Broad was inspired by Southee
Stuart Broad is such a student of the game. It turns out that he was inspired by studying Tim Southee this morning. “I saw from Timmy bowling this morning,” he tells Alison Mitchell. “When he rolled his fingers across a few, I saw them nip to Rooty and that was quite encouraging.
“My game plan was to try and hit the pitch as hard as I possibly can with the wobble seam. It was almost the perfect dryness of the pitch for my type of bowling – I could bowl it hard into the pitch but still bring the stumps into play.”
He smiles under his floppy hat. “It’s always nice when you get a few quality batters out bowled. My mum and step-dad are here … with the cyclone, it’s taken a lot for the fans to come and support us Baz’s mantra is just to entertain the people that come and watch us, and I think if you watched what we’ve done today, it’s been pretty enjoyable.”
And then there’s the record that he and Jimmy Anderson have just landed – the most Test wickets by two bowlers operating together. They now have 1005, four more than Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
“To go past two heroes of mine growing up – certainly we’re not in their category, the quality of those two, but to be up there with Jimmy, I feel very lucky. Very blessed to be in the same era as him. I’ve learnt so much from him in my career and I probably wouldn’t be still going if it wasn’t for him.”
Will Broad too be still going at 40? “No!”
That’s it from me. Thanks for your company, correspondence and views on whether hundreds matter any more. We’ll be back at 1am GMT to see if England can take five more wickets and secure their first win on New Zealand soil since 2008. That was so long ago, they had people in the team like Broad and Anderson.
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Stumps: the day belongs to Broad
23rd over: New Zealand 63-5 (Mitchell 13, Bracewell 25) It’s a double change as Stokes turns to Joe Root. He races through an over with four men round the bat. Bracewell survives and there’s no time for the extra over that England are suddenly trying to manufacture. So that’s stumps on another memorable day in the life of Stuart Broad. He started the day as the nighthawk and ended it as England’s knight in shining armour, clean-bowling all of New Zealand’s top three and adding a nick for good measure. His first and last overs were rubbish, but everything in between was immaculate.
22nd over: New Zealand 63-5 (Mitchell 13, Bracewell 25) On comes Jack Leach, who immediately has Bracewell missed at backward short leg. It’s poor old Crawley again, but there’s little blame attached – he was going one way and the ball went the other as Bracewell got a fine edge, with maybe a deflection off Foakes’s gloves to boot.
Broad takes his sweater!
And his figures are 10-5-21-4. Even at 36, he can still conjure up a hot spell.
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21st over: New Zealand 58-5 (Mitchell 13, Bracewell 20) Robinson goes for a boundary as Mitchell, flicking off the hip, finally makes it into double figures. There would be a second four in the over if it were not for a fine save by Ben Duckett, cutting off a hard-hit pull by Bracewell. Stokes, for once, is not being very proactive.
20th over: New Zealand 52-5 (Mitchell 8, Bracewell 19) Broad is STILL bowling. His tenth over is his worst since his first, going for six runs. Bracewell, who has been determined, plays a fluent off-drive for three.
“It surely cannot be long,” says Kim Thonger, “before Lloyd Webber and Rice reform to bring Branderson: The Musical to the West End. Or perhaps it should simply be called Unplayable!” I went to see An Evening with Tim Rice the other day. He came on with a walking stick, following a hip operation, and used it to play a cover drive.
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19th over: New Zealand 46-5 (Mitchell 6, Bracewell 15) Mitchell is OK to continue. Robinson tries some short stuff at Bracewell, who says thanks very much and pulls for four. Broad hurls himself into an attempted save, showing more selflessness than sense. You’re still 350 ahead! You can afford it!
Meanwhile, in Delhi, Virat Kohl’s vigil is over. More here from Jim Wallace.
Mitchell, facing Robinson, has pulled up lame while taking a run – just as Robinson himself did earlier. He lies on the ground and gets some treatment from the physio.
