NOTTINGHAM (England):
Ollie Pope was closing in on his second Test century and opener Alex Lees hit his maiden fifty as
England
reached 195/2 at lunch on the third day of the second Test against
New Zealand
on Sunday.
Resuming on 90/1 after the touring side posted a dominant 553 thanks to a well-crafted 190 by
Daryl Mitchell, England continued to score runs freely at a sunny Trent Bridge to trail by 358 runs at the interval.
Pope, who had taken advantage of a dropped catch to race to his half-century on the second day, was unbeaten on 84 with former captain
Joe Root on 35 not out, after Lees departed following a poor shot.
Lees excelled in good batting conditions as he fluently drove pace bowler Tim Southee for two fours before reaching his first Test fifty with a four on the leg-side off Kyle Jamieson.
On 67, however, he chased a wide delivery from
Matt Henry to edge it to Mitchell at slip and the fielder made no mistake having dropped the left-hander early in his innings, ending a solid second-wicket partnership of 141.
It was a disappointing end for the 29-year-old Lees, who lasted 125 balls and hit 11 fours.
Root, whose unbeaten 115 guided England to a five-wicket win in the opening Test, endured nervy moments and was lucky to survive after flashing at a delivery from Southee who also dropped him in the slip cordon.
The final starts at Headingley on June 23.
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