New Zealand were bowled out for 362 in their second innings at The Oval, setting England a victory target of 463, a figure that would shatter every fourth-innings chase record in English Test history. Henry Nicholls top-scored with 121, Rachin Ravindra added 76, and Daryl Mitchell contributed 68 before the tail folded. England must now do something no side has ever done at this ground to stay alive in the series.
New Zealand’s Second Innings Foundations
New Zealand lost Tom Latham for 8 and Devon Conway for 28 inside the first nine overs, and for a moment it looked as though England’s bowlers might find a way back into the match quickly. Nicholls and Ravindra had other ideas. The pair added 161 runs for the third-wicket stand, carrying New Zealand to 189/2 before Ravindra was dismissed in the 41st over.
Nicholls reached 121 before falling at 261 in the 58th over, and Tom Blundell followed for 51 when the lead was already past 350. Glenn Phillips, who had made a century in the first innings, contributed 16 before departing in the 70th over at 307/6. It was a second innings that had none of the individual brilliance Phillips showed in the first, yet it built the lead steadily across two full sessions.
Mitchell and the Late Collapse
Daryl Mitchell arrived with New Zealand 189/2 and proceeded to build the lead further, reaching his half-century off 68 balls. By lunch on Day 4, he was 66 not out, and New Zealand sat at 345/6 with a lead of 445. That lunch score circulated as the likely final total, but the innings had 17 more overs to run.
Mitchell fell for 68 off 96 balls in the second over after the interval, bowled by Matt Fisher, attempting a scoop shot. He had survived a dropped catch off the very first ball of the morning, when he edged Jofra Archer, and Harry Brook couldn’t hold a diving chance at first slip. From 349/7, the last three wickets added just 13 runs. Matt Henry was the last man out, caught behind off Oliver Baker in the 87th over, giving New Zealand a second-innings total of 362. Henry said post-play it was “nicer to have them five down than four down,” referring to England’s position at stumps.
A Record Chase for England
England’s highest successful fourth-innings chase anywhere is 378, set against India at Edgbaston in the 5th Test of 2022. Joe Root made 142 not out and Jonny Bairstow 114 not out in an unbroken 269-run stand for the fourth wicket. Before that, the record stood at 359, England scoring 362/9 at Headingley in 2019 when Ben Stokes made 135 not out.
A target of 463 beats the all-time England chase record by 85 runs. At The Oval specifically, the numbers are starker: England’s highest successful fourth-innings score at this ground is 263/9 against Australia in 1902. No side has successfully chased 300 or more in the fourth innings at this venue. England needs 463. The deficit against history is 200 runs on that measure alone.
England New Zealand Oval Test 2026
The effective combined lead of 462, built on New Zealand’s first-innings advantage of 100 runs (391 to England’s 291) and a second innings of 362, places England in the most difficult fourth-innings position they’ve faced in recent memory. Matt Henry’s 5 for 80 in the first innings gave New Zealand the initial edge; the batting in the second kept it growing through 87 overs.
England won the first Test at Lord’s by 115 runs, with Gus Atkinson taking a five-wicket haul. A New Zealand win at The Oval would level the series 1-1 and set up a decider at Trent Bridge from June 25. The England-New Zealand Oval Test 2026 will now be decided by whether England can produce the most extraordinary fourth-innings chase in the ground’s history.