England hope rests on Root with NZ closing on Oval victory

England's hopes of avoiding defeat in the second Test rest on the shoulders of stand-in captain Joe Root, with New Zealand closing in on a series-levelling victory at The Kia Oval. On the day he became the second player in history to reach 14,000 Test runs, Root (75 not out) saw England through to stumps on 182-5 alongside Jordan Cox - who is yet to score - with the hosts 281 runs away from an improbable victory.

Early wickets looked to have hampered an already daunting record chase of 463 before Harry Brook (58 off 54) and Root posted half-centuries after tea in a stand of 97 for the third…