new zealand 86 for 5 (Cars 2-28) Trail England 280 (Brooke 123, Pope 66, Smith 4-86, O’Rourke 3-49) by 194 runs
England duly lost just over two sessions – but the advantage of their aggression, which saw them score at a rate of 5.12 per over, meant that they not only posted a serviceable score, but when their turn There was still plenty of life on the surface. Move with the ball. The pitches in New Zealand tend to be flat, but England’s fast bowlers quickly got to work.
New Zealand’s early lead did not extend much further than England’s before Gus Atkinson hit a powerful drive off Devon Conway which resulted in only a thick edge to second slip. Carse immediately caused problems for Williamson, who was dangerously close to retreating; An England-only UltraEdge review revealed that the noise was caused by the bat hitting the pad. After Carse’s no-ball, New Zealand were 53 for 1 when Stokes dismissed Latham.
Brook’s century, the eighth of his career, came off just 91 balls and this time was not due to the generosity of the New Zealand fielders. He was often beaten, getting a lot of help from the pitch, but he continued to play with freedom and hit 11 fours and five sixes before being dismissed on the last ball before tea. After turning Smith down the leg side and looking for a run, Brook was caught well out of his ground as the bowler jumped to his right and knocked down the stumps.
Pope was also in fine form, scoring his second half-century of the series while batting at number six after a top-order collapse. He drove and cut with confidence and looked composed until facing extra bounce from Will O’Rourke midway through the afternoon session. He was dismissed by a top-edge pull in O’Rourke’s next over after missing it to short leg.
O’Rourke provided another opportunity shortly afterwards when he pinned Stokes at the crease before taking the outside edge for a catch at second slip. There was another collapse after Brook’s dismissal, as Atkinson, Woakes and Carse were all out in consecutive overs.
England’s scorecard told a sad tale at the end of the first hour. Henry was impeccable with the new ball, at one point having figures of 4-4-0-2, before Smith bowled the ball twice in as many overs. This brought together Brook and Pope after a match-changing 151-run stand in the first Test and an almost immediate change of momentum.
Having dropped eight catches at Hagley Oval, New Zealand missed their chances this time, except for one Carse edge, which went too fast to Glenn Phillips. But the second half of the session saw 81 runs off 80 balls as Brook and Pope proved that attack is the best form of defense for this England team.
Although Zak Crawley scored 10 runs in the first over of the day, including hitting Tim Southee for a six over his head, it soon became clear that England’s attacking approach was going to be thoroughly tested – despite the early clouds. The cold was over before the game even started, and most of the morning session took place under clear blue skies.
Crawley overtook his Christchurch tally by taking two runs off Southee’s first ball, and by the end of the over he had passed his modest average in Tests against New Zealand. But Henry was in no mood to allow freedom at the other end, bowling seven dots before the opener reached the outside edge to Ben Duckett, Latham making a low chance in the first sign that New Zealand’s catching was back on the mark. .
After this, Crowley found himself in Henry’s crosshairs. He was dismissed for the third time in as many innings by a ball that bounced back through the gate after hitting middle and the top of leg – a strong violation of Crawley’s makeshift forward defensive position.
Henry gave away his first run at the start of his fifth over, Root gave three through cover, but it was his only scoring shot as an imprudent strike from Smith produced a thick outside edge and Mitchell took one hand. Took a catch in the air. First slip.
Brook’s signature shot was his inside-out thrash to the extra-cover boundary, which he lofted on three occasions, while Henry was also edged to the grass while dropping short, before the introduction of Phillips’ offspin allowed him to edge his way. Helped him reach his third century in four Test matches against New Zealand.
Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick
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