England are on the verge of victory in the third and final Test against New Zealand after another excellent five-wicket haul from Jack Leach and a brilliant unbeaten partnership between Ollie Pope and Joe Root.
Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell did frustrate England's bowlers early on day four, as the pair staged another crucial partnership worth 113 runs. Matthew Potts finally made the key breakthrough for the hosts, getting Mitchell lbw for 56.
England then quickly wrapped up the New Zealand innings, with Leach taking the final four wickets as he picked up ten wickets in a match for the first time in Test cricket. With New Zealand all out for 326, England needed 296 to complete a 3-0 series whitewash.
And they were able to knock off the vast majority of those runs before the close of play, despite losing both openers cheaply. Alex Lees was run out for nine after a terrible mix-up, while Zak Crawley holed out to cover off Michael Bracewell for 25.
From there, Pope and Root looked dominant as they put on an unbeaten 132-run partnership to leave England needing 113 runs to win with eight wickets still in hand. Pope will resume on 81 and will be keen to score his third Test century, while Root once again looked imperious on his way to 55.
Here are five talking points from the day's play...
Foakes replaced by Billings
Ben Foakes has enjoyed an impressive series against New Zealand, having been not out in two victories, scored a second Test fifty and showed his quality behind the stumps. However, his series has come to an unfortunate end after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Foakes missed day three of the test after complaining of a stiff back, with Bairstow filling in for him with the gloves. And after testing positive, Billings was drafted in as a Covid replacement, making a late journey up to Headingley to win his second Test cap.
Billings was set to play for Kent against Surrey in the County Championship, but was instead asked to head north and arrived at the England hotel at 1am on Sunday morning. It is the second time in just six months that Billings has been drafted into the England side, having made his Test debut in the final Ashes Test after injuries to both Bairstow and Jos Buttler.
In a statement, England said they are hopeful Foakes will recover in time to play against India, but Billings may yet be included in the squad as a precaution.
Mitchell and Blundell frustrate England again
As they have done all series, Mitchell and Blundell once again held the New Zealand innings together as they shared a fourth partnership worth more than 100 runs. The pair have been in excellent form and are currently the two leading run scorers in the series.
Mitchell has made a brilliant 538 runs in six innings at an average of 107.60, including three hundreds and two half-centuries. Blundell, meanwhile, has scored 383 at 76.60, including one hundred and three half-centuries.
They have scored a total of 724 runs as a partnership, the joint tenth most by any pair in a Test series, and faced a total of 1,417 deliveries together. Only one other partnership has faced more balls in a Test series when batting together on six occasions or less this century and that was Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper for the West Indies against India in 2002, when they faced 1,511.
Potts takes his chance
Having only been given an opportunity as a result of a major injury crisis which left nine England seamers unavailable for selection, Potts has grabbed his chance with both hands. The 23-year-old is currently the second leading wicket taker in the series, with 14 at 23.28.
Only Boult, one of the best bowlers in the world, has picked up more wickets and Potts has been particularly impressive at Headingley. Despite only taking one wicket in the first innings, he was England's best seamer.
And he found some reward for his efforts in the second innings as he picked up 3-66, including the two massive wickets of Williamson and Mitchell.
Leach gets 10
Before this Test match, Leach had never taken a five wicket haul for England at home. However, he now has two after a brilliant performance that has seen him pick up match figures of 10-166.
Leach has been repeatedly backed by captain Stokes, who introduced him into the attack early during New Zealand's first innings and even gave him the new ball in the second innings. And the spinner has now paid back his skipper's faith with two excellent five-fers.
They were not without their fair share of luck though, with Leach getting Henry Nicholls out via ricochet on day one and then getting Wagner out on day four after Billings caught the ball between his legs.
Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former England spinner Phil Tufnell said: "I'm absolutely delighted for Jack Leach. He looks like he's enjoying himself and the Western Terrace is getting behind him.
"He had an indifferent Test at Trent Bridge but he's come back, stuck to his guns and bowled really, really well. He's got England back into this Test match."
Free tickets for day five
With England needing 113 runs to win with eight wickets in hand, Yorkshire have announced that fans can attend day five for free. The decision means supporters have been able to enjoy the final day of each Test this series for free.
In the first test at Lord's, England secured a win in just 13.5 overs, meaning supporters got a full refund. For the second Test at Trent Bridge, fans were able to attend the free or get a refund if they had already purchased tickets and Yorkshire have now followed suit, allowing supporters to claim up to four free tickets for day five.
And with England on the verge of another victory, those who are able to get tickets should be in for another brilliant day of Test cricket.
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