England bowlers put their side on the cusp of victory.
England’s biggest threat to winning their second Test match against New Zealand will be the weather and not the visitors batting line-up, on the final day at Headingley.
Graeme Swann has used the conditions to his advantage taking 4-61 off 21 overs to put England in a perfect position to win the Test, as the Black Caps finished day four 158-6, still needing 310 runs for the most unlikely of victories.
Despite the position of strength England find themselves in, New Zealand did manage to dig their heels in for much of the last session thanks to Ross Taylor and Dean Brownlie.
Steve Finn was the first to strike in the when he dispatched Brownlie for 25 to make the score 144-4.
The Black Caps only added another nine runs before Swann struck again, this time removing Martin Guptill for just three.
If New Zealand were to have any chance of batting out tomorrow and saving face in the match, Taylor had to be not out overnight.
However, Taylor has been out of touch for much of the series, apart from his half-century at Lords, but he played a watchful innings to reach 70, before he was bowled by a beautiful ball from Swann.
England were forced to use other part-time spinners as the light began to fade late in the day in Leeds, with the umpires eventually calling play off just after 6.30pm local time.
Brendon McCullum (0no) and Tim Southee (4no) will resume their knocks tomorrow, as the away side prays for the predicted bad weather to give them a helping hand towards the final Test of the series being a draw.
England v New Zealand
Played at Headingley
Toss won by England
England 1st Innings 354 (J Root 104, J Bairstow 64; T Boult 5-57
New Zealand 1st Innings 174 (G Swann 4-42, S Finn 3-36)
England 2nd Innings (overnight: 116-1)
A. Cook c Southee b Williamson 130
N. Compton c Rutherford b Williamson 7
J. Trott c McCullum b Wagner 76
I. Bell c Guptill b Williamson 6
J. Root c Guptill b Wagner 28
J. Bairstow not out 26
M. Prior not out 4
Extras (b8, lb1, w1) 10
Total (5 wkts dec, 76 overs, 320 mins) 287
Fall of wickets: 1-72 (Compton), 2-206 (Cook), 3-214 (Bell), 4-249 (Trott) , 5-268 (Root)
Did not bat: S Broad, G Swann, S Finn, J Anderson
Bowling: Boult 2-1-2-0; Southee 15-4-51-0; Wagner 17-3-67-2; Williamson 24-4-68-3; Bracewell 13-3-49-0 (1w); Guptill 5-0-41-0
New Zealand 2nd Innings
P. Fulton c Bell b Broad 5
H. Rutherford c Root b Swann 42
K. Williamson lbw b Swann 3
R. Taylor b Swann 70
D. Brownlie c Bell b Finn 25
M. Guptill c Trott b Swann 3
B. McCullum not out 0
T. Southee not out 4
Extras (lb 6) 6
Total (6 wkts, 54.4 overs, 240 mins) 158
Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Fulton), 2-40 (Williamson), 3-65 (Rutherford), 4-144 (Brownlie), 5-153 (Guptill), 6-154 (Taylor)
To bat: D Bracewell, N Wagner, T Boult
Bowling: Anderson 11-4-28-0; Broad 8-2-19-1; Swann 21.4-7-61-4; Finn 11-1-43-1; Root 3-2-1-0;
Match position: New Zealand need a further 310 runs to reach their victory target of 468 with four second innings wickets standing.
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