18th over: New Zealand 39-5 (Mitchell 5, Bracewell 9) Broad continues! And finds Ben Foakes standing up to the stumps, to stop Daryl Mitchell narrowing the angle – he’s been a yard outside his crease. Three short legs are waiting for a catch, as well as four in the cordon, but Mitchell survives. He’s probably done enough to take the game into a fourth day.
“I think I’ve got the answer?” says Gareth Pearson. “Looks like it’s the second highest score in Test history with no batter reaching 60.” Yes, behind West Indies’ 386 against Australia at Port of Spain in 1965. Great stuff, thanks Gareth.
17th over: New Zealand 39-5 (Mitchell 5, Bracewell 9) Bracewell, getting across to off stump, plays a sweet on-drive off Robinson. That is the shot of the innings so far.
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16th over: New Zealand 35-5 (Mitchell 5, Bracewell 5) Another maiden from Broad but even he may feel he could use a rest, with Anderson still fresh and surely sniffing a wicket.
“There isn’t a scorecard available on your site,” says Jeremy Boyce. (I believe it’s back now.) “So can you tell me what Broad’s figures are, they must be pretty special, even by his extraordinary standards.” They are: 8-4-15-4. In his Test career, he has 571 wickets in 160 matches at an average of 27.68.
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15th over: New Zealand 35-5 (Mitchell 5, Bracewell 5) For the first time since his fourth ball of the innings, Broad gets something wrong – failing to see that a throw needs backing up. Bracewell is the beneficiary, collecting five for a push into the covers.
Now all I’m seeing is Stuart Broad taking wickets. https://t.co/iVeK1aBjUG
— Lawrence Booth (@BoothCricket) February 18, 2023
14th over: New Zealand 28-5 (Mitchell 3, Bracewell 0) That’s a wicket maiden. Stuart Broad, famous for once taking eight for 15, now has four for 15.
WICKET! Blundell b Broad 1 (NZ 28-5)
Another one bites the bail! Just when Broad was looking weary, he produces another nip-backer and removes the only centurion in the match.
13th over: New Zealand 28-4 (Mitchell 3, Blundell 1) Robinson continues and, like a magician, cuts Blundell in half. Blundell responds like a true pro, dabbing on the off side and dashing up the other end.
“How rare is a score above 350 with no batter reaching 60?” asks Will Godman on Twitter. Very! This was England’s third-highest total ever without a hundred. But I can’t see a way of checking how rare, even on the great StatsGuru. Hoping the hive mind can help.
Drinks! England having a ball
12th over: New Zealand 27-4 (Mitchell 3, Blundell 0) Stokes can smell victory now. He gives Broad a sixth over and an aggressive field – three slips, a gully and two short legs – though the old boy is tiring a bit, slipping below 130kph. Mitchell, who has proven his temperament, stands firm. And that’s drinks, with England in total control.
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11th over: New Zealand 27-4 (Mitchell 3, Blundell 0) Poor old Tom Blundell. He rescues his side once, only to find he has to do it again. NZ need another 367 to win.
WICKET! Nicholls c Foakes b Robinson 7 (NZ 27-4)
Anything Broad can do, Ollie Robinson can do just as well. He finds just enough movement to take the edge as Nicholls, stuck on the crease, can’t decide whether to leave the ball or not.
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10th over: New Zealand 22-3 (Nicholls 5, Mitchell 0) Broad goes through a whole over without taking another wicket, though he does beat Nicholls outside off. He is the first England bowler to get the top three, all bowled since Fred Trueman against West Indies in Kingston, way back in 1960. I don’t know what’s going off out there.
9th over: New Zealand 22-3 (Nicholls 5, Mitchell 0) Henry Nicholls, facing Robinson, pushes for two and tucks for a single. NZ will be fine as long as he and Daryl Mitchell put on about 250.
8th over: New Zealand 19-3 (Nicholls 2, Mitchell 0) There are still 75 minutes to go tonight. England can’t wrap it up in three days, can they?
It was full, it was seaming in, it was the mirror image of the ball that had got the nick. Great bowling.
