israeli strikes on Nabatieh south of the country, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency. The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was seriously injured by an explosive-laden Hezbollah drone in southern Lebanon yesterday. It did not say where the attack took place.
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In Gaza, where another ceasefire appears to be fraying, an Israeli airstrike has killed Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, the son of Hamas political bureau leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, according to senior Hamas official Basim Naim. Azzam succumbed to his injuries this morning after being struck in an Israeli attack last night in Gaza City, Reuters reported. He is the fourth son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
Key events
Here are the latest pictures from the Dahiyeh neighbourhood of southern Beirut, where rescue workers are searching through the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday. The Israeli military claims a Hezbollah commander was killed in the attack, the first in the Lebanese capital in nearly a month.
Pakistan, which has positioned itself as a key mediator in talks between the US and Iran, has continued to express optimism at a possible deal without offering any clues at to where the negotiations currently stand.
The Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, would not disclose details of the ongoing diplomatic efforts but said a deal could be reached soon.
“What I can tell you and this is what I have stated before that we remain positive, we remain optimist, and we hope the settlement will be soon rather than later,” he told a news briefing today.
While the first round of US-Iran talks took place in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on 11 April, Andrabi hinted a future deal could be agreed elsewhere.
“If it takes place in Islamabad, it would be an honour and a privilege to host it,” he said.
In televised remarks today, Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said Islamabad remained in “continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war and extend the ceasefire”.
IDF claims to have killed commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force in Beirut strike
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has killed the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force, the most elite unit of the pro-Iran armed group, in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In a statement, the IDF named the Radwan commander as Ahmed Ghalib Balut, saying he was killed in a strike in the Dahiyeh neighbourhood in southern Beirut.
Hezbollah has not immediately commented on the report.
Israel struck Beirut yesterday for the first time since a ceasefire took effect on 16 April. At least 11 other people were killed in strikes across the south and east, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Trump says deal with Iran is ‘very possible’ while Iran downplays reports of peace talks
Morning and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.
The US and Iran have offered conflicting messages over the state of negotiations to end the war, with Donald Trump signalling the talks were “very good” and a deal “very possible”.
Iranian officials, however, have sought to dampen expectations, with state media reporting that Tehran is, at most, reviewing the US’s peace proposal and considering its response via Pakistani mediators. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said the proposal to end the war was merely an “American wish list” and “not a reality”.
Still, the US president struck a positive tone last night while speaking to journalists about a possible deal, with a few threats sprinkled in.
“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. That’s the way it is.”
In an interview with US broadcaster PBS, he said there was a “very good chance” of the war ending, adding: “If it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them.”
In other developments:
-
News of a possible deal followed Trump’s abrupt U-turn on a US military operation to guide ships out of the strait of Hormuz, dubbed “Project Freedom”. Trump said the decision to pause the mission on Tuesday – two days after it was launched – was to give peace a chance, but NBC reported that it was suspended after Saudi Arabia refused to allow the US military to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation. US officials told the American broadcaster that Gulf allies were caught off guard by the sudden announcement of Project Freedom, and that it had angered the leadership in Saudi Arabia.
-
The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, that the US’s behaviour had “deviated the path of diplomacy towards threats, pressure and sanctions” and that Tehran could not trust Washington. In a statement carried by the Iranian state-run Press TV, Pezeshkian said Iran had entered into dialogue with the US twice and “on both occasions, military aggression against Iran took place concurrently with the negotiations. Such behaviour is effectively like ‘stabbing from behind’”.
-
Iran has denied any involvement in damage to a South Korean-operated vessel in the strait of Hormuz, which suffered an explosion and fire on Monday. Trump blamed the incident on an Iranian attack, while South Korea’s foreign ministry said the cause of the fire would only be confirmed after the vessel is inspected. The Iran embassy in Seoul issued a statement this morning rejecting the allegations, saying safe passage through the waterway requires strict adherence to Iranian regulations.
