England urged to continue positive approach in pursuit of first Test victory

GEORGE DOBELL AT LORD'S: Stuart Broad says the hosts must keep the pressure on New Zealand before the World Test Championship holders have the chance to bite back again with the second new ball on day four

Stuart Broad has urged his England teammates to continue to take a positive approach on the fourth morning at Lord’s with a view to establishing a match-defining position before New Zealand have the chance to take a second new ball.

England resume on the final morning requiring 61 more runs for victory and with five wickets in hand. But if that equation sounds relatively comfortable, it is worth remembering that they lost five wickets for eight runs at one stage in the first innings and that the Kiwis will have the opportunity to take a second new-ball after 15 overs on day four.

On a surface upon which the new ball has proved far more dangerous throughout the match, Broad knows that could yet be significant. New Zealand lost six wickets for 34 runs at the start of the third day after England took a second new ball.

While Broad insisted he had a "really good feeling" about the chase, he did acknowledge that the new ball provided New Zealand with an opportunity.

"The hour before the new ball is going to be crucial," Broad said. "We have to try and get the runs [required] down as low as we can. We have got to have a positive mindset before the new ball.

"The new ball has been really positive for all the bowlers. We've seen a slower and flatter period when the ball is softer and goes out of shape. The way Joe Root and Ben Stokes played today showed the way this team want to go about it.

^{Joe Root will resume 76 not out on day four and central to England's hopes (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)}

"But I've got a really good feeling about it. Joe Root is one of England's best ever batsmen. And one of the calmest. And Ben Foakes, I thought, settled really nicely. And then it's going to be up to the lower order to chase these runs, so it's set up to be a brilliant morning."

Broad also acknowledged that an England victory would be "right up there" in terms of recent achievements by this team as, by the time the third day started, they looked in deep trouble. At one stage, New Zealand were 242 ahead with six second-innings wickets in hand. 

"Going to bed last night, there was a feeling of 'have we let the game get a bit too far away' knowing that if New Zealand had a great hour-and-a-half this morning, we were certainly up against it. We were a bit disappointed on Friday afternoon. If New Zealand scored 340-350, it's a different game.

"But we took six for 49 in the morning. We had to strike with the new ball and we couldn't have done any better. That was absolutely a dream world for us and it's given us a fighting chance. We've got five wickets left in the changing room and someone can really show their character tomorrow.

"It would be great to win. It would cap off a fantastic Test. It's up to us as a group of players to do everything we can to get over the line and it would be very special. But if it doesn't work that way we step up to the plate in Nottingham. But I've got a really good feeling about tomorrow."

At the start of the day, Broad was involved in a passage of play in which England claimed three wickets in three deliveries.

^{Broad missed the run-out of Colin de Grandhomme, the second of three wickets in a row (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)}

While the 35-year-old claimed two of them with some fine bowling, he admits he had "no idea" about the third.

That wicket, the second of the three, occurred when Broad appealed for leg before against Colin de Grandhomme – a plea he later admitted was wildly optimistic – only for Ollie Pope, in the gully, to throw the stumps down with a direct hit before the batter could regain his ground.

It was, Broad suggested, reflective of a much-improved performance from England in the field.

"I had absolutely no idea what had happened," he admitted. "I was appealing for the lbw which, when I've watched back on TV, is one of the worst appeals ever: it's not hitting the sixth stump down the leg side.

"So I was facing Rod Tucker, the umpire, and appealing and then I heard the stumps broken and turned around. I think it was Jonny Bairstow shouting, 'That's out, that's out!' So then I started appealing to square leg, but I didn't know what was going on.

"I don't know what's changed, but I think our accuracy with our throwing in the field - and our fielding in general - has been outstanding this game. It just shows what switching mentality in the field can do. Because that nicked us a wicket, didn't it?

"It just shows how crucial that sort of thing is in Test cricket. And Jonny's (Bairstow) catch to get us going in the Test match was spectacular. I don't know what's changed, but there's certainly a mindset flip and we look a more attacking side in the field."