Jofra Archer says he was racially abused
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Ali Martin’s match report from Bay Oval:
Mike Atherton sums up this New Zealand team perfectly, “more than the sum of its parts.” Congratulations to them all, to Santner, to Wagner, to Watling. And that’s it from me. Time for bed. See you again soon in Hamilton, which kicks off at 11am NZ time on November 29. Good night!
Jeremy is on a sleeper train. Greetings from a worryingly late-to-depart Caledonian “Sleeper”. I have a nine o’clock in Glasgow in the morning I don’t feel confident about. But enough about my problems, don’t you think it is ironic that when Denly and Stokes were batting with such ease and application, every passing ball made Root’s dismissal look worse by comparison? And yet, a continuation of that might have saved the match, the series and thus Root’s captaincy.
Instead we have confirmation that batting on the fifth day is hard. So what should exculpate Root will actually be what condemns him. Or something. I don’t know, it’s hard to sleep on a train and think straight at the same time.
I’m hoping it will all seem a bit better in the light of day. I think it is very unlikely that Silverwood would get rid of Root after this tour, especially with the South Africa series coming so quickly on its toes. Perhaps Root himself can reconsider at the end of that tour, depending on events. All might seem much better then. Anyway, who could replace him?
Interesting. Root has just said Archer has to realise, “That the energy has to be there all the time. But having too high expectations of him so early in his career is very dangerous.” I think he’s getting better with the press, its just his batting that is the worry. And the odd tactical bad call.
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Man of the match BJ Watling is modest: “it was very satisfying, a very tough Test match and we had some valuable contributions throughout.”
Joe Root is honest:“I think we missed an opportunity in the first innings, we could have done with making those big scores and using the scoreboard pressure as another fielder. I thought we did a lot of good stuff, its quite different from the style of cricket we’ve been playing of late. It ended up being a good wicket in terms of five days, I look back at the toss, it was probably the right decision but that first innings cost us the game. We have to be honest with ourselves over the next few days, not panic, continue to work very hard.”
Chris Silverwood is nowhere to be seen on screen right now, not the dream start he was after in his first game as supremo.
New Zealand win by an innings and 65 runs!
What a lip-smacking win by New Zealand. Wagner takes the spoils with 5-44, but a team performance from top to tail by a bunch of unshowy cricketers who know what it takes to win games on home soil. England all out 197, a brave flourish from Curran and Archer at the end, and impressive graft by Denly, but more than a handful of those dismissals weren’t too pretty.
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WICKET! Broad lbw Wagner 0
Wagner decides on a low full toss and Broad is hit plump on the pads. There is not a chance that isn’t out, but Broad reviews because, well, what the heck. A golden duck, and that, my friends, is that!
WICKET! Archer c sub (Henry) b Wagner 30
Arghg! A flourish too many. Wagner digs one in, Archer swivels and hits the ball off his hip to backward square leg where he is well caught by Henry with backwards hands . The partnership of 59 in 16 overs is no more.
95th over: England 197-8 (Archer 30, Curran 29) Another Santner maiden negociated, though not without risk.
Now just 22 overs left in the game, England 65 runs behind and Ian Forth has thoughts:
If we fast forward an hour, I suppose runs might start to count double, as per Cardiff 2009. However that would count as getting a little ahead of ourselves.
95th over: England 197-8 (Archer 30, Curran 29) Williamson walks off the field clutching his back, but not before throwing the ball to Wagner. Wagner immediately bowls a fat, wide, juicy one that Archer flings the bat at and drives through the covers, with a follow-through for the ages. Gorgeous.
94th over: England 193-8 (Archer 24, Curran 29) Santner twists on his axel as he fires the ball into the rough outside Curran’s stumps.Curran resists.
Peter dangles the bait from Wellington. If we (NZ) agree to walk off now and call it a draw, will England agree to replay the rugby WC semi?
Oh go on then. Has the period of national mourning ended yet by the way?
93rd over: England 193-8 (Archer 24, Curran 29) Southee in again, England defend, Archer cover-drives stylishly for a couple. Time for a spot of de Grandhomme?
Michael Vaughan stirs the pot.
The England Test team are just not very good .. Once that is accepted it will be able to get better .. #OnOn #NZvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 25, 2019
92nd over: England 190-8 (Archer 24, Curran 28) Sorry I spilt my coffee so didn’t see a ball, but they’re both still there.
91st over: England 189-8 (Archer 24, Curran 27) And on the runs flow. I can’t work out if this is too risky a strategy, but it is certainly working at the moment. The fifty partnership comes up in 64 balls.
Tim muses from Lombok
Hi Tanya. Hi Tim!
Strikes me that England’s biggest error, in the whole Test, was squandering Leach’s wicket last night. Just when you need him to score one off his hip in 90 mins he’s feet up with a good book. What was Root thinking?
