Stumps: New Zealand 42-0 (need a further 340 runs to win)
The umpires have surrendered to darkness. We all do eventually. Play has been abandoned for the day with 24 overs lost, though eight of those can theoretically be made up tomorrow. The final day’s play will not start early because of concerns about the dew, so it’s likely those will be lost to bad light tomorrow evening. It doesn’t look great for England, who are facing a series defeat and a record 13th overseas Test without victory.
Thanks for your company today. Please do join Tom Davies for the first session of the final day, which begins at 10.30am local time and 11.30pm in England. Goodnight!
The umpires speak...
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) April 2, 2018
"This is unfortunate, the game is nicely poised. If we don't get back, we'll have 98 overs tomorrow, starting half-an-hour earlier [23:00 BST]." Umpire Marais Erasmus
📻 @5liveSport extra
👉 https://t.co/SVtds8nZXT#bbccricket #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/Zg7qZR6s2u
The umpires are going to inspect in five minutes’ time.
Play can go on until 7pm, which is 8am English time. But there are no signs yet of the light improving.
Fantasy County Cricket
Now, the folks who congregate below the line on our county blog have organised a Fantasy League for the upcoming season. If you’re interested in joining, click here. The code you need is RZIFESUJ.
Gone off for bad light at Hagley Oval but still playing in park opposite... pic.twitter.com/x46s32wgEp
— Chris Stocks (@StocksC_cricket) April 2, 2018
If there is no more play today, we will have lost 24 overs.
Well played Tom Latham and Jeet Raval. They had to work so hard, Raval in particular, to survive an interrogation from James Anderson and Stuart Broad. As a result of their efforts, New Zealand are tantalisingly close to a first series win over England since 1999.
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Bad light stops play
The umpires are looking at the light meter again. And they’re off! Ach. I fear that will be it for the day.
23rd over: New Zealand 42-0 (Latham 25, Raval 17) Latham shapes to sweep Leach, realises it’s a bit too wide and aborts the shot. One from the over.
22nd over: New Zealand 41-0 (Latham 25, Raval 16) Joe Root, rather than Dawid Malan, will come on at the other end. This is far from ideal from England but it beats going off for bad light, especially as New Zealand are focussed almost entirely on survival. Root starts with a maiden to Latham.
21st over: New Zealand 41-0 (Latham 25, Raval 16) The umpires have told Joe Root that play will only continue if he bowls spin, so Jack Leach is coming back into the attack. A brilliant leg-side take from Bairstow leads to an appeal against Raval, but the ball flicked only the pad. A decent start from Leach, a maiden.
20th over: New Zealand 41-0 (Latham 25, Raval 16) Anderson and Broad couldn’t have done much more in this innings; they have bowled beautifully and have combined figures of 17-8-25-0. Latham and Raval have been almost strokeless since tea, mainly because of the accuracy of the bowling. There is also a sense that they are playing for bad light. I don’t think it will be long before ethe umpires take the players off the field.
19th over: New Zealand 39-0 (Latham 24, Raval 15) Another LBW shout is turned down, this time Anderson against Latham. I think it was sliding down from around the wicket, and there was a doubt over height as well. The umpire Bruce Oxenford is having an excellent day.
“Is there something similar about the young Laths?” says Adam Hirst. “I think it is in the smile.”
Ach, Mark Lathwell. I want to go back to 1993, when he was the second coming of David Gower, and watch his first Test innings without knowing how the story ends.
18th over: New Zealand 38-0 (Latham 23, Raval 15) The umpires are looking at the light meter, which is ominous for England - not just for today, but tomorrow as well. Play will continue for now, but I would suggest that odds of 2/1 on the draw are extremely generous. (When the fun stops, stop.)
17th over: New Zealand 38-0 (Latham 23, Raval 15) Latham is dropped by Vince! He had another loose drive at Anderson and edged the ball low towards third slip. Vince dived acrobatically to his left but couldn’t hang on. It was a pretty tough chance. Another maiden from Anderson. New Zealand have scored four runs in five overs since tea, a reflection of some immaculate bowling.
