LEEDS: New Zealand bowled with fire and fielded superbly to crush England by 199 runs in the second Test on Tuesday and level a gripping two-match series at 1-1.

Off-spinners Kane Williamson and Mark Craig shared six wickets at Headingley as New Zealand celebrated just their ninth win in 101 Tests against England.

This success was also New Zealand’s first Test win against England since a 189-run victory at Hamilton in 2008.

It meant too they had won a Test in England for only the fifth time, with this victory their first Test success on English soil since an 83-run triumph at The Oval in 1999.

England, chasing what would have been a Test fourth innings record victory total of 455, were bowled out for 255.

Williamson, primarily a batsman and once suspended from bowling in international cricket because of a suspect action, took three wickets for 15 runs in seven overs, including the prize scalp of England captain Alastair Cook (56)

Craig finished with three for 73 in 31.5 overs and ended the match when he had Jos Buttler lbw playing no stroke for 73.

Cook and Buttler apart, England offered little in the way of resistance in their second innings.

England resumed on Tuesday at 44-0 and had an outside chance of surpassing the West Indies’ record fourth-innings winning total of 418 for seven against Australia at St John’s (Antigua) in 2002-03.

However, those slim hopes disappeared during a first session where England lost five wickets for 58 runs in 32 overs as they slumped to 102 for five at lunch.

England, after a rain-marred fourth day, resumed with Adam Lyth 24 not out and Cook 18 not out.

But Lyth, who made a maiden Test century in the first innings, fell for his overnight score when he was caught behind fending at a Trent Boult away-swinger.

Left-arm paceman Boult then bowled Gary Ballance for six with a superb, near yorker-length, inswinger.

Craig then struck twice in three balls to reduce England to 62 for four.

Ian Bell had made just one when he turned Craig straight to leg-slip Williamson.

Bell, one of England’s senior batsmen, has managed just 55 runs in eight Test innings since his 143 against the West Indies in North Sound (Antigua) in April.

Joe Root had promised England would ‘come out all guns blazing’ but he lasted just two balls before exiting for a duck when he turned Craig off the face of the bat only for Tom Latham to cling on to a sharp chance.

But Cook was still there and he went on to complete his second fifty of the match, having become England’s highest run scorer in Tests during his first innings 75.

With England’s slim hopes of victory all but over, Cook and Ben Stokes adopted a cautious approach, although the all-rounder produced a couple of trademark crisp boundaries to entertain a sparse crowd on a chilly day at Headingley.

Cook’s near four hours’ of resistance ended when the skipper was given out lbw as he pushed forward to Williamson and a review couldn’t save the skipper.

Williamson, who had Stokes caught behind on the stroke of lunch, had now taken two wickets for two runs in 11 balls.

Moeen Ali’s hundred in last year’s corresponding Headingley Test almost saw England to a draw before Sri Lanka won late on the final day.

But on Tuesday he was bowled for two playing no stroke to fast bowler Matt Henry.

Stuart Broad made a breezy 23 before he was bowled by Williamson but Buttler and Mark Wood shared a gritty ninth-wicket partnership of 42.

At tea, England were 206-8 and needing to survive a minimum of 35 overs to hold out for a draw following their 124-run win in the first Test at Lord’s last week.

New Zealand had the advantage of the new ball four overs into the final session.

Wood’s 40-minute innings of 17 ended when he edged Tim Southee to Craig in the slips before Buttler’s error ended the match.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND (1st Innings) 350 (L. Ronchi 88, T.W.M. Latham 84; S.C.J. Broad 5-109).

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 350 (A. Lyth 107, A.M. Cook 75; T.G. Southee 4-83).

NEW ZEALAND (2nd Innings) 458-8 declared (B.J. Watling 120, M.J. Guptill 70, M.D. Craig 58 not out, B.B. McCullum 55; M.A. Wood 3-97).

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 44-0):

A. Lyth c Ronchi b Boult 24

A.N. Cook lbw b Williamson 56

G.S. Ballance b Boult 6

I.R. Bell c Williamson b Craig 1

J.E. Root c Latham b Craig 0

B.A. Stokes c Ronchi b Williamson 29

J.C. Buttler lbw b Craig 73

Moeen Ali b Henry 2

S.C.J. Broad b Williamson 23

M.A. Wood c Craig b Southee 17

J.M. Anderson not out 8

EXTRAS (B-12, LB-2, W-2) 16

TOTAL (all out, 91.5 overs) 255

FALL OF WKTS: 1-47, 2-61, 3-62, 4-62, 5-102, 6-141, 7-153, 8-188, 9-230.

BOWLING: Boult 23-4-61-2; Southee 18-7-43-1 (1w); Craig 31.5-12-73-3; Henry 12-2-49-1 (1w); Williamson 7-1-15-3.

RESULT: New Zealand won by 199 runs to level two-match series at 1-1.

UMPIRES: S. Ravi (India) and R.J. Tucker (Australia).

TV UMPIRE: M. Erasmus (South Africa).

MATCH REFEREE: D.C. Boon (Australia).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: B.J. Watling.

MEN-OF-THE-SERIES: Alastair Cook (England), Trent Boult (New Zealand).

FIRST TEST: Lord’s, England won by 124 runs.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2015

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