London, June 21 (IANS) Matt Henry produced the finest performance of his Test career with a maiden 11-wicket match haul as New Zealand crushed England by 253 runs inside an hour on the fifth morning of the second Test at The Oval, levelling the series in emphatic fashion.

Chasing a tough target of 463 for victory, England started the final day at 182-5 with slim hopes of achieving a record chase. Those hopes quickly faded in the third over of the morning when Henry struck with just his seventh ball of the day, trapping Joe Root lbw for 77. The decision was reviewed, but technology offered no relief for Root as New Zealand tightened their hold on the match.

Henry then ran through the lower order with great effectiveness. He took his second wicket in a double-wicket maiden when Jofra Archer was bowled for a two-ball duck by a delivery that kept low and hit middle stump. Matthew Fisher, who had scored his first Test half-century in the first innings, chopped on in Henry’s next over. Josh Tongue then edged behind to Daryl Mitchell at slip for a first-ball duck.

This collapse gave Henry his first Test 10-wicket haul and left England looking at defeat. Jordan Cox briefly delayed the inevitable by counterattacking with some aggressive shots. He helped move England past 200 by lifting Henry over slip and later hitting a six over long-on, but his resistance was short.

Henry had the last word, delivering a perfect leg-stump yorker to bowl Cox for 25, finishing with figures of 6-29 in the second innings. His match figures of 11-109 were not only a career best but also the best by a New Zealand bowler in a Test match in England.

This victory secured New Zealand’s largest win by runs on English soil and leveled the series heading into the deciding third Test. England, who had celebrated a confidence-boosting victory in the first Test exactly two weeks earlier, were thoroughly outplayed as Henry’s brilliance propelled the tourists to a strong comeback.

The defeat also comes at a difficult time for England. Captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson missed the Test after being sidelined pending an investigation into an incident after the first Test at Lord’s. The two reportedly broke the team’s midnight curfew and were present when a security staff member was hit by a Saracens rugby player.

With the outcome of that investigation expected soon and England needing to name a squad for the third Test at Trent Bridge, it seems likely that both Stokes and Atkinson will return after being withdrawn from county commitments on Sunday morning.

Brief scores: New Zealand 391 & 362 beat England 291 & 209 (Joe Root 77; Matt Henry 6-29) by 253 runs

–IANS

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