Ali Martin.
Andy Bull.
Simon Burnton’s report.
Close of play: England lead by only 37
40th over: England 122-9 (Stone 15, Anderson 0) Root showed faith in Stone earlier on and now Stone pays the same compliment to Anderson, taking a single off the third ball of the over. Jimmy survives the rest and that’s the close, with England leading by 37, and New Zealand showing why they are in the World Test Championship final. A raucous crowd have seen 16 wickets in the day, some clever bowling from Stuart Broad and some feisty batting from Ross Taylor (and Mark Wood). England have been thoroughly outplayed.
But all this pales into insignificance next to what has just happened at the Euros, with Christian Eriksen needing CPR on the field in Copenhagen. We can only wish him the very best.
Thanks for your company and correspondence, and the OBO will be back tomorrow for what looks like being a very short day.
40th over: England 121-9 (Stone 14, Anderson 0) Out comes Jimmy Anderson, to a chorus of “Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy”. It’s more a case of Oh, batsmen, batsmen. Jimmy’s seen a few shemozzles in his 162 Tests and this is up there with the best of them.
“Much as Jack Leach might feel miffed he’s not in the bowling line-up,” says Toby Sims, “goodness me we could use his batting.”
Wicket! Broad b Boult 1 (England 121-9)
Full, straight – you have a mow, I hit.
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39th over: England 121-8 (Stone 14, Broad 1) The umpires had just agreed to the ball change after all. Back came Wagner, champing at the bit. Before the wicket, Wood had a go at a bouncer and picked up four leg byes off his right shoulder. After it, Broad digs out a yorker and steals a run to avoid a pair. It’s all happening.
“There will be the usual inquest,” says David Pearl, “but this underlines what you and I said at the end of the first Test about England’s shameful decision not to go for the win. It might have come off. But, by deciding, in effect, that his team was not up to it, Root may well have set the scene for this demoralising afternoon.” That’s going to be an interesting theme of the match reports.
Wicket! Wood c Blundell b Wagner 29 (England 120-8)
Wagner returns, with licence to bomb, and Wood hooks the ball way up into the blue Birmingham sky to give the keeper a simple catch. That innings was very good while it lasted.
38th over: England 115-7 (Stone 13, Wood 29) Trent Boult returns as the New Zealanders keep trying to get the ball changed, to no avail. Wood, unruffled, keeps an edge down and picks up four more, to become the top scorer in this innings. To celebrate, he invents a new stroke, next ball: a cool, controlled block-cut for four more.
37th over: England 107-7 (Stone 13, Wood 21) Stone swings Patel through midwicket for four to join Wood in double figures. They’ve now added 31 off ten overs. Tail-enders can often manage one decent knock in a Test; these two have two apiece, in two days.
36th over: England 103-7 (Stone 9, Wood 21) A single to each batsman off Henry, with 20 minutes left. It’s amazing how calm can descend on a cricket field, even in the midst of chaos.
“I reckon the Aussies are worried,” says Arthur Graves. “This looks like a formidable English team taking shape.” We’re certainly going to see how much difference Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes can make.
35th over: England 101-7 (Stone 8, Wood 20) A maiden to Stone from Patel, who’s enjoying himself and giving the ball some flight. Somewhere in the dressing-room, Jack Leach is trying not to explode.
34th over: England 101-7 (Stone 8, Wood 20) A single to Stone, who, after those early alarms, has settled into the role of second fiddle.
Here’s John Little, picking up on a conversation from yesterday. “Never mind the Withington Manouevre,” he says, “surely we need the Medusa Touch, turn to Stone. No? Oh please yourselves.”
33rd over: England 100-7 (Stone 7, Wood 20) The conference seems to have decided to have some fun, as per the first dig. Wood belts Patel back over his head for four, then cuts him for four more to bring up the hundred. One more four and he’ll be the top scorer in this innings.
32nd over: England 92-7 (Stone 7, Wood 12) A single to Wood off Henry. The batsmen meet in mid-pitch for a conference, to discuss how they’re going to turn a stand of 16 into 160.
31st over: England 91-7 (Stone 7, Wood 11) Well played these two. They’ve added 15, which is the biggest stand since the halcyon minutes of Ollie Pope.
England lead!
Wood sees off the spectre of an innings defeat by swinging Patel for six.
30th over: England 84-7 (Stone 7, Wood 4) Wagner finally takes a break and gives way to Matt Henry, who started this collapse. Stone carves him for four, showing that he, like Wood, has some ticker.
29th over: England 80-7 (Stone 3, Wood 4) Mark Wood, who could find something to smile about at a funeral, cuts Patel for four and gets a cheer.
28th over: England 76-7 (Stone 3, Wood 0) A maiden from Wagner to Stone.
“Could I suggest a new verb?” asks Kim Thonger. “To Root. Meaning: to make an undertaking or remark that is regarded as unwise because it invites trouble or could prove difficult to live up to. It’s similar to the semi-obsolete phrase ‘hostage to fortune’. An example might be making an announcement of your intention to win seven Test matches in a row.” Yes, that’s as close as Root has ever come to Tony Greig saying he was going to make the West Indies grovel. At least he avoided any racial undertones.
27th over: England 76-7 (Stone 3, Wood 0) So a decent spinner prevails against a good player of spin, and Root’s strange, listless performance comes to a sad end. That was the opposite of a captain’s innings. Stone and Wood, who had some fun with the bat yesterday, now have to dig them out of a deep dark hole.