WICKET!! Latham b Broad 15 (NZ 19-3)
And another! Broad has Latham dropped at second slip by Crawley, so he goes back to doing it all himself.
7th over: New Zealand 17-2 (Latham 13, Nicholls 2) Stokes, not one to rest on all those feathers, takes Anderson off and brings on Robinson. His knee seems to be OK.
6th over: New Zealand 14-2 (Latham 9, Nicholls 0) So the old firm of Broad & Anderson has 1003 wickets, Kane Williamson finishes the match with six runs for twice out, and there’s yet another feather in the cap of Ben Stokes, who kept faith with Broad when he hadn’t bowled well in the first innings.
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WICKET! Williamson b Broad 0 (NZ 14-2)
One brings two! And this is the big one, the man most likely to make 180, defeated by the nip-backer, which takes out his off bail. Broad making the pink ball sing!
5th over: New Zealand 14-1 (Latham 9, Williamson 0) How is Jimmy going to celebrate that milestone? With a maiden, of course.
WICKET! Conway b Broad 2 (NZ 14-1)
Write him off at your peril! Broad goes full, bursts through the gate and brings up a new world record. He and Jimmy Anderson are now the most prolific pair of Test bowlers operating together – 1002 wickets, one more than Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
3rd over: New Zealand 11-0 (Latham 9, Conway 2) Anderson is more accurate than Broad, but no more threatening. The lights are on now and batting should be tricky. Robinson is on the field: if his knee is up to it, he’ll be bowling very soon.
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2nd over: New Zealand 9-0 (Latham 8, Conway 1) Stokes again gives the new ball to Stuart Broad, which may be a sign that Ollie Robinson’s knee is not in good shape. Broad was so rusty in the first innings that you wondered why on earth England hadn’t picked Olly Stone. The rust is still there now as the second, third and fourth balls of the over are all freebies on the legs, gratefully accepted by these two left-handers.
Meanwhile in Delhi, a left-hander who had a lot of trouble with Broad, David Warner, has broken his elbow, and the second Test between Australia and India has come down to a duel between Virat Kohli and Nathan Lyon. More here from Jonathan Howcroft.
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1st over: New Zealand 1-0 (Latham 1, Conway 0) Jimmy Anderson has the shiny pink thing in his hand and he makes it talk right away, getting his inswinger to the left-hander to jag like a leg-break to the right-hander. It may have hit a crack. Zak Crawley, at slip, turns into a very tall emoji, expressing astonishment.
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“Well, personally, I liked that,” says Martin Wright. “England were wobbling at 237-6, so crashbangwallop was succeeded by steady accumulation, to set a suitably intimidating target. Bazball with added intelligence. Nice.” Agreed, although there’s nothing unintelligent about the policy – just occasionally the execution of it.
“Dinner? Dinner?!” splutters Adrian Clossick. “It’s Tea. I’m all for the brave new world of Bazball and tearing up the rule book, but you’ve taken it too far this time!” Ha. Tea is 20 minutes, dinner is 40. Maybe we can meet in the middle and say high tea.
Apparently that was England’s third-highest total in Tests without a ton. Take that, Sir Geoffrey. It’s a highly unusual scorecard, with eight players reaching 25 and not one of them making it to 60. The top scorer was Harry Brook, yet again: what a start he has had to his Test career. If he’s not careful, he’ll end up opening in the Ashes, to make room for Jonny Bairstow at No 5.
WICKET! Leach st Blundell b Bracewell 12 (England 374 all out)
Leach is beaten in the flight, Bracewell has a hard-earned three-for, and England are done. All NZ need to do to win the match is make 394. Piece of cake!
72nd over: England 369-9 (Leach 11, Anderson 2) Leach has finally got his act together. Facing Kuggeleijn, he clips for two, then upper-cuts for four.
“I know I am an old fart,” says Anthony Barnett, “but I can’t help looking at the England scorecard and thinking, worryingly in the spirit of Boycott, that you can’t win a Test match if someone doesn’t turn one of these good starts into a big 100. Tell me it ain’t so.” It definitely ain’t so. Sometimes you can win a Test with a few well-timed 20s and 30s. It’s about the team total, not the individual. Can someone tell Boycott?