-
The damage and destruction inflicted on US military sites across the Middle East during the war is far larger than what has been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration or previously reported, according to analysis by the Washington Post. Reviewing satellite imagery, the newspaper found Iranian airstrikes have damaged or destroyed at least 228 US structures or pieces of equipment, including hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and key radar, communications and air defence equipment. The US Central Command declined to comment on the report.
-
In Lebanon, where a ceasefire has demonstrably failed to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, three people were killed this morning in Israeli strikes on Nabatieh south of the country, according to the official Lebanese National News Agency. The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was seriously injured by an explosive-laden Hezbollah drone in southern Lebanon yesterday. It did not say where the attack took place.
-
In Gaza, where another ceasefire appears to be fraying, an Israeli airstrike has killed Azzam Khalil al-Hayya, the son of Hamas political bureau leader and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, according to senior Hamas official Basim Naim. Azzam succumbed to his injuries this morning after being struck in an Israeli attack last night in Gaza City, Reuters reported. He is the fourth son of Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
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Essex v Notts, Sussex v Hampshire, Stokes out of Durham game: county cricket day three – live | Cricket
Key events
” We were outplayed”
Poor Lancashire coach Steven Croft, after Lancs were beaten in three days again: “I thought we were outplayed, we under-performed with the bat and ball. Very disappointing. Yes we’ve got some young lads in the side but more of our team needs to be putting their hands up.
“Yes we got put in on a pitch that was helpful for the bowlers but I still thought we could have managed a lot better and also got closer to them skill wise which is tough to say. We were down on our batting and bowling skills, it was tricky at times but we need to find a way to work it out and get better.
“We’re under-performing for the group of players we’ve got. We’ve got injuries but I think we are still sending sides out that we expect to do a lot better than they are.”
On Joe Moores’ maiden fifty:“It’s great to see him go out there and get some runs and I thought he’s kept really well. He’s had a tough job to stand up to the stumps and it’s great to see him have a performance like today.”
Glenn Chapple is doing laps of The Riverside, strawberry blond hair now silver-grey. There’s a nice scattering of people sitting in front of the pavilion in the shade. Matt Parkinson wheels through over number three, Miller and McSweeney gently rebuilding.
I’ve learnt today that Durham are returning to Darlington this year to play in the one-day cup against Essex on August 9.
100 for Rory Burns!
Much more like it. A first century of the season for Burns in a better effort by Surrey this time around. Surrey 215 for four, trail Glamorgan by just 38. Pope, at the other end, 39 not out.
Gus (Augustus Horatio) Miller, 11 not out here in CLS, is (thank you Andrew Radd for this information) the second Augustus to play for Northampton after Richard Augustus Agincourt Beresford who played for Northants 1887-1892. His niece Elisabeth, a neighbour of John Arlott on Alderney, wrote The Wombles.
Post lunch wickets in the north east! Two in an over from Matthew Potts A tea-tray juggling catch by McKinney off Potts gets rid of Calvin Harison, after Vasconcelos drove loosely, furious with himself, and snaffled at second slip. Northants 17-2.
Lunchtime scores
Chelmsford: Essex 184 and 81-5 v Nottinghamshire 457
Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 358 v Surrey 105 and 177-4
Grace Road: Leicestershire 453 v Yorkshire 185 and 121-6
Taunton: Somerset 208 and 104-4 v Warwickshire 330
Hove: Sussex 159 and 64-1 v Hampshire 191 and 220
DIVISION TWO
Chesterfield: Derbyshire 364 and 25-1 BEAT Lancashire 161 and 226 by nine wickets
Chester-le-Street: Durham 405 v Northants 450 and 10-0
Canterbury: Kent 416 v Middlesex 443
New Road: Worcestershire 290-6 v Gloucestershire 289
Derbyshire need 24 to beat Lancs!
And lost Harry Came third ball but are now half way there.
hello Mike Daniels!