Wicket! Root c Blundell b Patel 11 (England 76-7)
Patel drops short, Root plays his first shot in anger, it lifts more than he bargained for and his attempted cut turns into a nick to the keeper. The finger goes up, the captain walks off. A nation groans, and England’s Euros campaign hasn’t even begun yet.
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26th over: England 76-6 (Root 11, Stone 3) Wagner, always hungry for a long spell, tucks into his seventh over. Root helps himself to a single off the first ball, showing some faith in Stone, who survives five dots. I’d be very interested to know what Root’s game plan is.
There’s a pause while a member of the groundstaff fills the bowlers’ footholds in. “Please, Tim,” says Sankaran Krishna, “let me do for a moment what Anglo-Aussie journos constantly do, namely make everything about the Ashes. So, my comment is: I wonder how India are going to fare against this New Zealand bowling attack in helpful conditions.” Nice one.
25th over: England 76-6 (Root 11, Stone 3) Stone glances Patel for two, nicely, but then nicks another one, towards gully, which is vacant. Nasser Hussain reckons Latham needs a man there, and he duly moves someone in from silly point. England need nine to make the New Zealanders bat again, and about 159 to set them a half-decent target.
24th over: England 73-6 (Root 10, Stone 1) Wagner continues, and he’s not bothering to bomb anyone because the ball is swinging and England are quite capable of getting themselves out. Root takes a comfortable single, clipping to leg, and then Stone goes at a wide one with his hands, forgets to move his feet, and is relieved to see the nick fall short of the cordon.
23rd over: England 71-6 (Root 9, Stone 0) That wicket was another triumph for Tom Latham, who made a swift decision to abandon the Boult stratagem and bring Patel back.
In comes another email from Simon McMahon, who likes a bit of gallows humour. “If we’re looking for the positives, maybe Root should have targeted not losing all seven Tests instead? In which case he’s in credit already.”
Wicket! Bracey b Patel 8 (England 71-6)
Bracey picks the wrong ball to sweep – or rather he moves too far across to the off side, exposing his stumps, and the ball trickles onto them, possibly via his glove. At least he didn’t get 0. But England are staring into the abyss again.
22nd over: England 71-5 (Root 9, Bracey 8) Cometh the hour, cometh a bit more of a spark from the England captain. Root glances Wagner very fine to score his first boundary off the 50th ball he has faced.
“Fair play to the England lads,” says Simon McMahon, “they’re obviously keen to show some solidarity with their football counterparts by actually watching the game tomorrow.”
21st over: England 67-5 (Root 5, Bracey 8) Bracey middles one! And pulls it for four, well in front of square, as Boult drops short. After a few dots, he add a clip off the toes for two. He’s going to be OK: his Test average has now soared to 4.00. But Michael Holding reckons England need another 200 once they’ve paid off their overdraft, which now stands at 21. And that’s only going to happen if Root gets a hundred.
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20th over: England 61-5 (Root 5, Bracey 2) Still exploring interesting angles, Bracey picks up his second international run with an inside edge – the Harrow poke. Root then does some more blocking. Is he hell-bent on finishing this innings with 12 not out?
19th over: England 60-5 (Root 5, Bracey 1) Latham, not missing a trick, whips Patel off after one over and brings back Boult, to test Bracey against the hooping ball. Bracey responds with a defensive prod so skewiff that you wonder if he’s signed up to give a masterclass called How Not to Bat. He gets away with it: maybe the gods are on his side this time.
18th over: England 59-5 (Root 5, Bracey 1) James Bracey has decided to look busy, more of a Pope than a Root. He clips Wagner off his toes, but can only find the man in front of square. Then he plays the same shot a fraction earlier, into a bit of space, and takes the most welcome run of his life. Edgbaston rises to him with a cheer that is not quite ironic – more sympathetic. He takes it well, with a rueful smile.
Poor Dan Lawrence. This game had been going so well for him, with his 81 and his first Test scalp. O cricket, thou art a cruel mistress.
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Wicket! Lawrence c Blundell b Wagner 0 (England 58-5)
Another one! Lawrence has a nibble outside off, second ball, and the innings defeat is now looming over England like a threatening boss. They are still 27 behind, and the next man in has never made an international run.
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17th over: England 58-4 (Root 5, Lawrence 0) Tom Latham, who is finding Test captaincy rather a doddle, decides to bring on his spinner, Ajaz Patel. He starts with a tidy maiden to Root, who is finding everything difficult and has now faced 40 balls.
16th over: England 58-4 (Root 5, Lawrence 0) England are now in deep ... trouble.
“I really do feel for Crawley,” says Colum Fordham. “He looked as if he was batting himself out of his slump, playing a couple of delightful drives with the sort of confidence that suggested a major innings. At least this cameo showed signs of his class.
“A lot rests on the broad shoulders of Root and the youthful promise of Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence, who a friend of mine Jeff, a fellow cricket fan and himself a handy batsman in his youth, really rates. Let’s hope they can set New Zealand a target.” That would be the bare minimum.
Wicket! Pope LBW b Wagner 23 (England 58-4)
Yes, umpire’s call, and as it had been given, Pope has to go. Another crying shame: he was the life and soul of the party, but now his Uber has arrived and he’s off home, to be greeted by a plate of cold lasagne.
Updated
Wicket!? Pope given LBW b Wagner 23
Rapped by the inswinger. This is either too high or umpire’s call...
15th over: England 53-3 (Root 5, Pope 19) Finally warming to the task, Root pushes Henry past mid-off for three to bring up the fifty. Pope, not to be overshadowed, gets three too, with a flick through midwicket.