72nd over: England 363-9 (Leach 5, Anderson 2) Leach rises to the challenge! Facing Bracewell’s first ball, he more than doubles his score with a whip to midwicket for three. Anderson chips in with a cut for two before Bracewell restores order.
71st over: England 358-9 (Leach 2, Anderson 0) Kuggeleijn bangs it in at Anderson, who has no trouble taking evasive action. The onus is now on Jack Leach – after making 2 off 31 balls, can he roar into second gear?
Wicket! Robinson c Nicholls b Kuggeleijn 39 (England 358-9)
Robinson goes over to the off side, Kuggeleijn follows him, there’s a nick or a glove and that’s a simple catch at slip. And what’s this? Jimmy Anderson is coming in. Stokes hasn’t declared!
70th over: England 354-8 (Robinson 35, Leach 2) Some intent straightaway from Ollie Robinson, who plays the finest of paddles for four. The sun is out, the shadows are long, the vibe is relaxed.
The players are out there and Bracewell is about to resume his marathon spell.
Dinner! England lead by 368
69th over: England 349-8 (Robinson 30, Leach 2) Wagner digs it in, as ever. Robinson knows it’s coming and is waiting with the pull – the first boundary for nine overs. And that’s dinner, with England back on top but crossing their fingers about the state of Robinson’s knee, and New Zealand regaining their self-respect through a long, exacting spell of off-spin from Michael Bracewell.
“Scorecard link for Kim Thonger,” says Rob Cookson. “https://www.theguardian.com/sport/cricket/match/2023-02-17/england-cricket-team. You’re welcome!”
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68th over: England 344-8 (Robinson 25, Leach 2) In a cunning variation, Bracewell concedes a leg-bye rather than a run. The last ten overs have brought just 25 runs. Can the crowd ask for their money back?
67th over: England 343-8 (Robinson 25, Leach 2) Change of bowling: it’s Neil Wagner, the second person to make a century in this match. He’s been nursing some wounded pride and a spectacular set of figures – 11-0-104-2. And now he goes for … just the one! He almost has some joy as a fend from Leach goes close to a tumbling figure at silly point – Southee, who has posted himself there, presumably to show his team that he’s game for anything.
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66th over: England 342-8 (Robinson 24, Leach 2) Back to form in Bracewell’s over, except that Robinson’s customary single is a top edge that only just evades the fielder at mid-on.
65th over: England 341-8 (Robinson 23, Leach 2) Jack Leach gets a run! After firing blanks for 13 balls, he clips Tickner to square leg for two. The partnership rockets to six off four overs.
Here’s Rob Lewis, our man in Istanbul. “The seagulls swoop over the Bosphorus ferry as I write,” he says, “diving for the simit bread which the Turks like to lob at them. Perhaps a crumb of comfort for the Kiwis as the wickets clatter?”
64th over: England 338-8 (Robinson 22, Leach 0) Same again, off Bracewell. Normal cricket has resumed. Soon, NZ will be batting through 200 overs for a gutsy draw.
63rd over: England 337-8 (Robinson 21, Leach 0) Another over, another single to Robinson. The bowler is Tickner, who has now added a three-for to his three-run haul.
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62nd over: England 336-8 (Robinson 20, Leach 0) Jack Leach tries to impose himself on Bracewell and the game with a reverse sweep, but gets a bottom edge and no run.
Here’s Kim Thonger. “I am awakened from slumber today,” he announces, “not by a dream but by venison based indigestion.” TMI!
“A quick slug of Gaviscon (or as we call it in these parts, Gavaskar) sorts that out and enables me to focus on Taha’s description of another positive performance by England’s batsmen. But will this run fest continue when we engage with the Aussie bowling lineup? Or will grim reality intrude? Discuss. PS where’s the scorecard gone?” Good question. The scorecard is an automated thing, and I’m not sure who to call at this hour…
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61st over: England 335-8 (Robinson 19, Leach 0) Foakes’s 51 came off 80 balls with five fours. He’s still the designated driver.