“This has been, so far, almost the perfect game for Leicestershire and, as seems likely, it turns out to be their first win, then they’ll have thoroughly deserved it
“They’ve batted and bowled well and shown they have what it takes to win in Div1. They’ll have to back it up with more when the CC resumes but kudos to them for bouncing back from a poor display last week.”
Bravo indeed. Yorkshire lunch six down, still 147 behind. Hill and Bess the men in.
I should have said happy Father’s day to you all – hope the dads out there are celebrating in an enjoyable way. If you’re in the north east, I heartily recommend an afternoon at The Riverside, though unfortunately you won’t be able to see Ben Stokes. Still feels a bit weird that the ECB pulled him out. If he’d played the whole match he’d only have played four days to the five four and a bit of the England players.
No hundred for the other Ollie Robinson after all, caught at deep square, a wicket for Guthrie. Durham get their fourth batting point before being all out for 405, just 45 behind Northants. And here comes Gus Miller, the injury replacement for Luke Procter, and Ricardo Vasconcelos for a ten minute pre-lunch bat.
And Essex are in real trouble now with Dean Elgar and his limpet like qualities gone, lbw Stone for 42. Essex 65-4, trail Notts by 208. Nick Friend of The Cricketer was at Chelmsford for the first two days and tells me that Essex prepared a pitch for Harmer, only for Patterson-White to rip through them on day one. Harmer finished with a five-fer too – his first in 36 games(three years) for Essex.
Great little knock this by Ollie Robinson, now 66. His last 100 was against Notts last May. Durham 383-9.
“Hi Tanya.” Hello Tim Maitland!
”Does English cricket truly understand the storm that’s about to hit them?
”I only ask, because the teenaged Vaibhav Sooryavanshi just hit 94 off 29 balls for India A in the ongoing ODI against Sri Lanka A.
”That’s a strike rate of 324. Three runs a ball. Ten fours and 8 sixes.
”We can only hope that the weather in July provides hooping, green seamers that are utterly alien to him. Anything else and whatever mess the current set-up is in come the end of the New Zealand series is going to look like the calm before the storm by the time the T20 and ODI series is over.
”He’s going to make Harry Brook look pedestrian.
”None of this should come as new news. He just won five of the 2026 IPL’s individual awards (MVP, Orange Cap for Most Runs, Emerging Player, Most Sixes and Batting Strike Rate) aged 15. But as the ECB seems determined to give the impression that they couldn’t run a bath at the moment, you have to hope they’ve started pre-emptive crisis meetings across every department, starting with the Sports Psychologists to prepare for the battered psyches of the bowlers.”
Interesting that Colin Ackermann won’t be able to bowl for Durham because he’s not a like for like replacement.
Sussex need 253 to win
Hampshire hitched their way to the highest score of the match thanks to the lower order – 22o . Three wickets each for Unadkat, Carson and Price. Kyle Abbot 23 not out. Now what are Sussex made of?
Two more early wickets, Yorkshire, fallible Yorkshire, losing Sam Whiteman inside edging to a flying Ben Cox, Yorks 57-3 ; and Charlie Bennett wafting to point, a second wicket for O’Neill, Essex 39-3.
Start of play scores
Chelmsford: Essex 184 and 13-2 v Nottinghamshire 457
Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 358 v Surrey 105 and 82-2
Grace Road: Leicestershire 453 v Yorkshire 185 and 32-2
Taunton: Somerset 208 and 23-1 v Warwickshire 330
Hove: Sussex 159 v Hampshire 191 and 206-9
DIVISION TWO
Chesterfield: Derbyshire 364 v Lancashire 161 and 140-6
Chester-le-Street: Durham 302-7 v Northants 450
Canterbury: Kent 416 v Middlesex 319-6
New Road: Worcestershire210-5 v Gloucestershire 289
Delayed arrival at CLS, via a cheese scone, to see Ben Raine reverse-scoop the ball into his stumps. Durham 332-8 with the new ball imminent. Stokes is still at Chester le Street and warmed up with the team this morning.
