Jamieson played beautifully, making early breakthroughs in the hosts’ pursuit of their 277-point winning target before putting them firmly on the back foot and then grabbing Ben Stokes’ crucial wicket just as England frustrated its visitors.
de Grandhomme, meanwhile, could be in doubt for the remainder of the three-Test series after injuring his foot early in England’s second leg to cap off an unforgettable day for the versatile New Zealander.
As things stand, England need 61 more runs with five wickets in hand, leaving New Zealand with a lot of work to do, but Jamieson has been hugely influential in getting them this far.
He claimed England wicket-opener Alex Lees, who looked decent as he stroked four boundaries on his way to 20 from 32 before somewhat inexplicably leaving a delivery that crashed and crashed crushed to the top of the stump shortly before lunch.
Another cerebral swoon – this time from Grandhomme – had contributed to New Zealand’s second-leg collapse in which they lost 6 for 34 in eight overs in the first 90 minutes of play on Saturday after a late start. half an hour of rain at the start.
No sooner had Stuart Broad had an exuberant call for lbw against de Grandhomme dismissed than Ollie Pope picked up the ball on the fourth slide and fired it into the stumps at the striker’s end. de Grandhomme, meanwhile, had wandered the field and turned his back on the action, seemingly unaware of the urgency required as he turned slowly and tried to regain his ground but ran out of duck.
Nor was de Grandhomme’s no-ball when he thought he had Stokes chopping his stumps for just 1. Stokes was three-quarters of his way back to the lodge when he was recalled after de Grandhomme s turned out to have overstepped.
It was another insult, then came the injury, with Grandhomme stopping as Stokes approached on the last ball of his fourth over and limping off the pitch almost immediately. Team management later confirmed that de Grandhomme would no longer play a role in the game after suffering a suspected heel tear and that an MRI on Sunday would determine his prospects for the rest of the series.
Despite an unbroken tea chase, Stokes came back after the calmer interval and fought his way to half a century – including three sixes from spinner Ajaz Patel – in a 90-run stand for the fifth wicket with Joe Root.
He fell ugly, however, cramped by a short ball from Jamieson which caused him to perform a backbend, right hands as the ball grazed his glove and flew into those of wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Furious with himself, Stokes stared skyward as he dropped his bat in disgust, knowing the importance of the moment.
This brings us back to Jamieson and the impact he had on the state of the game with his impeccable sounding line on top of the stump.
His second after lunch was superb as he stayed in the attack and picked up where he left off after grabbing the wicket from Lees. Jamieson’s first delivery drew an inside edge on Zak Crawley’s back leg and, two balls later, Crawley missed a drive attempt by the narrowest of margins on one that was full and out but s is a fraction too far away. The last ball from the plus swung perfectly the full length as Crawley defended away from his body and edged Southee, who took a solid diving hold on the third slide. By then, Jamieson had 2 for 8 from four overs.
A loose drive from Jonny Bairstow delivered the third to Jamieson as he was tossed through the gate for 16, after narrowly avoiding cutting the previous delivery completely outside the stump. By then, Jamieson ended his nine-hour period with 3 for 24 and England were 69 for 4, in all sorts of trouble.
But at tea Stokes and Root had built their partnership at 30, and when Jamieson returned to action in the first half hour after the break, his day went downhill slightly, with Stokes punching him through the covers for four, dodging what could have been an outside edge and then seeing the ball disappear leg-side for five widths.
Patel conceded 17 from his first return in attack, all but four byes etched next to Stokes’ name, including two sixes on the side of the leg.
When Jamieson finally sent Stokes packing, New Zealand might have felt the collapse many pessimistic England fans feared, but an unbroken fifty position between Root and Ben Foakes had the game firmly in the balance in the end.
Playing his 15th Test, Jamieson finished the day with 4 for 59 from 20 overs and Mitchell backed his side to take the remaining wickets they needed.
“We can see with the nature of that wicket that the morning is the hardest time to beat and hopefully we can show up tomorrow morning and it spins a bit like it has for the last three days and we are giving ourselves the opportunity to win a Test match,” said Mitchell.
“The wicket has slowed down as the game has gone on and you can probably see by the scores that are happening that it’s getting easier to hit but we know we’re literally one wicket away from being in their bowlers .
“Kyle played awesome, the way he came in and he hit length for long stretches and he really brought energy, which we know Kyle does every time. He’s a bowler world class and I know he’s only had a short career but what he’s done in a short time is very special.”
Valkerie Baynes is an editor at ESPNcricinfo