“Henry vs Pope,” says Paul Billington. “It’s the 16th century all over again!” Ha. We’re halfway to The Six Wickets of Henry the Ace.
14th over: England 47-3 (Root 2, Pope 16) On comes Neil Wagner, to put a dampener on things. He made no runs earlier and he concedes none off his first five balls, before Root doubles his score with a tuck off the pads. The crowd, meanwhile, are singing “Football’s coming home”.
13th over: England 46-3 (Root 1, Pope 16) Pope, still buzzing, plays another off push, for two this time, followed by a cover drive for four – very Ian Bell. And then a whip for two.
I have a friend who says that when she and her husband go out to a party (in normal times), they look as if they’re attending quite different events. Root and Pope are a bit like that at the moment. Pope is the life and soul, Root the grumpy uncle who’s been asked to babysit.
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12th over: England 38-3 (Root 1, Pope 8) Pope edges Boult and gets away with it as it squirts through the slips for four. Then he flirts with a catch to square leg, clipping a bit uppishly. Root may need to calm him down, and Pope may want to pep Root up – his score of one has come off 24 balls.
11th over: England 33-3 (Root 1, Pope 3) In comes Ollie Pope, and he gets well forward to push his first ball through mid-off for a purposeful three. England are minus 55 for three, and in the doghouse.
Anyone else feeling a bit crushed about Crawley? I was willing him to make a score, for three reasons. First, because it’s never good to see any sportsperson having a miserable run. Second, because he saves England’s top three from being boring. And third, because I wrote that Wisden profile of him and found him, as he walked me twice round the Spitfire St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, very likeable.
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Wicket! Crawley LBW b Henry 17 (England 30-3)
Yes, a row of reds. It was the nip-backer and Crawley played outside it. He had been striking the ball beautifully, but that may only be a minor consolation.
Updated
Wicket!? Crawley given LBW b Henry 17
This looks out, unless the impact is outside off.
10th over: England 30-2 (Crawley 17, Root 1) Crawley goes back to Boult and works him to midwicket for three, very nicely.
9th over: England 27-2 (Crawley 14, Root 1) Root, facing Henry, tries to guide one through the cordon, but it’s well stopped by Nicholls, diving to his left. Then Root is beaten outside off, but again it dies before reaching Tom Blundell. This pitch is not quite as flat as it’s been cracked up to be.
8th over: England 27-2 (Crawley 14, Root 1) At the other end, Root is facing Boult and keeping out the straight ones for all he’s worth. He gets off the mark, and the strike, with a bit of tip’n’run into the on side. England are minus 58 for two.
7th over: England 26-2 (Crawley 14, Root 0) Matt Henry has the ball again and if he did have some cake, it hasn’t slowed him down at all. He beats Crawley with a bit of nip off the seam; the ball dies on the keeper and goes for four byes. Crawley then unfurls another of his sumptuous drives, just to the umpire’s right this time. With 14 off 23 balls, he has his highest score in seven innings since that sizzling 53 at Ahmedabad.
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Look away now if you’re planning to watch the Wales game on catch-up. They went 1-0 down to Switzerland but fought back to draw, which seems a very respectable start. Join the great Scott Murray for the details – or stay here to see if England, too, can dig themselves out of a hole.
6th over: England 18-2 (Crawley 10, Root 0) Crawley reaches double figures! With a push into the covers off Boult, who then very nearly bamboozles Root – it’s a big inswinger, and he only escapes an LBW by getting a leading edge. And that’s tea, with NZ lording it at Edgbaston. The first slice of cake will go to Matt Henry, who has figures of 3-1-7-2. England are still 67 behind and an innings defeat cannot yet be ruled out.
See you in a few minutes. If you haven’t already, do sign up for The Spin, our Tuesday newsletter (Tuesletter?).
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5th over: England 17-2 (Crawley 9, Root 0) You’ve got to feel for Joe Root, who can’t even get half an hour’s peace before tea.
Meanwhile Brian Withington is back for more. “Having exhausted the maths of Jimmy’s strides and the speed of grass, in the spirit of further scientific enquiry I’ve been doing some fundamental technical analysis of why NZ are so successful at cricket. It turns out that they are rather good at batting, bowling and catching. Who would have thought, eh?” Very droll. They’re good at a few other things too, including public relations, setting targets, and accepting things that go against them by the barest of margins.
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Wicket! Sibley c Mitchell b Henry 8 (England 17-2)
Another one! Pushed back by a lifter and squared up too, Sibley can only fend to third slip. Henry has nabbed both openers, and England are now flirting with an innings defeat.
4th over: England 17-1 (Sibley 8, Crawley 9) Crawley’s confidence, in a bad trot, is admirable, but it becomes too much of a good thing as he wafts at Boult. Undaunted, he sees a half-volley and hits the creamiest of off-drives for four. Boult curls one back in and almost breaks through, but Crawley stabs down on it in time. Good contest.
3rd over: England 13-1 (Sibley 8, Crawley 5) Crawley takes a quick single, always a good sign and something England haven’t done enough this year. Sibley plays a guide for four to third man. He has eight off nine balls, which is a whole lot better than the stuff he made us sit through on Sunday.
2nd over: England 8-1 (Sibley 4, Crawley 4) On comes Trent Boult, possibly pumped from his breezy unbeaten 12 off nine balls – but he, like Wood just now, is given a spoonful of his own medicine. Sibley pushes him for three and Crawley plays a block through the covers for three more, timing it well as he so often does.
