England vs New Zealand: Ben Stokes’ last Test is set to end in a series defeat.

Third Rothesay Test, Trent Bridge (Day Four of Five)

New Zealand 438 (Conway 157, Latham 151, Stokes 4-70) & 288-9 Dec: (Mitchell 100*, Ravindra 94, Archer 4-53)

England 354 (Duckett 113, Bethel 74; Smith 4-91) & 103-4 (Duckett 36; Foulkes 3-42)

England need 269 more runs to win.

score card

England face an uphill task in sending Ben Stokes into retirement with a win over New Zealand after the captain made a surprise announcement four days into the deciding Test at Trent Bridge.

At the close of one of the most historic, momentous and eventful days in English cricket history, the home side closed to 103-4 chasing an impressive 373.

Stokes are already out after opening the batting and setting their sights on the run chase with some extreme aggression.

He wore 30 off 20 balls before being caught at mid-wicket. Stokes left the Test stand for the last time with his bat and helmet aloft.

The drama began at 15:25 BST, when a statement was broadcast confirming that this Test would be Stokes’ last. He spoke to his teammates in the dressing room on Sunday morning.

At the time, Stokes was in the middle of an 11-over unbeaten spell between lunch and tea. In a moment of pure theater, he had Zach Fulks caught at second slip after his retirement was confirmed.

In fact, the Stokes news made the rest of the action an afterthought.

New Zealand declared their second innings at 288-9 after Daryl Mitchell hit a match-winning century, leaving the Black Caps on the brink of a series victory.

A win is the most likely outcome on Monday, when Stokes’ historic England tour ends.