WICKET! Foakes c Blundell b Tickner 51 (England 335-8)
… but it goes to his head! Well, not really – he gets a nick on a ball from Blair Tickner that is on the spot and doing just enough.
Fifty to Foakes!
Robinson is OK to bat on. Foakes, unruffled as ever, takes two to reach fifty…
There’s a hold-up while Ollie Robinson gets some treatment. It looks as if he’s done something to his knee while trotting back for a second run. And the runs weren’t even his.
“Spilling your coffee so soon, Tim?” chuckles Brian Withington. “Good to see you taking on another early morning shift after yesterday’s completely unwarranted snark. Keep up the fine work and meanwhile who needs caffeine, anyway?” I do! And thanks, but can I defend the right to snark? We get so many genial emails, we can’t complain if there’s the odd ticking-off.
59th over: England 331-7 (Foakes 47, Robinson 19) More murmurs of appreciation on the microphone as Robinson plays a reverse sweep. Shot by shot, he is shaking off the memory of that unedifying retreat to leg at the end of the Ashes. The lead reaches 350. Should be more than enough but you never know, especially as the pitch has only two and a half days’ wear.
“Regarding the coffee spill,” says Alisdair Gould, “it is a fitting way for you to approach the crease. Like England, you are wiping the floor with them! Boom Boom.”
58th over: England 323-7 (Foakes 44, Robinson 14) Foakes, facing Southee, gets the commentators purring with a back-foot flick down the ground for two.
57th over: England 319-7 (Foakes 40, Robinson 13) Another one-run over, from Bracewell. I dunno, England just haven’t been the same since Stokes went past McCullum’s all-time record for Test sixes.
57th over: England 318-7 (Foakes 40, Robinson 13) Southee’s over goes for just one. What does he think this is, 2019?
56th over: England 317-7 (Foakes 39, Robinson 13) Michael Bracewell keeps Ollie Robinson honest with five dots – but still gets whipped for four. England lead by 336.
55th over: England 313-7 (Foakes 39, Robinson 9) Tim Southee brings himself back and gets the lid on the saucepan, going for only two singles. But the chase his team face will be a record one for Tests in New Zealand.
54th over: England 311-7 (Foakes 38, Robinson 8) And on we rock.
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Thanks Taha and hello everyone. I join you with all the cool calm composure of a man who has just sent his flask of coffee flying across a pale grey carpet. Ah well, never liked that carpet much anyway.
Foakes clips beautifully for four more – it’s now very much up to him to finish the job. There’s a little break in play before the over finishes up – time for drinks and enough from me as Tim de Lisle steps up.
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WICKET! Stokes st Blundell b Bracewell 31 (England 293-7)
Stokes slaps Bracewell down the ground for four but the off-spinner outfoxes him with the final ball of the over: it’s tossed up, Stokes comes down the ground, doesn’t get any of it, and Blundell does the rest.
52nd over: England 293-7 (Foakes 28, Robinson 0)
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51st over: England 287-6 (Stokes 26, Foakes 27) Foakes keeps his pull shot low to bring about a boundary off Kuggeleijn. He’s not scoring at a bad rate at all is Foakes, but we’ve been spoiled so much today that this partnership of 50, off 58 balls, feels awfully slow. There’s still loads of time in this:
We're about halfway through the Test @tahahash.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) February 18, 2023
Life comes at us quite quick these days doesn't it?
50th over: England 278-6 (Foakes 22, Stokes 23) Lovely shot from Foakes, who gets to the pitch of the ball to chip Bracewell into the leg side for four. An lbw shout off Stokes closes the over, but New Zealand decide against the review.