Morning everyone and a happy summer solstice to you all. Breaking news at The Oval and here at CLS that Stokes and Atkinson and have been withdrawn from duty and will presumably be meeting up with England after the denouement to the second Test at The Oval. But away from that, there are eight games of cricket to win. Play starts at 11am, do join us.
Stokes withdrawn from Durham game ‘at request of ECB’
Tanya will be with you shortly, but some breaking news to bring you early on: Ben Stokes will not play any further part in Durham’s match against Northamptonshire, having been “withdrawn at the request of the ECB”.
“Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from the remainder of Durham’s County Championship match against Northamptonshire at the request of the ECB,” a statement said. “Colin Ackermann will replace Stokes in the Durham 11.”
The BBC are also reporting that Gus Atkinson has been stood down from Surrey’s match at Glamorgan – all of which points to a likely return for both players to the England fold for the third Test against New Zealand.
Police say 28 people remain in hospital after two trains collided on Friday.
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New Zealand rout England by 253 runs: second men’s Test, day five – as it happened | England v New Zealand 2026
Key events
Stokes to return as captain at Trent Bridge
More from Brendon McCullum on the imminent return of Ben Stokes.
[Will Ben Stokes return as captain at Trent Bridge?] Yeah, at the moment that’s what we’re planning. The rest of the squad will be announced this afternoon once we’ve told a few of the lads.
[On the mixed messaging around Stokes’ mental state] People always have a difference of opinion, that’s the way things are – people read things differently. From my point of view I’ve been speaking to Ben every day since the incident and have obviously been trying to be supportive.
I think it was great he was able to play cricket this week and get some runs. He looked like he had a bit of pep in his step as well. We know a fit, firing Ben Stokes is an asset to every team in the world.
Those conversations between Stokesy and I are private; I’m not going to go into that at all.
[On his relationship with Stokes] You’ve got to separate the actions from the man. I was disappointed with the actions, which didn’t meet the standards we’ve set for ourselves, but then you support the man. I’ve always firmly believed in that. We have the same vision for an England team that is long-term sustainably successful.
[Could you and Rob Key have backed him more as captain in the immediate aftermath?] There was a formal disciplinary process we had to go through. Until you have that information, nobody is able to make any decisions or make any emphatic public statements.
People make mistakes, right? We all try to abide by standards, but you’re always supporting the man. I have no problem and it’ll be nice to have the opportunity to try to close out a series win against a very good New Zealand win. If we do that I think it’ll be a mighty achievement, particularly after the last week which has been very difficult.
I want to make special mention of Joe Root. The way he picked up the responsbility in a difficult period… I can’t speak highly enough of him.
Brendon McCullum’s verdict
It happened a bit quicker than we wanted today. My optimism knows no bounds – I thought we might be able to do something special. But New Zealand outplayed us in all three aspects and they were relentless with the ball.
I thought our tactics were pretty good across the board. We created opportunities to take wickets but we weren’t able to take them. I don’t know how many Tests have been won when you drop 10 catches.
I thought Joe did an outstanding job, working with Harry across the Test. There’s lots to be proud of and some stuff we need to tidy up. You might not get the instant gratification of a win but the young guys will be a lot better for the experience.
Match report: New Zealand win by 253 runs
Tom Latham’s reaction
It’s been a fantastic week. We managed to get our nose in front during some crucial moments and I thought we played fantastically well.
The way the bowlers were able to operate was crucial: top of off, a little bit of old-school cricket, and we managed to get the results.
We all know the talent [Glenn Phillips] has got. He’s played some crucial innings, and the way he batted against Jofra showed the ticker and the method that he has.
We thought hitting the top of off repeatedly was the best method on this surface. Henners [Matt Henry] is a pretty good exponent of that. He’s been a spearhead for us for a long period and it was nice for him to get the results.