16th over: New Zealand 38-0 (Latham 23, Raval 15) Raval survives another big shout for LBW from Broad. There’s no review from England. “I think it’s got to have pitched outside leg,” says Broad, though that didn’t stop him appealabrating when it first happened. This is extremely good bowling from Anderson and Broad, who are almost demanding a wicket with their intensity and accuracy.
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15th over: New Zealand 38-0 (Latham 23, Raval 15) Anderson moves around the wicket and beats Latham with a tempting wider delivery. Latham went for the drive but the ball popped away off the seam. A maiden.
14th over: New Zealand 38-0 (Latham 23, Raval 15) Broad is running in with extreme prejudice. He and Anderson have been excellent and deserve the wicket of Raval between them. Latham has looked pretty comfortable.
13rd over: New Zealand 35-0 (Latham 22, Raval 13) Anderson returns after tea, and picks up where he left off by beating Raval’s outside edge. Raval is racking up false strokes like Richie Tenenbaum did unforced errors on that fateful day.
“Morning world,” says Guy Hornsby, his body clock set to ‘new parent’. “382 feels eminently defendable, especially given how well Stummy Broaderson bowled first up, but is anyone else feeling the mild creep of existential dread yet? It’s a really long way to go, and England shouldn’t panic, but if we don’t get a wicket or two before close then I think I’ll get the smelling salts for tomorrow night.”
It’s not impossible because this is still a decent pitch, but there’s a reason why only six teams have ever chased 382 to win a Test match. I’d give New Zealand maybe a three or four per cent chance.
Listen to me. Who do I think I am, a human WASP?
Tea
12nd over: New Zealand 34-0 (Latham 21, Raval 13) That’s a cracking pull stroke from Raval off Wood, slammed behind square for four. After a torrid start, he is starting to look good. The same can’t yet be said of Wood. Since his recall last summer, he has taken one wicket for 279 runs. We need to be patient with him. And England will need to be patient if they are to win this game, because New Zealand go to tea having avoided any early damage. See you in 15 minutes for the evening session.
11st over: New Zealand 30-0 (Latham 21, Raval 9) It’s a double bowling change, with Jack Leach replacing James Anderson. In other words, it’s 1-0 to New Zealand in more ways than one. There hasn’t been much in the pitch for the spinners, who have combined match figures of nought for 141, but Leach gets one to turn sharply onto the pad of Latham. The ball loops up to short leg, prompting a big appeal for a bat-pad catch. Bruce Oxenford says no and replays show it missed the inside edge.
10th over: New Zealand 27-0 (Latham 21, Raval 6) Mark Wood replaces Stuart Broad with 10 minutes to go before tea. His first over is loose and Latham drives sweetly for consecutive boundaries. This is becoming a really good start for New Zealand.
In other news, this is a lovely gesture towards one of the great cricket writers of our lifetime.
NZC would like to congratulate @scyldberry on covering his 450th Test match. He first covered a match involving New Zealand in 1973. Prior to play Kane Williamson presented Scyld with a Pounamu pendant in recognition of his remarkable milestone. #NZvENG 📷 = @PhotosportNZ pic.twitter.com/xFFG3tpOYj
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 1, 2018
9th over: New Zealand 18-0 (Latham 13, Raval 5) Latham plays out a maiden from Anderson. While Raval has struggled, he has played really well against some high-class new-ball bowling. It would be such a bonus for New Zealand to get through Branderson’s first spell without losing a wicket.
“I just wouldn’t have Bairstow as a keeper,” says Adam Hirst. “We’ve got Butler and Foakes who could both do different types of jobs that could be good for the team while Bairstow clearly would strengthen the top order as a pure batsman. I have no idea why England seem to be letting Root and Bairstow decide what they want to do. It isn’t about where they want to play, it is about where the team uses its resources in the best way possible. With no good top-order batsmen, it badly requires Bairstow in there to stiffen things up. We’ve only got two good Test batsmen at the moment, we’re wasting one with the captaincy and one with the gloves.”
I suppose the counter-argument is that it’s not much good for the team if they are unhappy and/or unsettled in an enforced role. I would certainly have a conversation, though. I’m not sure Bairstow realises how good he could be as a specialist batsman.
