It all happened in the 33rd over of New Zealand’s first innings. The hosts were struggling at 96-5 when the English captain Ben Stokes handed the ball to left-arm spinner Jack Leach. Mitchell, who was batting on 13 at that moment, defended the ball solidly while stretching forward. But Pope, fielding at the silly point, grabbed the ball out of thin air and completed a stunning catch.
Sharing the video on their Twitter handle, Cricket on BT Sport wrote:
“What on earth? This is unbelievable from Ollie Pope. The perfect finish to the session!”
Earlier in the day, Pope also took the catch of Henry Nicholls to send him back for 30.
The Stokes-led side is on the verge of a clean sweep after dominating the second day’s play in Wellington, reducing the Black Caps to 138-7 before rain forced an early stumps.
England declared their first innings at a mammoth total of 435-8. Harry Brook scored a quick-fire 186, while Joe Root made a classy 153 not out. Together, the duo shared a 302-run partnership for the fourth wicket with the help of 34 fours and 8 sixes.
Matt Henry picked four wickets for the home team, while Michael Bracewell claimed two scalps. Tim Southee & Co. lost the opening match of the two-Test series by 262 runs at Seddon Park in Hamilton last week.
However, both teams are out of the race to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final, scheduled to be played at The Oval in London from June 7-11.
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