Joe Root’s reaction
Credit to New Zealand, I thought they played really well. There were a number of moments when the game was in the balance and they won them. Fair play to them. It’s still 1-1 and there’s everything to play for at Trent Bridge.
I really enjoyed coming back into that space [as captain] and working with Baz. And it was a great opportunity for the young guys coming into the team. There were a lot of good things across the five days, but we just have to do things better for longer. If you miss eight chances, catches in particular, against a good team on a good pitch it’ll hurt you.
Glenn Phillips played really well during a really fiery spell from Jofra, who I thought was excellent throughout the Test. It was a good lesson for our batters, the way he recognised that scenario, got through a really tough spell and reaped the rewards the following morning. As a young side, we can learn from that.
When you lose a game you always think: ‘What did we do wrong?’ Sometimes that’s unfair on the opposition. They’re allowed to play well and New Zealand certainly did that.
[Do you want to put the captaincy blazer back in the garage?] We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days.
The player of the match is Matt Henry
We probably didn’t expect it to unfold like that today, but we probably saved ourselves a really hot day in the field!
[On the value of a 10-day break between Tests] It helped massively. I was just trying to regain some confidence in the body. It feels pretty bad when you let the guys down on day one, so it was great to come here and get my quota out.
The top order did some great work in challenging conditions on day one, helping the ball get soft for Glenn [Phillips] to do his thing. With the ball we talked about being relentless and offering something different from each end, because we thought it might take until the last session today.
[On Tom Blundell standing up to the stumps and the influence of the Ashes] We actually used the tactic in New Zealand a few years ago; we brought Tommy up at the Basin [Reserve in Wellington]. We talked about trying to keep guys in their crease because they wanted to walk out and get busy. Having a world-class operator like Tom is huge – you can’t do it unless you have somebody as good as him behind the stumps. He was absolutely outstanding.
[Do you have to keep your ego in check when the keeper stands up?] I’ve always said I’d rather be effective than be a hero! The main thing for us was to create pressure.
[On his role as attack leader] Ah, it’s pretty easy when you’ve got such a strong bowling group.
England lost the game on the second morning, when they mislaid the plot in the field and allowed New Zealand to get too many in the first innings. In a sense they lost this game on day four at Lord’s, but we don’t need to go over all that.
Matt Henry’s match figures of 42.1-9-109-11 are the best by a New Zealand bowler in a Test against England. He goes past Dion Nash, a criminally underrated seamer who almost bowled New Zealand to victory at Lord’s in 1994. That match also featured a glorious century from an ageing Martin Crowe.
Since you asked, Sir Richard Hadlee took a couple of ten-forsagainst England: Wellington 1978, Trent Bridge 1986.
That was a crushing victory for New Zealand, a triumph of experience, class and equilibrium. It’s hard to write about New Zealand without inadvertently patronising them, but bloody hell they are good.
Jordan Cox made 27 and 25 in his debut Test – nothing scores, it’s true, but there were plenty of signs that he might have what it takes at this level. He certainly has the strokeplay.
Matt Henry has taken 5-3 this morning to finish with 6-29 in the innings and 11-109 in the match. I don’t know if that’s the best performance of his career, but it’s in the top one right up there. And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke.
New Zealand win by 253 runs!
WICKET! England 209 all out (Cox b Henry 25) New Zealand didn’t need Baker on strike. Henry spears in a yorker that beats Cox’s premediated sweep to hit middle stump and end the match. Canny, classy bowling from a late-blooming giant of world cricket.
58th over: England 209-9 (Cox 25, Baker 0) Cox charges Jamieson and pulls a mighty six over midwicket. A clever clip through square leg brings three more and allows him to keep strike. Somebody shouted for O’Rourke to leave it, as a boundary would have meant Baker being on strike at the start of the next over, but he either didn’t hear or ignored it.