8th over: New Zealand 18-0 (Latham 13, Raval 5) Broad is trying to follow through straight, so much so that Marais Erasmus has had a word about him doing so on the danger area. He slips one onto the pads of Raval, who puts it away through square leg for four. Good shot.
“Forgive my ignorance here,” says David, “but where did Alec Stewart bat in the order when he was wearing the gloves? Why does Bairstow have to be relegated so low?”
Everywhere from No2 to No7, though he was much more effective when he played purely as a batsman. Stewart was a natural top-order player though, unlike Bairstow. It’s easier for a top-order batsman to come in down the order than the other way round.
7th over: New Zealand 13-0 (Latham 12, Raval 1) Raval survives a big caught-behind appeal after being turned round by a stunning delivery from Anderson. There was a noise but it was ball on pad. Splendid umpiring from Bruce Oxenford. Raval, who was beaten three times in that Anderson over, will do well to survive this spell.
6th over: New Zealand 13-0 (Latham 12, Raval 1) Latham survives a pretty big shout for LBW from Broad. It pitched outside leg stump and might have been too high. Raval then pads up to a ball that jags back off the seam and thumps into the ribs. That looked thoroughly painful, and there’s a short break in play while he receives treatment. He’s a skinny lad and there was an unpleasant sound as the ball slammed into his body.
“There are benefits in life to just carrying a little round the midriff,” says the commentator Ian Smith, prompting a deadpan response from Mike Atherton: “That half a cow you ate last night would have helped...”
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5th over: New Zealand 9-0 (Latham 9, Raval 0) Raval edges Anderson just short of Vince at third slip. He hasn’t had much of a series, with eight runs in two innings before this, and he is beaten again later in the over by a lovely delivery. Good stuff from England, though they need early wickets.
4th over: New Zealand 9-0 (Latham 9, Raval 0) Broad has four slips and a deepish short leg. Latham, who has started confidently, drives through mid-off for two. Broad’s length is good - or rather full, which is good. Oh look it’s 3.36am here; you know what I mean. Broad looks sharp, and it can only be a matter of minutes before somebody observes that his knees are pumping as he runs in.
3rd over: New Zealand 7-0 (Latham 7, Raval 0) Anderson’s second over passes without incident. Thus far he’s only had one delivery at Raval, who he tormented in the first innings.
“Re Bairstow,” says Ian Forth. “A No7 left with the tail gets many advantages as well. The bowlers are less fresh; he can play with a determinedly positive mindset, having been given license to do so; runs are a bit more of a bonus, because he’s got another job; and most significant, the fields get pushed back and he can scamper twos and threes as he would in one-day mode. In short a lot of the pressure of batting No4 or 5 is off.”
Yes, point taken, though I still think the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages.
2nd over: New Zealand 4-0 (Latham 4, Raval 0) A brilliant start from Broad, who slips consecutive, full-length deliveries past Raval’s defensive push, and does so again off the final ball of the over. A maiden. England are such a different team, so much more menacing, when Broad is in form.
England's final batting averages for the 2017-18 season #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/3ny0RNjxRr
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) April 2, 2018
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1st over: New Zealand 4-0 (Latham 4, Raval 0) Anderson doesn’t usually do looseners but this is an exception - his first ball drifts onto the pads of Latham and is put away for four. It’s a quiet over thereafter, with a hint of outswing to the left-handers.
“Bairstow wasted yet again there, perfect demonstration of why he should be much further up the order,” says Adam Hirst. “He can play proper Test match innings, just that he starts to run out of partners and has to go into one-day mode. He should be No4 at the lowest.”
It’s partly a problem of his own making, because he won’t give up the wicketkeeping gloves. If he stays as keeper I’m not sure he can bat higher than No5, and even that might be pushing it. But I agree, it’s very frustrating. I suspect you could add four or five to his average, so often has he sacrificed his wicket like that.
Thanks Tim, good whatever part of the day this is to you all. England have 137 overs to dismiss New Zealand, though we will probably lose some overs to bad light. England are in a huddle, which can only mean one thing: it’s time to give 110 per cent.
England 352-9 dec.
So Joe Root beckons them in, and Jack Leach’s maiden hundred will just have to wait. NZ need 382 to win the match, which should be too much, but you never know. Root will be able to post plenty of slips, but he will surely need the supporting cast to chip in with some wickets. Broad and Anderson can’t do it all by themselves again, can they?