Stokes becomes the leading six-hitter in Test cricket
Kuggeleijn goes around the wicket to bump Foakes, who swivels to pull and nab a single. Stokes then helps a short delivery over the fine-leg boundary to become the leading six-hitter in the history of Test cricket! And then it looks as if he’s out, as he finds Wagner on the boundary, but the fielder is stood on the fine-leg rope – he couldn’t let it go before he went over! And so that’s another six! Stokes has beaten his pal McCullum by the way, surpassing his coach’s tally of 107 Test sixes.
49th over: England 273-6 (Foakes 17, Stokes 23)
48th over: England 260-6 (Foakes 16, Stokes 11) Stokes punches Bracewell down the ground for a single before Foakes clips for one himself. The England captain then gets on one leg but doesn’t make contact on the slog sweep – the first signs of Stokes going after the spinner.
47th over: England 258-6 (Stokes 10, Foakes 15) Kuggeleijn fires down a leg-side full toss, but Foakes can’t get any bat on it to take advantage. He then repeats the same delivery, with the ball deflecting off Foakes’ foot to run away for four.
46th over: England 252-6 (Stokes 9, Foakes 11) And it’s quiet again as Bracewell runs through another over without any damage.
45th over: England 250-6 (Foakes 10, Stokes 8) It’s been a quiet start to the session, but Stokes finally gets off the mark off his 13th delivery, pulling Kuggeleijn for four before carving the bowler through point for another boundary with the next ball.
44th over: England 241-6 (Foakes 9, Stokes 0) Bracewell continues to trundle in and Stokes is showing him quite a bit of respect, blocking one ball after the next.
43rd over: England 238-6 (Foakes 6, Stokes 0) Kuggeleijn, targeting Foakes’ pads, concedes a single off his penultimate ball.
42nd over: England 237-6 (Foakes 5, Stokes 0) Bracewell continues, tossing it up to tempt Stokes – but the England captain, perhaps surprisingly, resists the big shot.
We’re back on, with Stokes and Foakes out in the middle.
Tea: England 237-6, lead by 256
That was plenty of fun, with Pope, Brook and Root all playing enterprising innings as Neil Wagner’s short ball went around the park. But New Zealand have managed to keep the wickets coming, and despite all that carnage they’re still very much in this game.
WICKET! Root c Mitchell b Bracewell 57 (England 237-6)
Aaaaaaaand I’ve got him out. Root tries to revere sweep Bracewell, top-edges it, the ball flicks Blundell’s glove before Mitchell holds on at slip. And that’s the end of the session.
41st over: England 237-5 (Root 57, Foakes 5) Root and Foakes exchange singles before the former flicks one off the pads for two. He’s ticking along is Root, keeping things simple, not doing anything too risky while going at close to a run a ball.
40th over: England 232-5 (Root 53, Foakes 4) Foakes chips over the leg side for a couple as Bracewell darts in his offies.
39th over: England 230-5 (Foakes 2, Root 53) Tickner’s got his tail up, bowling a very decent spell here that has the ball flying in at 140kph+. Just a couple off it.
38th over: England 228-5 (Root 52, Foakes 1) A quiet one from Bracewell.
Brian Withington writes: “Am I alone in almost admiring Wagner’s steadfast refusal to vary his tactics one iota in the face of the murderous collective onslaught from Pope, Root and now Brook? Crazy, wrong-headed, ludicrously magnificent?!”
I remember Wagner showing off a lovely knuckle ball when England toured here in 2019 – would’ve loved to have seen him bring that back out against Brook.
37th over: England 225-5 (Root 50, Foakes 0) Odd. It’s not Stokes but Foakes who walks out to bat. Tickner says hello with a bouncer.
WICKET! Brook c Mitchell b Tickner 54 (England 225-5)
Brook goes! He just pokes at a sharp delivery outside off from Tickner, the edge flying to Mitchell at second slip. Much needed for New Zealand. The end of fireworks from Brook.
Fifties for Joe Root and Harry Brook!
A change of pace as the off-spinner Michael Bracewell gets a go. Brook tries to hit him back to England off the first ball – but he’s nowhere near the pitch, hacking away with the bottom of the bat. But that tells you what to expect. Root manages to reverse-sweep for three, bringing up his half-century off 52 balls. Brook punches down the ground to raise his bat, too, his second half-century of the match coming off just 37 balls.