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1st over: England 2-1 (Sibley 1, Crawley 1) In comes Zak Crawley, who has gone from one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year in April to a walking wicket in June, with scores of 2, 2 and 0. But he caught well and he starts confidently here – leave, leave, clip for a single. Dom Sibley, also one of Wisden’s five, emulates him, albeit with less elegance. Still, NZ are on top, as they have been for most of the series.
Updated
Wicket! Burns c Latham b Henry 0 (England 0-1)
Well, Burns got through one ball very successfully. He’s been England’s best batsman in this series but he’ll be feeling a bit of a lemon now, after chasing a wide full one and allowing Tom Latham to remind us why New Zealand are the best slip-catching team in the world. England are in the mire already.
Burns and Sibley are out there. The bad news is they have half an hour to get through before tea, so the bowlers can go flat out. The good news is they got through a whole session on Thursday morning.
“Afternoon Tim.” Afternoon Brian Withington, my old friend. “Tanya wondered earlier (over 104) how many strides Jimmy Anderson has taken in his career. Using Cricinfo data for all Test, ODI, T20 and First Class and List A matches, it appears that he has bowled around 110,000 deliveries, give or take. Assuming a run-up of approximately 20 paces we are therefore looking at something over 2m delivery strides. Phew.” Great stuff.
“I can also offer something I prepared earlier on the speed of grass growing (fall of 8th wicket) if required.”
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NZ 388 all out! Patel LBW b Broad 20
Broad appeals for LBW, it’s all a bit half-hearted, but Root reviews and he’s right to – three reds, spearing in on leg stump.
So Broad finishes with 4-48, which he deserves after not having much luck yesterday. But the spoils go to New Zealand, who have built a soild lead through a strong team effort. They’ve got 85 runs in the bank and, according to CricViz, a 53pc chance of a win, to England’s 26.
119th over: New Zealand 388-9 (Patel 20, Boult 12) If Jack Leach was playing, he would now be coming on. As it is Root turns to himself, the less successful of England’s two part-time off-spinners in this match. The crowd, sober as a newt, serenade him with Joe Root, to the tune of Hey Jude. Take a dropped catch and make it better? Boult dances down the track and thumps a lofted straight drive for four. The lead is 85.
118th over: New Zealand 383-9 (Patel 19, Boult 8) Boult, facing Broad, has a slog too – two men went to mow. He gets four off the inside edge. Broad responds with a rare attempted yorker, but it ends up as a full toss and Boult blocks it comfortably. Then Broad drops short and Boult sees it so early that his pull shot goes straight past a rather peeved bowler. NZ are eyeing 400.
Updated
117th over: New Zealand 375-9 (Patel 19, Boult 0) As Trent Boult potters out, Ajaz Patel suddenly dives into a phone box and emerges as a senior batsman. Facing Wood, he plays a pull for two, another pull for two, a pull for four, and then a guide for four which is a dose of the medicine Wood himself was handing out yesterday morning. All rounded off with a mow for two. That’s 14 off the over, and the lead sneaks up to 72.
Updated
116th over: New Zealand 361-9 (Patel 5, Boult 0) Thank you to the ever-sparkling Tanya and afternoon everyone. That’s a wicket maiden for Broad after he took over from Anderson. The old guard needed it: of all England’s bowlers since the start of the series in India, they have the worst strike rates.
Wicket! Blundell c Root b Broad 34 (NZ 361-9)
Root holds a catch! Broad dishes up a slice of temptation and draws Blundell into a loose drive. Root grabs it to his left at first slip as if yesterday never happened.
115th over: New Zealand 361-8 (Patel 5, Blundell 34) Patel pings a Wood full toss through the slips for four, and that’s DRINKS! Thanks for all the emails and tweets, sorry if I’ve not been able to use yours. The excellent Tim de Lisle will guide you through to stumps.
114th over: New Zealand 356-8 (Patel 1, Blundell 33) A giant inflatable beachball settles in the stands as Anderson sprints into Patel, who deflects with his wobble-bat stance. Another maiden, he is at his most parsimonious this afternoon.
A short, sharp, note from Nicholas Butt “Wholeheartedly endorse Trevor’s comment and particularly his suggestion Broad is fined for dissent. I have grown to loathe Ingerlund, its boorish supporters and the halfwits that play for it.”
Harsh words. Though it is possible to support the team, even if you dislike the supporters, as Jonathan Liew wrote this morning.
113th over: New Zealand 355-8 (Patel 1, Blundell 33) Wood now in full sun, squat shadow resting underneath his toes, charges in. Patel survives.
112th over: New Zealand 355-8 (Patel 1, Blundell 33) They pick a couple of singles off Anderson and the lead stretches to 55. Another fifty squeezed from the last two wickets would be very handy for New Zealand.
Feels like a comeback if we can limit NZ to a lead of 60-70 after this morning @tjaldred. But then the batting fear begins... I would largely agree with Barney Ronay's piece today on the squad. Having blooded almost no one it feels the last year has overdone it, ergo we stutter.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) June 12, 2021
111th over: New Zealand 353-8 (Patel 0, Blundell 32) Wood for Stone, does the business. A 90mph bobby dazzler to dismiss the bold Henry. There must be s a cherry-stone rhyme for bowlers named after things, the equivalent of: silk, satin, cotton, rags.
The first whingeing Poms email of the Test. Trevor Israel, take a bow!
