England vs New Zealand 1st Test Archives

New Zealand-England finely poised after Blundell century

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: A Tom Blundell century for New Zealand and two late England batting stumbles left the first Test tantalisingly poised at Mount Maunganui on Friday.

The tourists held a 98-run lead with eight second-innings wickets in hand and still three days to play in a fast-moving day-night Test at the Bay Oval.

Blundell’s career-best 138 steered his side to 306 and just 19 runs short of England’s 325-9 declared.

The delicate nature of the contest didn’t prevent the tourists playing their shots, although they lost openers Ben Duckett, for 25, and Zak Crawley, for 28, in reaching 79-2 off 16 overs.

England’s best bowler, Ollie Robinson (4-54), said the honours were “pretty even in the end” after his side dominated day one with their aggressive batting before reducing the Black Caps to 37-3.

At stumps, Ollie Pope was unbeaten on 14 and nightwatchman Stuart Broad was six not out and lucky to still be there after his top edge flew directly upwards but landed between Blundell and bowler Scott Kuggeleijn, who were watching each other.

It didn’t detract from Blundell’s whirlwind fourth Test ton — a mix of improvisation and power off 181 balls, featuring 19 fours and one six.

The 32-year-old said he was determined not to let England’s domination continue when he arrived at the crease at 83-5.

“I love getting in the fight, getting in tough situations and doing what’s needed for the team,” Blundell said.

“I feel like I’ve been in a lot of these situations and I can get a lot of confidence from that.

“It got us back in the game, where it didn’t look likely we’d come close to that.

“And getting those two valuable wickets — it probably should have been three – puts us in really good stead for tomorrow.”

Milestone

Blundell shared a 75-run partnership with opener Devon Conway (77) but just as valuable were late stands with tailenders Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner — both on Test debut — of 53 and 59 respectively.

Number 11 Tickner contributed three runs as Blundell advanced from 80 to well past three figures, accompanied by roars from the home crowd under a setting sun.

He was the last home wicket to fall, caught and bowled by James Anderson (3-36).

The wicket was historically significant for Anderson, who is on the verge of setting a world record alongside long-time new ball partner Broad.

The pair have taken 1,001 wickets between them in the 133 Tests they have played together, dating back 16 years.

They sit level with Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, who achieved 1,001 wickets in 104 Tests played together.

The 1,000 mark was reached early on Friday when nightwatchman Neil Wagner was fooled by a slower ball by Broad (1-72), having heaved him for successive sixes off the two previous deliveries.

Conway started New Zealand’s fightback but lost concentration against a relentless barrage of short bowling from England captain Ben Stokes (1-38) and stabbed a pullshot straight to square leg.

Despite his four wickets Robinson maintained his pre-Test stance that the pink ball isn’t suitable for Test cricket.

“Not particularly. As soon as it gets 30-40 overs old, you can’t shine them, you can’t keep them moving,” he said.

“You feel it’s very much in the batter’s favour, so still not a fan.

“You’ve just got to be adaptable. You can try and be really aggressive, and sometimes leak runs, or you can try and go dry and pick up one or two here or there.

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Attack-minded England take control of first Test in New Zealand

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: High-octane batting and a precocious day-one declaration put England in control of the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Thursday.

The Black Caps limped to 37-3 at stumps in the day-night Test at the Bay Oval, having been thrust on to the back foot by England’s swashbuckling 325-9 declared.

The tourists raced to their total in just 58.2 overs — boosted by blistering half-centuries to Ben Duckett and Harry Brook — as England opened the two-Test series with the sort of attacking approach, dubbed “Bazball”, that has carried them to nine wins from their past 10 Tests under coach Brendon McCullum.

England captain Ben Stokes instructed his lower-order batsmen to throw the bat before calling them in, leaving 18 overs to bowl at the Black Caps under lights with a new pink ball.

The ploy worked as Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls departed before reaching double figures.

Evergreen seamer James Anderson took 2-11, including the key wicket of Williamson following an lbw review.

Opener Devon Conway will resume on 18 and nightwatchmen Neil Wagner on four, with a deficit of 288 runs staring at them on Friday.

It was a grim response to an England innings that featured 48 fours and one towering six from Brook off the bowling of New Zealand captain Tim Southee, who was lashed for 2-71 from 13 overs.

New Zealand’s depleted attack fought back midway through the second session when Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Stokes fell in quick succession, allowing debut pace bowlers Blair Tickner (1-72) and Scott Kuggeleijn (2-80) to claim their maiden Test wickets.

However, momentum was snatched back by the in-form Brook, who accelerated to 89 off 81 balls, supported by 38 from Ben Foakes.

