England 280 (Brooke 123, Pope 66, Smith 4-86) and beat 427 (Root 106, Bethel 96, Duckett 92, Brook 55) on 6 December new zealand 125 (Atkinson 4-31, Carse 4-46) and 259 (Blundell 115, Stokes 3-5) from 323 runs
The main resistance came from Blundell, who hit 13 fours and five sixes in an innings that would have been comparable to Nathan Astle’s famous Christchurch attack of 2002 had he sustained it for another hour. Shoaib Bashir came in for severe punishment, but it was the bowler who ultimately dismissed Blundell, although much credit must go to Ben Duckett, who anticipated Blundell’s attempt to scoop and stopped the second attempt down the leg side. He ran through the slips after lifting the ball with his palm.
New Zealand were 59 for 4 when rain forced an early lunch and Blundell may have been out on the third ball after the match resumed. Jacob Bethell, at third slip, was unable to catch the ball on Carse’s outside edge, and Blundell was very strong from that point on, initially in a strong partnership with Daryl Mitchell and then with more abandon as he and Smith added 96. . 82 balls.
Blundell’s fifth Test century, made from 96 balls immediately after the tea interval, may not have made any difference to the result, but it was still a significant personal milestone, coming after a period of 22 months. In which he averaged 13.52 with one half in 14 Test matches. -century.
His dismissal, Bashir’s second after Glenn Phillips during the afternoon session, signaled the white flag for New Zealand. Matt Henry edged Stokes’ fourth ball to a diving Bethel at deep midwicket, before Smith pulled behind and Tim Southee, who was in his last Test match at Basin Reserve, fell leg swinging.
By that stage, England were content to wait for victory – but they had started the day in a hurry, with Root reaching his century before Stokes declared, giving them time to reach New Zealand’s top four before lunch. Went.
This escalated further when Woakes bowled his seventh ball in the air. Devon Conway probably made it look better than before by leaving a bigger gap between bat and pad, but there was a lot to admire about Woakes’s wobble-seam nip-backer that kissed the top of the off. Woakes then took possession of Kane Williamson’s prize money, who kicked and fired through Ollie Pope, leaving the New Zealand No. 3 with a slim lead.
Tom Latham fell to Carse as he acrobated to his right on his follow through to take a return catch from the leading edge. Mitchell responded with a volley of boundaries, before Carse edged Rachin Ravindra behind in an attempt to cut, leaving the batsman looking at the sky as the rain began.
England have bounced back to unprecedented position with a record lead of 533 runs in the second innings after two days of play. There was time to play for the milestone, although Root needed only 6.1 overs to bring up his century; After this Stokes was out after scoring 49 not out.
Root’s innings remained calm, but he went for three points somewhat awkwardly, falling on his back while attempting his infamous reverse-ramp. Luckily his gloved hand made enough contact that the ball bounced past Blundell for four, giving Root the chance to celebrate with a brave smile. He was caught behind two balls later, at which point he and Stokes went on the offensive and the main event could begin.
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
Leave a Reply