“Why is it that in every Test series a controversy is blown up about some decision that goes against England.The English are quite happy to accept with equanimity any doubtful decisons that are in their favour.Other teams accept that they will get the odd doubtful decision against them and move on. The Englishmake a federal case out of it and demand that the rules be changed !!In the present case it seemed clear from the TV coverage that the ball bounced shortly before Crawleytook it. Stuart Broad is a spoilt brat and should be fined for his show of dissent !!!”
WICKET! New Zealand 353-8 (Henry lbw Wood 12)
Beaten for pace! Henry is bent double by the force of the leg blow. He considers a review but his partner suddenly finds he is very interested in the speed of the growing grass.
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110th over: New Zealand 353-7 (Henry 12, Blundell 32) An indignant Anderson sends down a maiden. This is the fifth consecutive Test that England have conceded a first-innings deficit.
Steve Colwill, is still pondering the soft-call et al: “I think the only way for technology to resolve the low catch issue that is fair to both the fielder and the batter is to have a hawkeye-type system that can accurately track both the ball and the hand to determine if the fingers are below the ball at the point of impact. Such a system would have to instrument the entire field, which is already a very tall order, even before the difficulties of tracking a hand are taken into consideration. I think this solution is unlikely in the near future.
“The present use of long-range camera shots however, according to the experiment referenced below (100th over), seems to have a very real potential for bias against the fielder. This should be reconsidered. “
109th over: New Zealand 353-7 (Henry 12, Blundell 32) Henry fancies a bit of Stone, first a square-drive for four; then a top-edged fling which sails way over the long-legged Sibley at second slip for another boundary.
108th over: New Zealand 345-7 (Henry 4, Blundell 32) As if to prove me completely wrong, Blundell decides to play this one out: dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. Anderson tosses the ball in frustration.
A good point from Gary Naylor. Poor Parkinson carried the drinks throughout last winter, and has had a good start to the Championship, taking crucial wickets in the Roses clash, even if Saqib Mahmood was the stand-out bowler.
No Parky in the squad for SL, even if they might need to rest Rashid during the World T20. England must be truly blessed with spinners @tjaldred.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 12, 2021
107th over: New Zealand 345-7 (Henry 4, Blundell 32) Blundell has limited faith in his tail. He slides a beautiful drive past cover, before pulling with umph for one. Then Henry joins in, crashing Stone for four.
106th over: New Zealand 336-7 (Henry 0, Blundell 27) England suddenly have the wind behind them, steam following Anderson as he treads up the turf.
Not out!
... an inside edge.
Review!
Anderson persuades Root that an lbw shout is worth a review. It looks high...
WICKET! New Zealand 335-7 (Wagner b Anderson 0)
Well, well! A jaffa which crowns the top of off stump. The Hollies roar sends prickles through the ether.
105th over: New Zealand 335-6 (Wagner 0; Blundell 27) A delighted Stone collects his hat and his second wicket, as Wagner only just avoids falling first ball, pushing freeform at a short one which just falls away from short midwicket.
Tom Bowtell emails, “Currently record-equalling on the 80s front... https://es.pn/3zkCkfC”. Tom, you’re a machine.
WICKET! New Zealand 335-6 (Mitchell c Crawley b Stone 6)
Mitchell fiercely hooks a short ball straight to mid-wicket, where Crawley holds on for dear life.
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104th over: New Zealand 330-5 (Mitchell 6; Blundell 25) It’s Anderson, number 9 on his back, thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions? of strides under his belt. Burns, all buttoned up from collar to ankle, pony tail poking through the back of his cap, has to follow the ball down to the boundary where he neatly picks up and returns as Mitchell takes two.
103rd over: New Zealand 328-5 (Mitchell 4; Blundell 25) A scampered single, two, as Stone sprints in, arms and legs lollipop slim and spaghetti long.
William Hargreaves writes. “Re Bracey’s woes being awful (Voice of the Mysteron’s tweet) I have awful memories of a bad match keeping wicket for the school - 45 years later. They stay with you. Also, Have you mentioned Mikey’s book? Looks like copies need to be sent to the ECB.”
Looks good:
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Right, we go again. With my twitter feed divided between sympathy for Bracey and irritation with Root’s captaincy, Olly Stone (1-72 plus two drops) takes the ball.
Meanwhile …
Lunch
New Zealand will eat more happily than England, whose sudden untidiness in the field must be influenced by the chopping and changing of the personnel. New Zealand are purring along, but not out of sight - yet. Time to grab a sandwich, back soon.
England announce their T20 squad for the games against Sri Lanka
England IT20 Squad
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) Captain
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Sam Billings (Kent)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Chris Jordan (Sussex)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Jason Roy (Surrey)
David Willey (Yorkshire)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
102nd over: New Zealand 326-5 (Mitchell 3; Blundell 24) A stern-faced Root directs his fielders from slip as Wood takes a visible breath and tries again. Blundell pulls him for a single and Mitchell demonstrates a pitch-perfect defensive stroke, they take lunch with New Zealand leading by 23 runs. That’s 97 runs from the session, two wickets to England, two dropped catches, both off Stone.
@tjaldred I’m biased as a Gloucestershire man but the ‘Bracey is terrible’ narrative is both cruel and untrue. His confidence is clearly shattered and he has nowhere to hide. He is a very fine young player and I hope he can bounce back.
— Tom Wellman (@pauliewalnuts2) June 12, 2021
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101st over: New Zealand 321-5 (Mitchell 1; Blundell 21) A flurry of Root just before lunch. Blundell and Mitchell are watchful. Time for one more over before lunch.