Playing just his fifth Test, the 23-year-old Yorkshireman Brook was poised to become only the second England batsman after Ken Barrington in the 1960s to hit centuries in four consecutive Tests.

However, he played on to Wagner (4-82), the veteran seamer benefiting from England’s wild approach to the end of their innings.

Like Brook, Duckett was a revelation during the 3-0 series win in Pakistan in December and he maintained his hot streak with a rapid-fire 84 off 68 balls.

The hard-hitting opener had a chance of scoring England’s fastest Test century — surpassing Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball knock against Australia in 1902 — before he fell to Tickner late in the first session.

Southee, leading his country at home for the first time, asked England to bat with the hope of exploiting the pink ball’s swing on a green-tinged pitch that had been covered for days because of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The hosts’ best spell came when Pope departed for 42 and Root for 14 in the space of four balls, followed soon afterwards by Stokes.

Most of the wickets fell to aggressive shotmaking, including Root’s, whose attempt at a reverse lap off Wagner was steered straight into the slip cordon.

Preparations for both sides had been disrupted by the storms that hit New Zealand and triggered a national state of emergency on Tuesday, but Mount Maunganui avoided significant damage and play started on time.

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Mitchell, Blundell eye centuries, defy wickets’ spree at Lord’s Test

LONDON: New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and wicket-keeper batter Tom Blundell stunned England’s bowler on the second day of Lord’s Test match, as the pair revived the batter’s hope with their 180 runs fifth-wicket partnership in a bowlers’ dominated match.

The strong-looking partnership cemented New Zealand’s grip on the Test match as the side achieved a lead of 227 runs over England.

New Zealand started their second inning with a deficit of nine runs as England were all out on 141 in the first session. Right-arm pacer Tim Southee sent four batters to the pavilion with his agonizing pace along with left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult who bagged three wickets for his side.

New Zealand batting jittered and showcased a similar woeful start to their second innings as the side lost three wickets on 38 runs before the lunch.

Kiwi batter Devon Conway soon followed the suit after the lunch as he fell prey to the fast bowler Stuart Board in a caught behind.

Blundell came out on crease when Kiwis were struggling at 51/4 and played cautiously with Michell. The pair faced fierce-looking England’s bowlers as they played till the end of the day’s play.

All-rounder Mitchell scored 97 runs off 188 balls which included 11 boundaries. Blundell, on the other hand, minted 90 runs off 182 balls as he hit the ball for the boundaries 12 times.

New Zealand will resume their second inning from 236/4 on the third day of Lord’s Test.

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17 wickets fall on the opening day as Lord’s Test hangs in balance

LONDON: England’s pace-laden attack shattered New Zealand completely as the touring side was all out on 132 followed by a similar dismal batting performance by the hosts allowing the Kiwis to make their way in the game at the end of the opening day of Lord’s Test.

England, who are on their first assignment under the new leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, put on a show with the ball after the touring side opted to bat first as the coin flipped in the favor of Kane Williamson.

The returning England veteran pacer James Anderson carnage the Kiwi batting lineup before Matthew Potts and Stuart Broad also joined to reduce New Zealand to 45/7 in the 25th over.

New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and Tim Southee displayed grit and put on a valiant 41-run partnership for the eighth wicket before the latter fell short to Anderson after scoring 26.

Following Southee’s departure, de Grandhomme put on two brief partnerships with Ajaz Patel and Trent Boult but the tailenders could not resist for long against the strong England bowling attack and the touring side, eventually, were bowled out for 132.

The right-handed all-rounder de Grandhomme remained the top-scorer for the touring side with his unbeaten 42 off mere 50 deliveries.

For England, Anderson and Potts claimed four each, while Broad and Stokes made one scalp apiece.

In response to New Zealand’s 132, England had a similar dismal show with the bat as the hosts were halted by the combined bowling effort of the touring bowlers.

The openers Zak Crawley and Alex Lees provided a solid start to the side as the pair put on a magnificent 59-run partnership for the first wicket.

The contest appeared to be a one-sided affair before Kyle Jamieson broke the opening partnership as he removed Crawley for 43.

Following his dismissal, the New Zealand bowling attack ripped through England’s defences as the side began to lose wickets at an alarming rate and slipped from 59/0 to 100/7.

Ben Foakes and Broad then managed to carry their bat till the stumps as England finished on 116/7. The two batters will now resume the proceedings for the hosts with a 16 runs deficit.

For New Zealand, Southee, Boult, and Jamieson bagged two wickets, while de Grandhome struck out a batter.

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