So true, Leach is just the person to calm this flighty pair.
90th over: England 182-8 (Archer 23, Curran 21) A reminder that Boult has his feet up in the dressing room, off the pitch with a rib injury. Five dot balls from Santner, then Archer turns a full toss down to the boundary.
89th over: England 170-8 (Archer 19, Curran 17) Now, this is interesting, the ball is suddenly keeping very low. Three of the six deliveries from Santner are your old-fashioned daisy-trimmers, but none of them on target. Off the others, Curran slaps a couple of handsome boundaries.
An email! From Tony Hastings:
My two cents on the ball debate is that there’s nothing more English than complaining that the ball doesn’t offer the bowlers enough while simultaneously being a decidedly awful 480 for 17 for the match.Can I also say as an Aussie I’m very much looking forward to playing this terrific Kiwi team this summer. Should be a ripper series.
Now, now Tony, not the old whingeing poms trope. Not at this time in the morning, not when our country is such a laughing stock. Have some understanding.
88th over: England 170-8 (Archer 19, Curran 13) Archer drives and thick edges Santner through the slips for four. Possibly not the shot they talked about at tea. Ah, that’s better, a short one from Santner and Archer rocks back and carves through the covers. Huge lbw shout next ball .. they’re reviewing .... the ball straightens, hits Archer on the back pad ... ooof, and that’s umpire’s call. New Zealand lose a review.
87th over: England 162-8 (Archer 11, Curran 13) Southee gives Archer a spoon of his own medicine by digging one into his ribs, Archer flaps at it and it lands riskily on the leg side. Curran then tries to cover drive, and misses, a shot that screams edge to slip. He survives and I munch on the digestives that my husband had tried to hide in the cupboard - better luck next time!
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Tea - New Zealand require 2 wickets to win
86th over: England 161-8 (Archer 10, Curran 13) Santner has Curran in about three minds as one spits off the pitch, Curran loses it completely and is hit high on the arm . Then a huge lbw appeal - New Zealand review but we don’t even get as far as hot-spot as Santner has sent down a no ball. Ah, now we see that it wouldn’t have been out anyway. On TMS, Agnew notices that Curran has changed his guard to leg-stump . He safely plays out the rest of the over, and that’s TEA.
New Zealand have taken 4-63 in that session and take a brew quite the happiest of the two teams. With just Broad left in the dressing room, this flashy pair are England’s final hope.
Meanwhile, Gary Naylor is still awake and has Jos Buttler in his sights.
I know Jos Buttler's army of defenders will be marshalling the stats, but his dismissal had an air of inevitability about it @tjaldred. He is always hanging legside of the ball, seldom lining it up - so how can he know where his off stump is?
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) November 25, 2019
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85th over: England 160-8 (Archer 10, Curran 13) Archer down on one knee, driving Wagner where fourth slip might be and down to third man for four- what panache! (LESS OF THE PANACHE PLEASE!)
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84th over: England 153-8 (Archer 3, Curran 13). Archer dabs prettily for a couple, then shows a straight bat, before Southee sends a short one through that bounces over both a gently ducking Archer and a leaping Watling. Four byes
Ten minutes or so till tea.
Simon writes in, continuing a discussion that Daniel was chairing earlier. The best Captain that never was was Shane Warne. Taylor & Waugh owed most of their success to his cricketing nous...and 750 Test wickets...and so did Hampshire and the Rajastan Royals. Playboy, diuretic user, waffly commentator, gambler and average poker player.. yes. Helper of fellow spinners too ! Cricketing genius... Probably.
I think you’re right, though I suspect his reign would have been a short one, he’d never have kept his powder dry to do a Waugh-ish stint at the wicket. And I wonder how understanding he’d have been of the journeymen in the team?
83rd over: England 147-8 (Archer 1, Curran 13) Wagner again. Curran decides that the best form of defence is glorious attack. He flicks a straight one down to the long leg boundary before getting down on one knee and pings it through cover for four. This promises to be pretty.
82nd over: England 139-8 (Archer 1, Curran 5) Southee gets the honour of the new ball at the other end, and the over doesn’t have quite the threat that Wagner carried. A succession of outswingers; a maiden. Off the pitch we see a family strolling across the grass, eager to find a picnic spot to watch England’s famous tail-end resistance. Remember, of course, that Leach has already batted.
So, is it such an advantage batting first? writes Bill Pennington. This week we have seen three Test matches played more or less simultaneously (AUS v PAK, BAN v IND and NZ v ENG), where the team that lost the toss and batted second has won (or will likely win in the current case) by an innings or more. Quite unusual, I would venture.
81st over: England 139-8 (Archer 1, Curran 5) They keep replaying that shot by Buttler - it’s not a leave for the ages. Oh my, then Archer is hit on the pad, and now Curran has been given out lbw but he reviews immediately and sure enough a fat bat blob beams on hot spot. The end of an eventful over.