100th over: New Zealand 320-5 (Mitchell 1; Blundell 20) Wood worries Mitchell.
An email pings in from Andrew Cosgrove, “Afternoon Tanya. In response to Johnnie Lester (85th over), yes the foreshortening on television cameras is very much a thing. Back when Channel 4 first started broadcasting cricket, they demonstrated it conclusively during a lunch interval. They had someone on the outfield put their hand flat on the ground, and then hold a ball. A handheld camera on the spot showed that the ball was clear of the ground, with the hand completely under the ball, but the long range camera on the boundary made it look like the ball was lying on the grass, and the hand didn’t look at all under the ball. During the India series and the contentious Stokes ‘catch’ I spent a long time looking to see if that segment was on YouTube, without any luck. If any reader had a link to it, I would be interested in watching it again”
99th over: New Zealand 319-5 (Mitchell 1; Blundell 19) Stone sprays a fat juicy one wide and Blundell sprays it for four. Stone responds with some short stuff which Mitchell ducks without harm.
“Dear Tanya”, asks Kim Thonger. “Could I just check that you meant to use the word boarish to describe the Hollies Stand chanting? It is of course appropriate if you are likening their behaviour to that of wild pigs but, knowing you to be a kind and polite soul, perhaps you meant?…boorish ough and bad-mannered; coarse.”boorish behaviour”#askingforafriend
Damn those homophones! I’m actually very fond of cute little warthogs snorting around the Serengeti.
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98th over: New Zealand 313-5 (Mitchell 0; Blundell 14) Another couple before lunch, and England will have pulled this Test back from the brink. Wood’s extra aggression does the business.
“I’m almost certainly too cool to dive into the books, but this must be among the highest proportion of 80s scored in a Test,” types Tom Bowtell. “ 37% of all batsmen dismissed have scored 80-82!” Go on Tom, you know you want to.
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WICKET! New Zealand 312-5 (Nicholls c Bracey b Wood 21)
A neat catch, low to the ground, on the leg side! The ball after Nicholls was clonked on the head by Wood.
Relief for Bracey, as he was already getting stuck in a narrative that had a life of its own, with Sky showing comparative pictures of Russell easing into catches.
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97th over: New Zealand 307-4 (Nicholls 20; Blundell 10) To the boarish/invigorating chanting of the Hollies stand, Wood turns and, arms in demi-second, throws his body at the crease, tumbling into the soil and catching the shot on the rebound. A neat cut from Blundell and the ball is hooped down to the rope. New Zealand move in cruise control into a first-innings lead of four.
This is so true:
@tjaldred Idea proposed in commentary that keeper having a mare is *one* of the worst places to be. I would suggest it's the *absolute* worst. A poor batsman will at least get out, a poor bowler gets posted to the boundary, but a poor keeper is there all day for every ball.
— VoiceOfTheMysterons (@Mysteron_Voice) June 12, 2021
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96th over: New Zealand 302-4 (Nicholls 19; Blundell 6) Stone, blond hair cut action-man style, steams in, mid to high eighties. New Zealand steal a few.
Andrew Benton would prefer Pandora had kept her box closed on the whole soft-signal debate: “I think the solution is to play with intelligent balls. Or an intelli-pitch. Or both. Or the Tests could do what they do in county cricket, which is to have none of these reviews, and rely on the umpire - which, on balance over a match, seems to work reasonably well. Such an innovation !”
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95th over: New Zealand 299-4 (Nicholls 17; Blundell 6) With every ball that lands quietly into Bracey’s gloves, may he rebuild his confidence. Wood charges in without reward as Blundell eases him down past gully for four.
“This sounds cruel, but is it possible the reason they didn’t play Leach was that they didn’t trust Bracey to be able to keep to a spinner?” asks Brad Carpenter. He’s well-thought of round the counties, even if his batting is considered his stronger suit. Put it down to nerves. Coming in as keeper must be the most difficult position, as you suddenly have to keep to bowlers who you aren’t used to, and with slips that you are new to.
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94th over: New Zealand 294-4 (Nicholls 17; Blundell 1) Wood steams in, well up in the 90s, just a couple from the over..
And while we’re here, a friendly nudge to sign-up to the Guardian’s regular cricket newsletter, The Spin. It plonks into your inbox every Tuesday around 10am, full of cricketing stories we can’t fit in the paper. Even better, it is free! What’s not to like?
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91st over: New Zealand 292-34 (Nicholls 16; Blundell 0 ) Oh the cruelty. From hero to zero: after the Stone-Bracey combination does the business to the third ball of the over, Bracey can’t hold onto a nibble from Blundell off the last. He leaps to his right, but the ball just won’t stick. Root puts a consoling hand on Stone’s back; Bracey lies at full stretch on the turf.
WICKET! New Zealand 292-4 (Taylor c Bracey b Stone 90)
A leaden-footed one-handed swish well outside off stump and Bracey gathers!
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90th over: New Zealand 292-3 (Nicholls 16; Taylor 80) A bowling change, as Wood replaces Broad, but more of the same from New Zealand, as Nicholls deflects a quick ‘un by opening the face and, thanks very much, posting it down to the boundary.
Sky tell us that Taylor has attacked 58 percent of today’s balls, compared to thirty-something of yesterday’s. And that’s DRINKS!
“Hi Tanya,” hi Abhijato Sensarma.