36th over: England 221-4 (Brook 50, Root 50)
35th over: England 214-4 (Brook 46, Root 47) New Zealand review after Root is struck on the pad by Tickner, but the ball’s projected to go down the leg side.
34th over: England 212-4 (Root 46, Brook 45) Wagner is still going. And he strikes Brook on the stomach, the batter failing to make contact on the pull. Brook can’t be in that much pain, though, because he then backs away to smash Wagner through mid-off for four. And then Brook pulls away, with the ball spending an age in the air but evading the running Conway at deep backward square. And then a third four in three balls, with Brook backing away again for another cross-bat smash. And then another smash, this time for six. Smash. smash. smash. That’s what’s happening here, and it’s just ridiculous batting. Mind you, not sure about a short-ball ploy that refuses to include the odd fuller ball.
33rd over: England 194-4 (Brook 27, Root 46) Blair Tickner gets his first go of the day, and Root is onto him quickly: it’s short, wide and the former England captain cuts hard for four. Root then gets away with one as Tickner goes full and an inside edge runs away for four more.
As a measure of what's going off in Mount Maunganui, Neil Wagner's 10-0-86-2 would have earned a place on this list of most expensive ODI figures #NZvEng #bazball https://t.co/QpY3EE8YAZ
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) February 18, 2023
32nd over: England 186-4 (Root 38, Brook 27) Wagner’s dig continues, but this time round things are quiet: just three off it.
31st over: England 183-4 (Root 35, Brook 27) Kuggeleijn concedes a boundary off his first ball of the over, and Brook then shapes up for a sublime cover drive to add four more. Oh boy does Brook look good.
30th over: England 172-4 (Root 30, Brook 21) Wagner is up after the drinks break and Brook is onto the pull shot, finding four behind square on the leg side. A couple of deliveries later, Brook backs away to the leg side and cross-bats the ball over long-on for six. As you do. A staggering shot. And then another pull shot, just evading the man diving at short fine leg. Off the final ball of the over, Brook backs away again and swats through the leg side for four. An eventful first over after drinks.
29th over: England 156-4 (Brook 6, Root 29) Things have calmed down in the last few overs since Pope departed, with Brook and Root knocking the singles about.
“Morning from a sunny Jakarta,” writes Joel Eley. “About to get dragged to the traditional market kicking and screaming by the wife. At least there is a great coffee shop where I can hopefully follow a cracking century for Root. He is due soon.”
28th over: England 151-4 (Root 27, Brook 3) Brook pulls one off Wagner and just about manages to get away with it, the ball flying over the fingertips of the leaping man at square leg.
27th over: England 145-4 (Brook 0, Root 25) Brook is in and Kuggeleijn finds the outside edge, but the ball drops just short off Nicholls at gully.
“Morning Taha!” Good morning to you, too, James Walsh.
“Just back from seeing my girlfriend do a sellout show at the Vault Festival in London; adrenaline = she’ll be awake for a while so I am in insomniac cricket mode.
“Has Joe Root quite adjusted to this brave new world? For the life of me I’d love to see him just play his natural game and get a hundred here.”
Hope the show went well! As for Joe’s own performance, he has been quiet of late but I don’t mind him getting all funky with those reverse scoops etc. He’s just so good that he’ll still score big runs playing that way, too – it’s just a matter of time before the score comes.
WICKET! Pope c Blundell b Wagner 49 (England 144-4)
So Wagner’s not been discarded – he’s just changed ends. New Zealand aren’t giving up on the short-ball ploy, just switching up the angles to see if anything changes. Pope pulls away for single off the first ball of the over, and Root then copies him. Pope then makes room for an off-side smash, and nails it for four. And then another one: Wagner is short once again, and Pope crossbats the ball over mid-on for four more. And then… out! Can you believe it! It’s another short ball of course, and Pope, on 49, gloves it behind, with Blundell holding one down low.