Should it come to pass, this would only be the third time that New Zealand have beaten England by an innings.
WICKET! Buttler b Wagner 0
And the second new ball claims a victim in its very first delivery. Wagner sends the ball from very wide, Buttler sees, leaves it, plays no shot, and has to stand and watch as the ball swings in and clops the bottom of his off stump. Not one for the scrapbook.
80th over: England 138-7 (Buttler 0, Curran 5) Curran steps back and slides the ball down to the boundary.
Abhijato Sensarma, in a hangover from yesterday, sends through a limerick:
An escape from this precarious position would have been heavenly But England have only gone on and lost DenlyThe task at hand might seem too much nowBut Buttler is known for his heroics, and howEngland are known as the most Pakistani team after Pakistan for a reasonDon’t give up hope just yet, because in cricket every season’s a miracle season!
Thanks Abhijato !
79th over: England 134-7 (Buttler 0, Curran 1) Wagner’s carrying a cape of venom in this spell. Shortish man, biggish attitude . He bowls a good length and Curran jabs down and ball flies interestingly close at backward short leg-ish. One over to the new ball.
78th over: England 133-7 (Buttler 0, Curran 0) Santner’s the man. His long fingers, long arms, long legs, he sends in a succession of balls full of potential, one of t hem steaming out of the rough to cut across Buttler. A maiden.
Unhappy reading for Ollie Pope:
It's still very early days in Ollie Pope's Test career, but he has already developed a bad habit of being dismissed by very wide balls. #NZvEng pic.twitter.com/YSHJI0OPgj
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) November 25, 2019
77th over: England 133-7 (Buttler 0, Curran 0) Just like to point out that I have had nothing whatsoever to do with the fall of these wickets. New Zealand are buzzing now, there’s a real zip-a-dee-doo to their gait, Watling behind the stumps can’t stop smiling. So Buttler and Curran enter the waiting room of history - they both could do it...
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WICKET! Pope c Santner b Wagner 6
Oh dear. Pope sees a wide full toss and in a moment of madness decides the best shot is to stretch uncomfortably wider and ping the ball to short extra cover where that man Santner grabs a blinder with his diving right hand.
76th over: England 133-6 (Buttler 0, Pope 6) Just a single from the over.
75th over: England 132-6 (Buttler 0, Pope 5) Hello y’all. So I thought I’d just be sweeping up the cobwebs and emptying the bins. Denly so unlucky there, a ball behaving uncharacteristically, and after an innings of great tenacity too.That’s England’s second wicket since lunch and things are all rather crunchy now.
WICKET! Denly c Watling b Wagner 31
Wagner charges, whangs one in, it pings off the pitch and, as it rises, clips the edge of Denly’s gloves as he desperately lifts his hands and tries to get them out of the way. A leaping Watling catches high abover his head. The umpire originally says not out but New Zealand are cock-a-ho0p and, despite Denly’s poker face, the decision is reversed by the third umpire.
Aaand that’s us done - Tanya Aldred is here to call England home.
74th over: England 128-5 (Denly 31, Pope 5) Santner gets an over at Pope, whose dressing-room nickname must surely be “Olivia”. After five dangerousosh dots, Pope makes room to cut a long hop through point for four; confidence oozes through him, but he needs to take care because it helped him get himself out in the first innings. That’s drinks.
73rd over: England 124-5 (Denly 31, Pope 1) With Southee’s job done, Wagner returns and Denly shoves his loosener towards point for two. These are the only runs from the over.
72nd over: England 122-5 (Denly 29, Pope 1) Santner goes a little straighter Pope, but I’d be surprised if the overarching plan isn’t to get him driving at wider ones. But, first up, he’s being made to play, and pads up at an arm ball; there’s another geshray, but Watling knows it was bouncing over the top. Maiden.
“This ‘use the Duke ball everywhere’ stuff?” asks Andy Roberts. “Pretty sure that Australia consistently take 20 wickets on Australian wickets with a Kookaburra ball. They just marmalised Pakistan yesterday for your most recent piece of evidence. And while in this century advantages have generally gone to the home team, they just showed that they could adapt to the Duke when required. In the past, their dominance of both cricket balls was even more evident, as your own reminiscing of the 80s and 90s can probably indicate. Anyway, point being, good bowlers can still take plenty of wickets with a Kookaburra ball by bowling accurately, using the bounce, and getting small but significant variations in the air and off the pitch. Perhaps the problem is either a) the pitch they are playing on today, or b) English bowlers generally don’t adapt to a different ball as well as other bowlers do?”
It’s not an England thing, and the problem in this Test, as far as I’m concerned, is more the pitch. I don’t mind variations - it’s a beauty of the game - but two sides who can bat, on a flat track and with a Kookaburra ball, is not a good mix.