57th over: England 200-9 (Cox 16, Baker 0) This has been a rewarding series for lovers of skilful seam bowling. Ollie Robinson was player of the match at Lord’s; Matt Henry will surely win the award here.
Henry has a full over at Baker, who solidly plays out a maiden. Baker is cut from the tailend cloth as Will O’Rourke, a No11 who doesn’t score runs but has a decent defensive technique.
“The Kiwi cricket team has a decent claim to be the most likeable bunch in international sport (and ALWAYS has done),” writes Robert Wilson. “That unassuming moral rectitude, that reflexive self-deprecation and team-ethos primacy is permanently standard. They’re almost impossible to dislike. And this fluffy cuteness can obscure their brilliance and power. They’ve been a hard ask for a decade but they never seem to shake off Graham Gooch’s (admittedly fabulous) Ilford 2nd XI slur.
“Amid the obscenity of the Trumpian Bread & Circuses kickball tournament in the US, it’s cleansing to see a bunch of blokes who could all be that neighbour who uncomplainingly lends you a perfectly maintained and beautifully oiled power-tool that you don’t know how to use. And make no mistake, they have absolutely ****ing CANED England.
“I’ve enjoyed every over of it.”
I couldn’t put it nearly as well myself.
56th over: England 200-9 (Cox 16, Baker 0) Cox charges Jamieson, who drops the ball shorter as a result. Cox improvises nicely to uppercut over the slips for four and bring up England’s 200. He is a serious talent.
55th over: England 196-9 (Cox 12, Baker 0) With Cox on strike, the field is spread for Matt Henry’s hat-trick ball. I was going to say, ‘That’s a bit weird, Tom Latham should be sacked,’ etc, but on reflection I like that it captures New Zealand’s side-over-self philosophy.
Cox defends the hat-trick ball. This time he gives Baker the last two deliveries to survive. Good boy that he is, Baker obliges.
54th over: England 195-9 (Cox 11, Baker 0) Jordan Cox gives Sonny Baker one ball to survive. Good boy that he is, Baker obliges.
“I don’t get all the pessimism,” says Paul Griffin. “In addition to your list of joyful vignettes, the test has been a Tactical Great Leap Forward for cricket and English sport in general. We have established that deploying your captain out of position, in the north-east of England idyll to be precise, is not optimal. Now this is resolved, the only way is up. I hear Tommy Tuchel has abandoned his thought experiment of sending Harry Kane to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne for the next World Cup game. Kissinger, Kasparov, and Sun Tzu must be looking on in envy.”
53rd over: England 192-9 (Cox 8, Baker 0) That was the last ball of the over, so there may be no hat-trick ball. In the last five years, Matt Henry has taken 114 Test wickets at – and you’ll like this – an average of 19.70.
WICKET! England 192-9 (Tongue c Mitchell b Henry 0)
You ripper! Matt Henry has taken his first ten-for in Test cricket, and he’s on a hat-trick as well. Josh Tongue edged another immaculate delivery to first slip and was taken by Daryl Mitchell.
Henry snaps his head back and roars with delight. Honestly, this is about as good as flat-pitch seam bowling gets.
WICKET! England 192-8 (Henry b Fisher 0)
Even when he doesn’t hit the stumps, Matt Henry hits the stumps. Fisher feels for a slightly wider ball and drags it back onto leg stump to give Henry his ninth wicket of the match. He is so good.
52nd over: England 192-7 (Cox 8, Fisher 0) Cox times Jamieson nicely to the cover boundary. The game is done, and Cox is unlikely to play at Trent Bridge on Thursday, but it’s still an important innings because he can put some credit in the bank.
“I enjoyed Andy Bull’s article,” writes Tom van der Gucht. “McCullum has brought some amazing moments for us all, but most coaches seem to have ‘their method’ that works brilliantly until it doesn’t.