26th over: England 144-4 (Root 24, Brook 0)
25th over: England 134-3 (Pope 40, Root 23) Kuggeleijn has the ball for his first over of the day, getting some lift to beat Pope’s outside edge with his second ball of the over. A single brings up the fifty partnership, off just 38 balls.
24th over: England 130-3 (Pope 38, Root 21) Southee goes full, Pope shimmies down and whips through the leg-side for one. Root also makes use of his crease, advancing forward only to block one out.
“Morning Taha.” Morning, Brian Withington!
"Hope you are being warmed vicariously by the cricket in the NZ sunshine (if not your two blankets)? A further question - England to declare half an hour into third session, if not already dismissed?”
I’ve got a feeling they’ll have blazed their way to quite a few by then without any survivors.
23rd over: England 128-3 (Pope 37, Root 20) Now it’s Joe’s turn! Wagner goes short and Root gets inside the line of the ball to hook away for six over fine leg. And Pope wants more of the same! Wagner goes around the wicket and gets some serious lift, but Pope swats away and the ball flies for another six over the fine-leg region. Wagner’s going for it, England are taking it on and winning the battle.
22nd over: England 112-3 (Root 12, Pope 29) Root plays his most convincing stroke so far, advancing down the pitch to clip Southee through midwicket for four. Delightful timing.
21st over: England 107-3 ( Root 7, Pope 29) Pope sees the short ball coming and gets into shape quickly to pull Wagner for six! And then he makes room for an off-side slash to the short ball, picking up a single at third man. Pope then lands one for six again (!), getting into the perfect position for another leg-side swat over fine leg.
20th over: England 91-3 (Pope 15, Root 5) Root gets lucky, finding four with an inside edge off Southee. You can see a smidgen of outswing from the New Zealand captain, and he uses it to trick Root with the closing delivery of the over, moving one back in to beat Root’s unconvincing prod.
19th over: England 83-3 (Root 1, Pope 15) Joe Root gets a welcome of bumpers from Wagner and finds the middle with the final ball of the over, pulling to get off the mark with a single.
Heather Greenstreet writes in to assure me that I’ve got some company over the next few hours: “Just to let you know that people in the UK are staying awake and following your commentary.”
WICKET! Broad c Nicholls b Wagner 7 (England 82-3)
Wagner strikes! Broad adds just one to his overnight total, unable to keep out a bouncer that was always coming for him, the ball lobbing up off the bat for a simple catch at gully.
18th over: England 82-2 (Broad 7, Pope 15) Southee takes the ball from the other end and opts for a fuller length than Wagner. After having a bit of a look at Southee’s lines and lengths, Pope shimmies down the pitch to a ball outside off but can’t get it off the middle.
17th over: England 82-2 (Pope 15, Broad 7) Neil Wagner begins with a back-of-the-length delivery… and he oversteps. It’s shortish again with the first legitimate delivery of the day, and Broad is well behind it. He then pokes to third man for a single, the first run off the bat today. Wagner persists with his own brand of short-ball havoc, but Pope survives.
Andrew Benton has high hopes:
@tahahash A Hawk a Broad - he'll blast off a swift 50 at least, you'd hope.
— Andrew Benton (@thangnangman) February 18, 2023
Neil Wagner will have a go first up.
Stuart Broad strolls out with his weapon of choice, Ollie Pope keeping him company. Oh man, it really does look a beautiful day in Mount Maunganui – blue skies, sunshine, the whole lot. And I’m typing this while wrapped up in two blankets. Sigh.
Anyway, let’s get going!
In case you missed what happened yesterday:
Preamble
Right then, who’s joining me and Matt Smith for the night? It’s a late one in England, but one worth staying up for because we’ve got a proper Test match on the cards. England are 79-2 in their second innings, leading by 98, and they’re not going to build on that quietly. First up, some more Hawkish nonsense from Stuart Broad.
Join you in a bit – if you’re going to keep me company email in/feel free to slide into my DMs.