71st over: England 122-5 (Denly 29, Pope 1) Southee’s second ball tails in and raps the pad - there’s a long, drawn-out geshrey - but that was clearly sliding down. Pope then gets off the mark with a dab to point - there’s just about a run there, but only just about.
70th over: England 121-5 (Denly 29, Pope 0) Denly does Pope a solid, seeing off another maiden from Santner. That’s 14 for him in this innings now.
“Anyway, it was a thought that hadn’t occurred to me before,” says Malcolm Parfitt. “Brearley, Close and Illingworth were successful captains *because* they weren’t the best players in any discipline in their team. One less pressure.”
I guess Strauss was the last England captain chosen for what we might call “leadership skills”, though there weren’t many options at the time. The thing about picking your best player isn’t just that they’re the most likely to inspire with deed, but they don’t have to worry about being worth their place in the side. Ultimately there’s no formula, but it’s looking increasingly like Root needs to give it up or have it given up for him.
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69th over: England 121-5 (Denly 29, Pope 0) So, what is Ollie Pope made of of what is Ollie Pope made? Can he handle this? He starts by seeing away two dots.
WICKET! Stokes b Southee 28 (England 121-5)
Is that the crucial blow?! Benjamin Andrew Stokes, what have you done! A wide one keeps lowish and Stokes has a thrash, dragging on! That is very naughty behaviour, and New Zealand are firm favourites now!
69th over: England 121-4 (Denly 29, Stokes 28) Southee persuades one to keep low, which rushes past Stokes’ edge and off stump.
68th over: England 121-4 (Denly 29, Stokes 28) Stokes bunts a single, the only run from the other - though he swipes its final delivery to cover. This extremely impressive from him - he knows he can do anything, which is a nifty piece of psychological scaffolding to own, and also that his dreams will not come to him easily.
“My point was, if the captain had a bad hour/session/day/match,” rejoinders Malcolm Parfitt, “if they’re not the best at what they do (of course they have to be good enough) it doesn’t overwhelmingly affect team morale. That doesn’t work with wicketkeepers.”
I get that, but I think about it more the other way around: is the team able to wear losing its best player, as has happened to England with Root and as happened to lesser degree but nonetheless, with Cook. In retrospect, making Broad captain when he turned it in would’ve been smart - and funny - but it’s too late now.
67th over: England 120-4 (Denly 29, Stokes 27) Cricinfo note that Boult will go for an MRI tomorrow - that doesn’t sound much like he’ll play at Hamilton. Back in the middle, two twos to Denly raise the 50 partnership - off 143 balls, noch - and this is good from England. New Zealand need something.
“What’s missing in the simplistic question “Is x better than y?” is timeframe,” says Ian Forth. “Frank Tyson might have been a better bowler than Jimmy Anderson - briefly - but he didn’t end up with 575 test wickets. Neither Botham nor Flintoff looked after their bodies as well as they should. You would hope that with Stokes’ fitness ethic his real value to England might be solving the all-rounder problem for many years to come yet. For me this would make him as good if not better than the other two. And he’d probably make a better captain (eventually) than the other two as well.”
Yes, of course - context is important. Flintoff was a brilliant fast bowler for quite a while, though - for longer than Stokes has been consistent so far. And Botham took what, 383 Test wickets - more than anyone until Hadlee overtook him - so Stokes doing him on longevity seems unlikely. I think there’s a good chance he’d make a good captain, but a better chance they won’t risk finding out - he’s too important to compromise.
66th over: England 116-4 (Denly 25, Stokes 27) After four dots, Denly turns Santner into the on side and they run one. I think we can fairly say that he is now established in the team.
65th over: England 115-4 (Denly 24, Stokes 27) The batsmen take a single apiece from Southee’s first two balls and New Zealand will be starting to wonder. It does seem like they’re relying on errors not jaffas, but as I type that, Stokes leaves on that jags in pretty sharply; I think his stumps were covered. And to make amends, he swipes at the next delivery, edging up and over the slips for four. That wasn’t dissimilar to the shot that got him out in the first innings, but because he committed to it - unlike Root - it wasn’t all that risky.
64th over: England 109-4 (Denly 23, Stokes 22) Denly plays out a maiden from Santner.
“Would Morgan have been a better option as Captain even for a couple of years?” asks James Fitzpatrick. I’m pretty sure that’s a notion floated on here by his Robness Smyth, and I do see that too. When Morgan was dropped from the Test team it was fair enough, but since then various others have come in without a fraction of his ability - he’s been unfortunate not to get another go. I guess his full focus was desired elsewhere.
63rd over: England 109-4 (Denly 23, Stokes 22) Stokes edges four past slip, the only runs off the over.