“Although I’m drifting off cricket and across sports, I was rewatching Winning Time and the coaching revolution at the LA Lakers lately and it reminded me how few coaches are able to mimic Ferguson with Man U and sustain success over such a long period.
I wonder whether the ECB will turn to what’s viewed as a safe pair of hands if McCullum goes. Could we be preparing ourselves for the third coming of Peter Moores… county cricket’s top coach of the 21st century and one of life’s good guys?”
If McCullum gets sacked after the Ashes, fine, but to damn him based on this game, after all the upheaval and weirdness, makes no sense to me. When history is written, I suspect the received wisdom will be that Bazball died after the India tour of 2023-24. Yas Rana’s point that McCullum was a much better fit for an experienced team in the doldrums than an inexperienced team feels spot on.
51st over: England 188-7 (Cox 4, Fisher 0) A double-wicket maiden from Henry, and why not.
WICKET! England 188-7 (Archer b Henry 0)
Make that eight wickets for Matt Henry. Jofra Archer has no chance with a wicket-to-wicket grubber and is bowled second ball for nought.
WICKET! England 188-6 (Root LBW b Henry 77)
The end is nigh. Root plays defensively at an off-cutter from Henry that snakes past the inside edge to hit the back pad. He reviews, just in case, but that was a clean LBW. Henry has dismissed the big two, Root and Brook, in both innings has match figures of 38.1-6-108-7 on a flat pitch. It’s been a wicket-to-wicket masterclass.
50th over: England 188-5 (Root 77, Cox 4) Cox hits Kyle Jamieson through the covers for three before Root edges a good ball on the bounce to second slip.
“Good morning, Rob and Happy Solstice,” says John Starbuck. “We are at the peak of summer but at this rate it won’t be remembered fondly by future generations, going by the pretty miserable performance of England cricket. What consolation can we take from this match?”
Crikey, loads. Jofra Archer v Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry’s magnificence, the first Test century by a known ADHDer, Sonny Baker’s joie de vivre, Matt Fisher’s fifty, Harry Brook’s madcap genius, Joe Root’s 14,000th Test run, the (seeming) improvement in Ben Stokes’s mental health, Rachin Ravindra’s strokeplay, Henry Nicholls shuffling into the spotlight. I could go on, but luckily for you there’s some cricket to talk about. And a wicket.
49th over: England 184-5 (Root 76, Cox 1) Henry sets the agenda with a perfect first delivery on off stump that is defended awkwardly by Root. After Root takes a single later in the over, Jordan Cox gets off the mark from his 15th delivery. Can’t imagine that has happened too often.
Tanya Aldred
Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been withdrawn from the remainder of Durham and Surrey’s ongoing County Championship matches at the request of the England and Wales Cricket Board [ECB].
“Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from the remainder of Durham’s County Championship match against Northamptonshire at the request of the ECB,” a club statement on X said. “Colin Ackermann will replace Stokes in the Durham 11.”
Neither player was selected for the second Test after they broke the team curfew celebrating England’s first Test win against New Zealand at Lord’s. The interim captain, Joe Root, was then handed an inexperienced side who have struggled against New Zealand at The Oval, and start Sunday needing 281 more runs to win with just five wickets in hand.
The players are ready to roll. Matt Henry will open up to Joe Root.
England this, England that. It’s time to talk about New Zealand, who calmly parked their defeat at Lord’s and have quietly outclassed England in the second Test.
Glenn Phillips’ century, the first in Test cricket by a known ADHDer, was a multi-faceted masterpiece; Henry Nicholls played an innings of which Kane Williamson would be proud; and Matt Henry has been quite majestic.
There’s so much more to his performance than numbers, but the detail of Harry Brook’s performance provides a snapshot of Henry’s brilliance.
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Brook v Henry 4 runs, 19 balls, 2 wickets, SR 21
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Brook v the rest 78 runs, 67 balls, 0 wickets, SR 116
Imagine restricting Harry Brook to a strike-rate of 21, never mind dismissing him twice at an average of 2.
