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"I have felt close for a long time, it has been round the corner," Root told Sky Sports Cricket at stumps at Seddon Park, after New Zealand closed on 96/2 in their second innings to trail England by five runs."I had the bit between my teeth when I got going and wanted to make it a real big one and give us an opportunity to win this game."I felt pretty good all the way through it. I managed to find a good tempo, was busy, got my feet going, felt like my normal self."Even though I didn't score as freely as I normally would, I felt I was playing in the same sort of manner and let the pitch and situation dictate the rest."Root reached the 200-run milestone with a risky single with Pope slow off the mark and only keeping his wicket when the New Zealand throw at the stumps went wide. The England skipper apologised to Pope for nearly burning him before taking his helmet off and raising his bat to the crowd."I thought it might do a little bit more in terms of up and down but it hasn't seemed to - but we have a couple of wickets and you never know in the morning," said Root when asked about England's chances of forcing a win."The frustrating thing is the forecast isn't great, hence why we sped things up at the back-end of our innings. We have given ourselves a chance and if we get a cluster of wickets you never know."(Williamson and Taylor) are two very experienced players that you expect a bit of a rear guard from - they know how to play in those situations and on good surfaces you expect a fightback from the No 2 side in the world."If we can make an early breakthrough it could get us on a bit of a wicket train because they're such key figures in their batting line-up. It would give our guys a lot of confidence."( With inputs from IANS )

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Condolences poured in from all quarters of the cricket fraternity after the demise of former England captain Bob Willis. Willis, who spearheaded the England bowling attack for more than a decade, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 70 after prolo ...

Former England captain and fast bowler Bob Willis has passed away, aged 70 after a short illness. ...

England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan will be leading the London Spirit men's team in the inaugural edition of 'The hundred' slated to be played next year, head coach Shane Warne confirmed on Wednesday. ...

England's 50-over World Cup-winning captains Eoin Morgan and Heather Knight will lead the London Spirit men's and women's team respectively in the inaugural edition of The Hundred scheduled to be held next year. ...

New Zealand cricket team have been awarded with the MCC's Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Award for 2019 for their sporting conduct in the aftermath of the World Cup final against England. ...

In a first, India will be taking part in the Over 50s World Cup to be held in Cape Town and Stellenbosch in South Africa next year between March 11-24. ...

England's chances of leveling the two-match series against New Zealand spilt through their hands as rain forced Hamilton Test end in an early draw at the Seddon Park here on Tuesday. ...

Skipper Joe Root said he had a feeling that a double ton was round the corner as his knock helped England have a slight edge over New Zealand in the second and final Test being played at the Seddon Park on Monday. ...