“I remember when Yorkshire chose their first professional captain,” emails Malcolm Parfitt. “Best batsman was Phil Sharpe, best bowler was Fred. Choice was Brian Close. Nobody out-argued Close. Yorkshire stopped winning the championship when he left. Similarly Mike Brearley was a great captain. Maybe there’s a benefit in captain not being best player, because loss of form is important, but in being a strong enough character to boss diva batsmen and bowlers, but not ‘the main man’. Broad batting 11 and bowling first change?”
I see this angle, though the captain has to be assured of their place in the team and, as I said, leading from the front is more important than funk. Brearley was a one-off and it’s probably a bit late for Broad, much as I appreciate the rationale - realistically, we’re talking about Buttler.
62nd over: England 105-4 (Denly 23, Stokes 18) We see a graphic of the shots Stokes has played, and it’s telling: with one single exception, he’s either been all the way forward or all the way back. He nurdles a single into the on side, then Denly sees out the rest of the over. England look decent out there which means we’re about due a ludicrous and self-indulgent hoik.
61st over: England 104-4 (Denly 23, Stokes 17) Southee takes the ball from the other end but Denly looks solid in defence. I admit I was sceptical when England picked him but what you get when you pick someone slightly older is someone who knows their game. They don’t have anything to work out, they’re either good enough or they’re not. Anyway, he’s sawn in half by one that zips past his outside edge - he’s done well with those today - then turns two to midwicket.
60th over: England 102-4 (Denly 21, Stokes 17) Santner will get us underway again, Stokes facing, and immediately he flips what’s almost a half-volley from off to the midwicket fence. Stokes batted beautifully in the first innings - he looks in such control at the moment you’re surprised when he doesn’t get runs. Someone asked me the other day if I thought he was better than Flintoff, and I was forced to say no - he’s a better batsman, obviously, but at his peak Flintoff was as good as any bowler around. But both had and have the ability to refocus a game so it becomes all about them.
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Right, off we go again. If England can lose two wickets or fewer this session, they’ve a decent chance of saving this.
Well that was a strange kind of session. New Zealand would have wanted more than one wicket, but will still fancy themselves, while England know that if they apply themselves, they can save this. The pressure was not as intense as you’d expect on a day 5 pitch because there’s not much help for the bowlers; they’re relying on batsmen getting themselves out, more than anything.
59th over: England 98-4 (Denly 21, Stokes 13) Williamson brings himself on for what’s probably the final over of the session and Denly clips his first ball to midwicket; they run three. Stokes then turns two to midwicket, and the final delivery of the session is squirted behind square on the off side for a single.
58th over: England 92-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 10) Santner lands one in the footmarks and Stokes half plays, probably inside the line on purpose. And the next ball, i don’t even know - it doesn’t land in the rough but it doesn’t bounce either, scuttling by Watling for four byes. strangely, the last ball, which does land in the footmarks, is also a grubber and it’s not far at all from bowling Stokes around his legs, but he manages to prod it away with his toe-end. That is great news for New Zealand: if there’s an area which can stop the ball from bouncing, England are in all sorts.
57th over: England 88-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 10) Wagner forces one by Denly’s outside edge, who couldn’t help but wave at that; it was right in his slot, so nature took him to it but nurture pulled him back. Another maiden, and England have two, maybe three overs until lunch.
56th over: England 88-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 10) Boult has a side situation and will stay off until lunch. Meanwhile, Stokes sees away another maiden from Santner, but only just - the final delivery, a fuller one, grips and bounces as Stokes plays at its imaginary twin, just avoiding with with handle and gloves.
55th over: England 88-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 10) Eeek! Wagner bangs one in and Denly hangs into it, top-handling to silly point ... but there’s no one there. Then, the final ball kisses his helmet, but it’s a fleeting meeting. Maiden.
“You might find that Hobbs’ captaincy prospects had as much to do with the class system as his tactical acuity,” says Frank Stark. “He wasn’t ‘one of us’.”
No, agreed. I first learnt about him when Jossy’s Giants did Question of Sport and were asked who was known as “The Master”. Glenda got it right.
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54th over: England 88-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 10) Santner is pressed straight back into duty and Stokes drives his, er, loosener? tightener? to cover for two. I wonder, is it easier to bowl spin if you’re tall or short? I imagine you have better flighting options if you’re short and better darting options if you’re tall.
53rd over: England 86-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 8) Boult appears to have wandered off and the concern is that he’s got a back or side issue; in commentary, they’re feart that he’s not coming back anytime soon because of how slowly he went up the stairs. Back in the middle Denly pushes forward to Wagner and misses with the face, causing himself a momentary coronary as the ball squirts off his inside edge ... but he’s ok. Maiden.
Meanwhile, the OBO’s Tim de Lisle graciously sends in a shot of that Stokes shot.