“Almost every Test match played in England post-2018 seems to have a ‘nearly classic but not really’ energy around it. The Kohli India series started this trend, so it’s no wonder that the upcoming five-set bout between England and the subcontinental giants is slated to be THE classic. Either way, this series and the WTC Final are not for the faint-hearted either. Incredible time to be alive as a cricket fan!”
89th over: New Zealand 286-3 (Nicholls 11; Taylor 79) A smashing stop by Crawley halts a snappy Taylor cut destined for finer things. Then Broad chases down a sweet straight drive, and Taylor picks up three, before he oozes into another over-pitched ball that does reach the boundary. The muse is with him today, and the first hour belongs firmly to New Zealand, who are just 17 runs behind England’s first innings.
88th over: New Zealand 278-3 (Nicholls 10; Taylor 72) A quick single, a tuck, a nudge, a leaping delivery that flies past the gloves of Bracey, who is having a few tricky moments this morning, for four byes. A diving stop by Lawrence at mid-wicket rallies English spirits.
A welcome ode, from Brian Withington, “Another CCLive! Paul Simon rip-off, for all troubled batsmen unsure where their next run is coming from, and seeking guidance from a somewhat ‘hands off’ batting coach.”
The problem is all inside your head, coach said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I’d like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways you lose your wicket
He said, it’s really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning won’t be lost or misconstrued
But I’ll repeat myself at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways you lose your wicket
Fifty ways you lose your wicket
Nick to first slip, Rick
Miss a straight ball, Paul
Pad up and pray, Ray
Just listen to me
Clean bowled again, Ben
You don’t seem to connect much
Just drop to your knee, Lee
And get yourself LB
He said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you score again
I said I appreciate that and would you please explain
About the fifty ways
He said, why don’t we both just sleep on it tonight?
And I believe in the morning you’ll begin to see the light
And though he’d dissed me I realised that he probably was right
There must be fifty ways I lose my wicket
Tread on your stumps, Ted
Cough a bat pad, Said
Handle the ball, Saul
Just listen to me
Get caught at third man, Stan
Forget to review, Stu
Step out your crease, Reece
And get yourself stumped
87th over: New Zealand 271-3 (Nicholls 9; Taylor 70) Just a parsimonious single from Anderson’s over.
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86th over: New Zealand 270-3 (Nicholls 9; Taylor 69) DROP! Taylor swots a short ball, straight towards Sam Billings who is down at long leg as a substitute fielder. He slips, slides, and it falls. The next delivery flies over the top of a ducking Taylor and a leaping Bracey to the boundary. Then Root refuses to let Broad have an lbw review. A steaming blond bowler slams on his sunhat, puts his hands on his hips and strides away.
85th over: New Zealand 264-3 (Nicholls 8; Taylor 67) Broad and Anderson talk the talk at the top of Anderson’s run and proffer the ball to the umpire, who snorts. Anderson polishes the cherry red from the ball and strides in to the exact rhythm of my snoring dog. A ball flies up into the hands of Crawley at third slip, but replays seem to show it coming off the body.
Johnnie Lester writes. “Just wondered if the whole “the camera foreshortens the image and makes every catch look grounded” has much science to it or if it’s simply a case of players and ex-players refusing to believe that the ball can touch the ground even if one or more fingers has been forced under it. I get that it’s annoying to see “not out” and have sore fingers, but the “foreshortening of the image” seems a lot like some pseudoscience that has been invented and is repeated without questioning. Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler just to say that if the camera shows the ball to have touched the ground, then not out? How do we know that the camera doesn’t also foreshorten the image and show edges that have not occurred in reality (Stuart Broad should not be informed of this question)?
Mostly asking because I’m on hold to a customer services department and bored.”
I think we need an informed OBO ruling on this.
84th over: New Zealand 262-3 (Nicholls 8; Taylor 66) A testing maiden from Broad.
83rd over: New Zealand 262-3 (Nicholls 8; Taylor 66) A flash! A four! Taylor throws the new car, keys and picnic basket at Anderson, and the edge flies past a leaping Burns at gully. Next ball, he square drives with finger-kissing elegance, to the same effect. Anderson responds with two immaculately designed dot balls.
Excuse the plug, but New Zealand journalist Dylan Cleaver has written a brilliant piece in this month’s Nightwatchman about Taylor. It is so good on how underrated he is and how much of a role model he has been for his community.
82nd over: New Zealand 254-3 (Nicholls 8; Taylor 58) Nicholls picks up three from Broad’s first over with the new ball, with a nudge through the covers.
Gary Naylor is warming up:
Things Joe Root still does @tjaldred.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) June 12, 2021
Fails to prevent one inside the circle early on
Follows the ball
Barely changes the field for a new batter
Believes spin is about defence not attack
Won't post a short leg for the pacers
Won't post a leg slip for a spinner.
81st over: New Zealand 250-3 (Nicholls 5; Taylor 57) The new ball comes into the attack and falls into the hands of he with the more aesthetically pleasing action, James Anderson. Three slips stand in wait as Nicholls watches warily. One ball swings past on the leg side but Bracey can’t quite hang on.
“Good morning Tanya,” writes Kim Thonger.
“My self-designed (patent pending) 1stInningsLeadPredictor™️ device is holding steady on 184, which I reckon England in their current fragile state will struggle to make.
