Broad rips through the Kiwis as the “Bazball” revolution gathers pace
England 5 wickets away from another astonishing win.
England 5 wickets away from another astonishing win.
ENGLAND 325–9 declared and 374 all out
NEW ZEALAND 306 all out and 63–5
England need a further 5 wickets for victory. New Zealand need a miracle.
At the start of the 3rd day’s play in the afternoon sunshine from a cloudless sky high above Mount Maunganui, self titled “Night Hawk” Stuart Broad strode to the wicket alongside batting partner Ollie Pope. His morning purpose was to protect his team-mates and the premier England batsmen that would follow him. The “Night Watchman” had become the night hawk. Wings clipped, the hawk watched on as his team-mates duly accomplished the task I set out before them in the conclusion of my article yesterday: take the attack (again) to New Zealand and in the absence of one player scoring a huge century, three of four needed to weigh in with quickly scored half centuries, set their hosts a near impossible target for victory and then make hay with the moving ball under the floodlights.
At the end of the 3rd day’s play as pitch black darkness beneath the floodlights had replaced the day’s earlier blistering sunshine, Stuart Broad led his team-mates from the field having ripped out and indeed bowled out four of New Zealand’s top order premier batsmen in a stunning spell of bowling. The hawk had taken flight once more, and his team are just 5 wickets away from another astonishing Test Match win away from home.
Here’s the morning session as it happened before a re-cap of a dominating England performance that sees the visitors on the cusp of a 10th win from 11 matches under the revolutionary tutelage of Kiwi born Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.
1.11am STUART BROAD caught Nicholls bowled Wagner (7)
“The Hawk” lasted just 11 minutes and added just a single run to his overnight total of 6 before succumbing to a vicious, lifting “bouncer” of a delivery from the aggressively erratic Neil Wagner. He could only try in vain to fend off a brilliant delivery from Wagner which snagged his bat handle before looping lazily and simply into the hands of Henry Nicholls in the Gully position.
England were 82–3 having added just 3 overall runs to their overnight total of 79–2, and lead by 101 runs.
1.45am OLLIE POPE caught Blundell bowled Wagner (49)
Broad’s dismissal signified for the cricketing fun to commence! Whilst Kiwi skipper Tim Southee bowled the traditional nagging “line and length” of yore, Wagner continued with his barrage of bouncers and aggressive short pitch bowling that quickly became one dimensional and too easy for Pope and new batsman Joe Root to hook into the huge Saturday crowd massed on the grass banks surrounding the beautiful Bay Oval. Pope and Root smashed 4 boundary 6’s between them as they gave an impromptu session of catching practice for the early afternoon crowd before Pope, one run short of a half century gloved a simple catch to wicket-keeper Tom Blundell and to the guttural delight of Wagner, he’d snagged another victim.
Pope and Root had added a quick fire partnership of 62, leaving their team on 144–4 on 2nd Innings, and a current lead of 163.
2am Drinks Break. England 156–4, leading by 175.
After a shaky and hesitant start, Joe Root ended the first hour of play 29 not out (from 35 balls received) with newly installed partner and fellow Yorkshireman Harry Brook 6 not out from 12 balls received. The visitors had milked the erratic and obvious bowling of Neil Wagner to all parts of the Bay Oval, scoring 77 runs in the opening hour of play and with 6 wickets still in the cricketing “Hutch”, they’d already amassed an imposing lead of 175.
2.41am HARRY BROOK caught Mitchell bowled Tickner (54)
Brook started the second hour of play a handful of runs behind his Yorkshire team-mate but as Neil Wagner returned for a third spell of short pitch bowling, Brook simply smashed and clubbed him all around the Bay Oval. He raced to a half century from just 37 balls, smashing Wagner for consecutive 4’s and 6’s as he skipped past his veteran batting partner before 4 deliveries and 4 runs later, he edged a simple catch to 1st slip from the traditional bowling of debutant Blair Tickner.
The two Yorkshiremen had added an impressive 81 together in a partnership that had seen England’s lead balloon to 244 and already seemingly way out of sight for their hosts.
3.01am JOE ROOT caught Mitchell bowled Bracewell (57)
On the cusp of the tea break (it’s actually the “Lunch” break but our friends down under work from a different time zone), Root had worked way past his earlier uncertainty to score a half century from just 52 balls received before, when on 57 and with the break in play just 5 balls away, he tried to reverse sweep the spin bowling of Michael Bracewell. His fine edge ricocheted off wicket-keeper Tom Blundell before looping easily into the hands of Daryl Mitchell at 1st slip and whilst a little reckless, perfectly in keeping with the McCullum and Stokes attacking revolution.
Root’s half century was much needed for the ex England skipper and brought to a close an opening session of play in which England had scored a remarkable 158 runs, taking their match lead to an ever imposing 256 with 4 wickets still in hand.
The visitors commenced the second session of play with the rhyming duo of Ben Foakes and Ben Stokes still relatively new to the wicket but in just 10 overs, the England batsmen crashed their way to a 56 run partnership before captain Stokes departed for a near run-a-ball 31. Ollie Robinson joined Foakes in the run scoring spree (39), Jack Leach added a dozen runs before Foakes signalled the end of the innings after reaching his half century, the third English batsman to do so today. Finally all out for a 2nd innings total of 374, England had set their hosts a borderline impossible and very improbable victory target of 394 and with nearly two hours of play left in the day, and all under the condition changing glare of the Mount Maunganui floodlights, cometh the hour, cometh “The Hawk”.
In short order, and in just 7 overs, New Zealand collapsed from 14–0 to 28–5 and whilst Henry Nicholls edged a simple catch to Ben Foakes off the bowling of Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad grabbed centre stage once more in his Hall of Fame career. Varying from over or around the wicket, it mattered not to the Nottingham born 36 year old veteran who not only ripped the heart of the top order of the New Zealand batting line up, he clean bowled every single one of them in the process! First to go was Devon Conway for just 2 before in the next over he “castled” the dangerous Kane Williamson for a duck. 14–2 became 19–3 as he dismissed Tom Latham, Robinson snagged Nicholls to reduce the hosts to 27–4 before just a run and 3 overs later, Broad swooped in once more to dismiss centurion hero of the 1st Innings Tom Blundell for just 1.
Daryl Mitchell (13 not out) and Michael Bracewell (25 not out) doggedly saw out the final hour’s play to repel an embarrassing crumbling defeat under the floodlights, but returning fresh under the afternoon sunshine tomorrow, I can only foresee this Test Match lasting until the Tea Break before the conclusion of a comprehensive England victory of 250+ runs.
New Zealand need a further 331 runs for victory as well as a cricketing miracle.
England need 5 further wickets to cement their 10th victory from 11 matches in the McCullum and Stokes revolution that will be sending shockwaves to our cricketing cousins in Australia ahead of this summer’s hugely anticipated Ashes series.
Viva la revolucion!
Thanks for reading. Please see the links below for my daily re-cap of the first two days from this Test Match in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand:
England take charge after Day 1 in Mount Maunganui
12 wickets tumble under the New Zealand lights.medium.com
Blundell century keeps New Zealand hopes alive in Mount Maunganui Test
But England retain a slender lead entering Day 3.medium.com