Shot of the day so far: @benstokes38 by @SkySports @DanielHarris pic.twitter.com/gDLMNgc1tP
— Tim de Lisle (@TimdeLisle) November 24, 2019
52nd over: England 86-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 8) Boult comes at Stokes from over the wicket and his final delivery gives just a little bit of width, so Stokes cracks it to the cover boundary. He’s in.
WICKET!
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) November 24, 2019
Big blow for England as Root (11) steers De Grandhomme to gully.
England 69-4 at Mount Maunganui #NZvENG
📺 Watch live on Sky Sports Cricket: https://t.co/hRuBUKHAvm
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51st over: England 82-4 (Denly 18, Stokes 4) Five dots, then Denly twizzles two to midwicket. Boult is warming up, and by the looks of things will take over from Santner, who’s bowled a 20-over spell.
“Did Ken Barrington ever captain England?” asks John Beaven. “If not, there’s your answer.”
No, and nor did Jack Hobbs now I come to think about it.
50th over: England 80-4 (Denly 16, Stokes 4) Denly has looked alright this morning, and knows he gave it away first innings when he looked set for a maiden ton, so this is a chance for him because he looks in touch. He takes a single into the off side, then Santner drops short and Stokes rocks back to force him to the cover fence. But have a look! Next up, Stokes defends off the back foot, and watches with horror as the ball megs him then rolls back towards the stumps, missing by a fraction! He peers between his legs to check the damage, but he’s good.
49th over: England 75-4 (Denly 15, Stokes 0) Wagner into the attack and he’s over the wicket to Stokes, who leaves a ball that passes his bails by a whisper. Stokes has now faced 24 balls without scoring, meaning that this is another maiden and we consider once again the trick question of how best to bat in such circumstances. On the one hand, if you don’t play a shot you can get out but on the other, if it’s natural to you to maybe you should, at the same time as putting the bowler under pressure.
48th over: England 75-4 (Denly 15, Stokes 0) Santner is bowling pretty quickly now, to a slip, a gully, a short leg and a silly point. Denly plays out a maiden, and this is intense, affirming stuff.
“So who was the best England batsman who was never the captain?” asks John Starbuck. “And can we learn anything from this?”
In my time, Marcus Trescothick and Ian Bell. Most batsmen don’t play as well once they’re running ting as well, so it’s a tricky thing.
47th over: England 75-4 (Denly 15, Stokes 0) Denly shoves to leg and they run one, giving Colin five balls at Stokes. He handles them well, and I wonder if it’s time for Boult.
46th over: England 74-4 (Denly 14, Stokes 0) Stokes sees away a maiden from Santner comfortably enough. He batted beautifully in the first innings, and I can’t decide if he was culpable for getting himself out. He was seeing it and the ball was there to hit - there’s a risk with every shot - but if he’d not played it, or played it well, it wouldn’t’ have got him out.
45th over: England 74-4 (Denly 14, Stokes 0) Denly looks to play into the off side and instead finagles four to long leg. But Joe Root - that dismissal was so weird because it was the dismissal of a frazzled man who couldn’t decide whether to leave, defend or attack, even though he’d look in control all morning. Something needs to happen at some point, because good though he is, he should be so much better.
“Is anyone mentioning the fact Root now averages less than 31 in his last 21 tests?” tweets Tony Fitzgerlad. “We’ve managed to ruin a great batsman in exchange for a sub-par captain.”
I actually wrote about this last summer, so excuse me while I quote myself.
“It is now a full year since Joe Root scored a Test century, which is to say that he has failed so to do in 24 innings against a cross-section of Test-match attacks. In the meantime, England have been thrashed by Australia, beaten by New Zealand, and held to a home draw by Pakistan. Though he has still delivered a consistent diet of 50s, a batsman of his epochal brilliance is obliged to do more. Like Alastair Cook before him, he was appointed captain not because he has a natural feel for the game or its players, but because, even in cricket, the most important element of leadership is consistent excellence of individual performance. So if, like almost every captain before him, the demands of the job are compromising his standards – it is a long time since he’s looked as uncomfortable at the crease as lately – then he, Ed Smith as the national selector and Trevor Bayliss as the head coach must have a long, painful talk, because England are nowhere near good enough to do without their best player playing his best.”
44th over: England 70-4 (Denly 9, Stokes 0) Denly glances Santner’s first ball extremely close to short leg - what was he thinking? They run one, and immediately Santner finds the footmarks - Stokes will need a plan to combat that. He sees away five dots, and that’ll be drinks.
43rd over: England 69-4 (Denly 9, Stokes 0) Santner will be chuffed to see the left-handed Stokes at the wicket, and he plays two dots from De Grandhomme to get himself down the other end.
“Pretty damn sick about the whining re the Kookaburra ball,” says Dave Arthur. “It requires the bowler to put work on the ball by either hard spinning (not a gentle roll out of the fingers) or the ability to cut the ball at pace (à la the great Lillee).