So my suggestion to Root and the lads is this. Whip your smartphones out at lunchtime, get on Twitter, say outrageously politically incorrect things, get yourself immediately suspended by the ECB before you need to bat again and secure a ‘match abandoned’ outcome, thus saving the series. Simple really, this captaincy lark, innit. 🕺🏻”
80th over: New Zealand 249-3 (Nicholls 5; Taylor 57) Taylor smacks his lips and enters the zone, as he flashes Broad through the covers and over the boundary rope. Broad responds by drawing a Taylor top edge which pings into his helmet.
“As a Kiwi, I’m intrigued: will you support NZ in the WTC final if we beat England in this test? asks Sebastian Bloomfield.
The older I get, the more I find it difficult to get behind any one team, a kind of pathetic empathy overload for the other kicks in. May I sit on the fence and support New Zealand for my niece and nephew in Auckland, but still want Pant to set the stage alight?
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79th over: New Zealand 245-3 (Nicholls 5; Taylor 53) Taylor reaches his fifty with a brisk sweep for four, a smart slap to the thigh of the cheeky young pup. Lawrence responds with more of his vigorous twirlers, plucking the cherry tree whilst preparing for take off.
“I agree that the soft signal is unnecessary,” taps Johns Starbuck, “because if we go back to the accepted rule that the benefit of any doubt goes with the batsman, it clears the air. That this enabled the likes of Dickie Bird and a few others to refuse almost all LBWs is just part of the game.”
78th over: New Zealand 234-3 (Nicholls 4; Taylor 47) Stuart Broad, fresh from his session in the interview room, takes the ball. New Zealand decide on a surprisingly adventurous single for so early in the morning, there is a direct hit from Lawrence, but Taylor is home.
And huge thank you to Peter Haining for the TMS overseas link.
77th over: New Zealand 230-3 (Nicholls 1; Taylor 48) In a bundle of arms and legs, and directing of the field, Lawrence polishes off the over.
The players are out and Dan Lawrence is going to daddy-long legs through the last three balls of his over.
Frank Stark is bewildered by the soft signal hullabaloo:
“I’m a bit baffled by the Jesuitical turn of this particular beat-up. Why does it matter what the on-field umpire’s soft signal was when the third umpire quite audibly stated that he thought it had not carried? Stuart Broad didn’t like the decision, but it had nothing to do with the soft signal process.”
I agree it has blow up hugely, probably because it was a quiet day, and because the batsman was Conway. But in terms of the signal: because third umpire Kettleborough gave a soft-signal of “not out”, it put the onus on Gough to find conclusive evidence that the catch was clean for the wicket to be given. And because of the way the camera works, the tv evidence can be biased in favour of the “ground catch. Therefore if the soft signal didn’t exist, the umpire might have had less unconscious bias when viewing the footage. If that makes sense?
Time to quickly put the kettle on.
The first email winds it way into the Guardian inbox. Morning Ollie Glick!
“I was going to send this last night before the wicket, but will send anyway as I’m quite pleased with it....Call Joe Root ‘Evergreen’, cos that drop may have launched Will Young’s career.....
“Listened on the car radio all the way from Edinburgh to Oxford yesterday, and we only took wickets when I was getting petrol. Perhaps I’ll park up at the M40 wild bean cafe today, for the greater good.”
If you don’t mind, Ollie...
A reminder that the second new ball is due to arrive in three and a bit overs, so time for only a few more of Dan Lawrence’s whirly-gigs. What a day for him yesterday, 81 not out and a maiden Test wicket.
On Sky, they’re talking to Stuart Broad, who with 520 wickets, now hovers only behind Glenn McGrath, Jimmy Anderson and the three spinners, Kumble, Murali and Warne on the all-time list.
The soft signal comes up:
“We thought it was out, Zac Crawley had his fingers under the ball, you’ve only got to see Joe Root’s reaction at slip to know that the ball had carried. I actually feel sorry for the umpires in this situation, it is the ruling that they have to give a soft signal that is wrong. Do the ICC need to think about that rule, is it putting their officials in a difficult situation? I don’t really see the point in waiting for another ICC meeting in September, just do away with it now.”
Keep telling it straight Stuart!
An ECB update on the offensive tweets:
“The Board agreed to the Executive’s recommendation for a social media review to address any historical issues, remind individuals of their personal responsibilities going forward, and help them learn lessons along the way. The review will be collaborative, and involve other individuals within cricket, including ECB administrators and coaches, as well as players. The ECB will now work closely with the PCA, TEPP and EWPP to agree Terms of Reference, identify independent expertise, and will support those taking part through education and training to complete the process.
The Board was clear that this process would not prevent further disciplinary action in the future, should that be required, under the applicable processes, but it is hoped that the game can emerge from this difficult period stronger and determined to be more inclusive and welcoming to all.”
And two pieces, very different but unmissable.
Barney Ronay on England’s bizarre selection policy
and Jonathan Liew, on supporting the England football team, despite everything.
So much to read this morning. Here, Ali Martin reports on Michael Holding’s view of the moment of unity, and the latest depressing list of cricketers sending offensive tweets, this time members of Lancashire CCC.
Preamble
Good morning! Are you ready? Ready for New Zealand to grind a spinner-less England into the dust? Ready for Stuart Broad to roll up the sleeve of his left arm and display a new soft signal tattoo? Ready for the Hollies Stand to collapse under the weight of its beer snake?
Or, just maybe, England’s slips will catch everything and Olly Stone and Mark Wood will wheedle out the New Zealanders for a song - Ross Taylor cut off before he can make the transition from abysmal starter to free-flowing bounty hunter.
New Zealand resume on 229-3, just 74 behind. Play starts at 11am BST. See you on the sofa!
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