Simon Burnton
Josh Tongue admitted England have missed the influence of Ben Stokes after a day in which they crumbled to the brink of defeat in the second Test against New Zealand at the Oval. While they were doing so the team’s full-time captain, forced out of international duty for disciplinary reasons, was 275 miles north at Chester-le-Street, scoring a swashbuckling 95 for Durham in the County Championship.
England ended the fourth day on 182 for five, a distant 281 from victory, after the tourists scored 362 in their second innings. The home side have worked this week under the interim captaincy of Joe Root, on whose back their slender hopes once again lie, after he became the second player in Test history to pass 14,000 career runs on his way to an unbeaten 75,
“Yeah, we’ve missed him,” Tongue said of Stokes. “He’s an unbelievable player. Obviously I made my debut when he was captain, so I’ve got huge respect for Stokesy and it’s always nice seeing him get some runs as well. But obviously we’ve got a lot of leaders in our team. Rooty has stepped up as captain, he’s obviously an unbelievable player and an unbelievable leader.”
Andy Bull
At the end of the fourth day’s play here the abiding question wasn’t whether England could complete a record-breaking fourth innings chase or even if they could bat the match out to secure the draw. It was why everyone is still watching an England team coached by Brendon McCullum six months after he ought to have moved on from the job.
The way we tell it in this country, McCullum’s backstory as England coach begins on 2 January 2013 when, in his first match as New Zealand’s Test captain, the team were bowled out for 45 by South Africa at Cape Town. Legend has it this was the watershed Test. In a management meeting that evening, McCullum laid out his ideas about the way the game should be played. The hard-charging, happy-go-lucky approach that has characterised England’s cricket in the past four years was born right here, when, New Zealand’s coach, Mike Hesson, said, McCullum was first empowered “to do the job the way he wanted it done”.
There is a chapter missing in this version. Everyone involved in New Zealand cricket knows it by rote, but it’s not often discussed in England. It’s all about what happened in the months running up to that match, when McCullum’s predecessor as captain, Ross Taylor, was forced out of his job by Hesson, who was an old teammate of McCullum’s.
Here’s more on the news that Ben Stokes is back, baby
Ali Martin
What do you get if you pick three debutants, two more with one cap each, a strike-bowler who is returning to Test cricket after two solid months of sending down four-over spells in India, and hand the captaincy to a guy who has spent the past four years with the job happily in his rear-view mirror?
Throw in a seasoned opposition side like Tom Latham’s New Zealand and the answer, England have discovered, is the need to knock off a monstrous fourth-innings target of 463 – or bat out nearly five sessions – to avoid a defeat that will invite questions beyond simply that optimistic selection.
Stokes withdrawn from Durham match
So, about that third Test. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have been withdrawn from Durham and Surrey’s ongoing County Championship matches at the request of the ECB. The services of Benoit Blanc will not be required on this matter.
Do me a quick favour: close your eyes and just imagine the noise when Stokes walks out to bat at Trent Bridge. It might even register on the Headingley 2019ometer.
Preamble
This shouldn’t take long. New Zealand need five wickets to wrap up an emphatic victory at The Oval and set up a mouth-moistening series decider at Trent Bridge later in the week. The only teeny-tiny hope for England is the not dissimilar precedent of Aukland 2013. On that occasion they were four down going into the last day, with one of the not-out batters a pre-pubescent Joe Root one of the not-out batters.
They saved that Test, and the series, with a performance of immense defiance led by Matt Prior. (Funny how things work out. At 31, Prior seemed to be moving inexorably towards greatness; 18 months later he was done as a Test cricketer.)
Realistically, on a day like today, ‘remember when’ is the lowest form of conversation. England are going to lose – decisively, deservedly – and tomorrow’s headlines will be about the future. One subject will be discussed more than any other: what part, if any, Ben Stokes and the rest of the absent Oval Five play in that series decider.
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