Just putting it up there and waiting for the seam to do the work just doesn’t cut it. No one ever said bowling was meant to be easy!”
No, agree with that last point, and also that bad spinners can’t blame the ball. But you want the bowlers to be in the game and I’m pretty sure that Ian Austin and Mark Ealham would struggle in the southern hemisphere even with a Dukes.
WICKET! Root c Latham b De Grandhomme 11 (England 69-4)
Say it ain’t so Joe! Colin surprises him with a bouncer and all he can do is help it directly to gully, cross-batted. I’m afraid that was classic Root: untroubled, then out.
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43rd over: England 69-3 (Denly 9, Root 11) De Grnadhomme cedes a wide, and...
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42nd over: England 68-3 (Denly 9, Root 11) Santner gets a go at Denly and brings in a silly point for the bat-pad. Then his second ball nudges an edge, but hasn’t got the legs to reach gully, and his final one is one a really good line, tight on off; Denly does well to get close to it, then let it go by at the last second. Maiden.
41st over: England 68-3 (Denly 9, Root 11) Ah, there we go! Colin brings one in that then rinses away from the bat! Denly did well not to follow that. Then, next ball, he drives airily through the covers but evades the fielders and they run one.
“The Kookaburra is designed to suit the (generally) hard wickets of Australia,” says Ian Loiterton. “I suspect the high seam of the Duke wouldn’t last any time at all in those conditions - but I could be wrong. Either way, bowling with the Kookaburra on flat pitches has its own skill - something England struggled to find on days 3-4.”
Yes, I agree - and it was a facility not just of the ball but of the pitch, likewise what we’ve seen so far this morning.
40th over: England 67-3 (Denly 8, Root 11) Santner overpitches so Root comes forward to glide four down to long on, the only runs from the over. There’s not really been the sniff of a wicket which, in mine, isn’t great given a fifth-day track and a team renowned for collapsing right under the pump.
“I agree that some other countries should use Dukes,” says Shariq Gilani, “but a lot of Ttests in England would probably be better with Kookabooras, or another ball which doesn’t move as extravagantly.”
Yes, I can see that. I would say that we’ve seen some great series in England in recent summers, but agree the ball has been too dominant at times. I tended to blame it on the application of the batsmen.
39th over: England 63-3 (Denly 8, Root 7) Denly is standing pretty far out of his crease, taking the major cracks - which are close to the crease - out of the game. Denly sees away a fourth consecutive maiden, and this looks a lot like yesterday morning: batsmen not scoring, but comfortable in so doing, though for very different reasons.
38th over: England 63-3 (Denly 8, Root 7) Root is resolved - he looks right up for this, and he plays out yet another maiden from Santner.
37th over: England 63-3 (Denly 8, Root 7) De Grandhomme replaces Southee and galumphs through another maiden. If England aren’t lulled into a sense of false security by his lack of apparent threat, they should be good to see him away.
“I recall reading a few articles about the Duke ball over the years,” emails John Starbuck, “but has anyone investigated the manufacturers of the Kookaburra to find out what pressures are placed on them to develop such an inoffensive (to us) ball? Who gets to decide the supplier anyway?”
The home team decides, and I guess Kookabura are satisfying a demand.
36th over: England 63-3 (Denly 8, Root 7) Root is looking good against Santner, playing out another maiden. He’s looking to defend straight, score off the back foot and leave wherever possible.
35th over: England 63-3 (Denly 8, Root 7) Five dots from Southee before Root takes one to midwicket.
“Wow, cricket is only interesting when England get to use their own ball?” emails Geoff King. “There I was thinking Test matches all over were doing well at being exciting and getting results. Bur ultimately, we should play in manner that suits England best I guess.”
Er, that’s not what I said. I don’t think it’s especially parochial to say that, in my opinion, cricket is better when the ball is in the ascendancy. I also don’t think it’ s especially controversial to say that days 3 and 4 were not especially enjoyable to watch. you might think something different - my opinion doesn’t have to be your opinion - but it’s possible that we both have valid reasons for thinking as we do.
34th over: England 62-3 (Denly 8, Root 6) Santner probes, with two slips, a leg slip and short leg, and his third delivery does on with the arm ... as Denly leaves it! That was very close to his off stump, which is to say what perfect judgment from the Whitstable wonder.
33rd over: England 62-3 (Denly 8, Root 6) New Zealand will remember that twice in this match, they’ve looked to have had bad sessions with the ball, then turned them into good ones at the end. So they won’t be concerned by a fairly slow start to the day; Southee has ploughed through another largely unthreatening maiden. Root looks settled now.
“Just to echo your sentiments about the ball,” says David Seare. “Even if they didn’t have the Duke ball everywhere, they could at least put a seam on that bag of sand everyone else uses. Also, England don’t always prosper in those tricky ‘concentration needed’ situations so I’m showing terrible bias as well.”
Yes, it’s hard to be English and make that point without it sounding partisan. But I didn’t find most of the last two days dull because England took a tanning, I found them dull because they were dull.
32nd over: England 62-3 (Denly 8, Root 6) Santner gives Root just a soupçon of width and he goes back and across to stroke for four. He seems to have a plan today - back foot where possible to play the ball late and close - and looks comfortable out there. But then he usually does - his problem has been getting in and getting out. There’s one little warning - the fourth ball absolutely rags, and though it ends up at slip, it’ll now be in the batsman’s mind.
31st over: England 57-3 (Denly 8, Root 1) Southee is mainly shaping them away, which is probably how Denly prefers it. He own’t be tempted to drive anything silly, so can just keep em peeled, Shaw Taylor-style, for the in-ducker. Anyroad up, Denly takes one off his pads and then Root gets off the mark in similar fashion.
30th over: England 55-3 (Denly 7, Root 0) Perhaps the pitch is doing something after all - it’s funny how it’s death and reincarnation coincide with England batting on it. Santner, who had such a day out yesterday, has the ball, and already looks more dangerous than did Leach, firing darts in nice and full. Root, though, is watchful, playing mainly off the back foot, and sees a way another maiden.
29th over: England 55-3 (Denly 7, Root 0) Southee begins, and Denly drives his third delivery gently to cover. Otherwise, he’s able to leave well alone ... until a little extra bounce from a nip-backer sees him cut in half and tickled on the ribs. Maiden.
Oh yes! A group of England fans are singing Jerusalem, doing actions, prior to applauding themselves! I’m choking up here, and Joe Root has called for a hanky.
Right then, here we go!
“That so very English experience,” tweets Guy Hornsby. “Going to bed without any idea what the score will be when the alarm goes off. Hoping for obduracy and survival, expecting somewhere between capitulation and disappointment, with a brief glimmer of hope on the side.”
I’m a big fan of sleep with the earphone in. Especially when Mood Enhancer has been taken, there’s nothing more relaxing, until the score is disbursed.
“Like most of your readers I’ve just spent the day writing about the different phenomenological approaches of Levinas and Derrida,” confesses Peter Salmon. “Knocked off to relax with OBO and first link is to Talmudic Hermeneutics. Oy vey! Will I never be free?”
Foucault would say no.
Talking of which, is there a reason the Dukes isn’t mandatory everywhere ? You still get your local conditions, but you also get a more entertaining game.
He thinks that county matches need to be on flatter tracks – obviously problematic, given it’s shunted to early and late in the season, with the driest time given over to T20. Talking about Jofra Archer, he says that he needs time – this is his first Test overseas and his first go with the Kookaburra ball.
Jos Buttler tells Sky that England have a big job to do, but if they apply themselves they can bat time. He says that if you look to play shots you get into better positions to defend, and blames the batting for the predicament not the bowling.
In the studio, they think Wagner will be tough to face, but my money is on Boult. He didn’t bowl well in the first innings, so by law of averages it’s unlikely he won’t be better in the second, he’ll know he’s good enough to be the hero, and he’ll be attacking the stumps.
The cracks that were at one end yesterday have grown a little bit, but there’s still nothing to worry the batsmen but the situation. Teams rarely get out of this predicament because pressure tells.
If anyone’s ever needed a captain’s knock, it’s Joe Root. As we discussed yesterday, leading from the front is the best attribute any captain can have, but kal vachomer, how much more so, if they’re not great at the other stuff. A flawless 65 won’t do it here - England need tachlis, substance.
It’s been almost subcontinental, this Test: slow, slow, quick, slow slow quick and potentially very quick. Except this track, as well as offering nowt to the quicks has offered nowt to the spinners either. Today, though, will be a trip.
Preamble
Those of you who remember the 80s will be exceedingly au fait with what we are about to see, namely England getting whacked in a Test match. And you will also be familiar with the game of Othello, along with its strapline: “a minute to learn, a lifetime to master”. On Thursday and Friday, England reversed this maxim, first proving that they can actually bat properly, then ceasing to bat properly because once you’ve mastered it, what’s the point?
The thing is, England really should save this match, given batsmen whose highest level is extremely high and a ball that does almost nothing on a pitch that’s doing absolutely nothing. If they play sensibly, concentrate hard and deny themselves pleasure, they will pull it off. New Zealand do have some handy bowlers, it’s true, but that’s so of England too, and we saw what happened to them.
As we all know, sport is like, like life, yeah – and never has that been more so than it is so today. England are faced, not with a test of skill but a test of will, and as such we will see how they respond when confronted with the single, thorny question that taxes every single one of us on every day of our lives: can I be arsed?
Play: 11am local time, 10pm GMT.
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