Time for the great Rob Smyth. Thanks very much for reading, writing in and putting up with my technical issues earlier.
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Wicket! Bairstow c Nicholls b Wagner 36 (England 352-9)
Bairstow hooks a bouncer to deep square, and England declare.
106th over: England 350-8 (Bairstow 35, Leach 13) Leach cuts Southee for four to bring up the 350. These two have added 38 off six overs – enough to put the game out of New Zealand’s reach?
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105th over: England 346-8 (Bairstow 35, Leach 9) Bairstow cuts loose with a nice straight drive on the up for two, a short-arm pull for four, a clip for two, a help-it-round pull for four and a cover drive for four. After dawdling through most of the morning, England are finally showing proper intent.
104th over: England 330-8 (Bairstow 19, Leach 9) A rest at last for the Big Man, as Southee returns, virus and all. Leach shovels him past gully for a couple, and then edges a single in the same direction. He bats like that guy in your club team who always make the most of his talent.
103rd over: England 326-8 (Bairstow 18, Leach 6) The wickets have fallen at the other end, but Boult has been exacting with the new ball – eight overs, none for 16, plenty of swing. The big question now is, will Anderson and the revitalised Broad run through the NZ top order again?
102nd over: England 325-8 (Bairstow 18, Leach 5) After doing so well, de Grandhomme finally gives the batsmen a few to hit and they take them gratefully. I may have underestimated Leach, who has a decent cover drive.
101st over: England 315-8 (Bairstow 12, Leach 1) Broad and Wood rattled up 21 off 22 balls, which was what the game needed. Leach, with his specs and his crabby stance, may be a little more sedate.
100th over: England 312-8 (Bairstow 10, Leach 0) Bairstow inches into double figures wth a big inside edge, whereupon Wood shows him how it’s done by standing tall and pulling de Grandhomme for four. Shot of the day so far – though he almost matches it with a swat through the covers for four. And then he’s bowled.
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Wicket! Wood b de Grandhomme 9 (England 312-8)
Wood plays a gem of a pull, and a gem of a swish through the covers, but then gets trigger-happy and misses a straight one.
99th over: England 303-7 (Bairstow 9, Wood 1) Wood keeps Boult out.
98th over: England 302-7 (Bairstow 8, Wood 1) Another tidy over from de Grandhomme, who has 2-23 off five overs in this spell. He’ll be expecting to take the new ball regularly.
97th over: England 300-7 (Bairstow 7, Wood 0) And now Bairstow is dropped by Boult, off his own bowling – a tough low chance off a firm drive.
96th over: England 300-7 (Bairstow 7, Broad 5) If you feel Broad is flattered by his promotion to No.8, you should see his first scoring stroke: a pinpoint drive, threaded through a small gap in the covers. Though you might feel the rest of his innings makes your point for you: a couple of slogs, and he’s gone.
Wicket! Broad c Sodhi b de Grandhomme 12 (England 300-7)
Broad toe-ends a slower ball and picks out mid-on, where Sodhi takes a good low catch. The lead is 329.
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95th over: England 288-6 (Bairstow 7, Broad 1) So Bairstow escapes, and Broad gets off the mark with an edge. But Bairstow manages to end the over with a short-arm drive through the covers.
Reprieve!
Bairstow pushes at Boult, gets a thin edge, Marais Erasmus doesn’t hear it, and NZ can’t do anything about it because they’ve used up their reviews.
94th over: England 282-6 (Bairstow 2, Broad 0) BJ Watling had come up to the stumps to stop Stokes standing outside his crease, which may have played a part there. And NZ are through to the England tail.
Wicket! Stokes c Raval b de Grandhomme 12 (England 282-6)
Another one! Stokes falls over to the off side and skims a low catch to midwicket, where it’s well held by Raval.
The other issue is all the people averaging 30-odd. Stoneman 30, Vince 30, Cook 33 (even with that 244* in there), Malan 35. These are not batsmen’s averages – they’re allrounders’ averages. But they may not be quite bad enough for anyone to be dropped. And Root is not the only one getting out when well set: England have 22 individual fifties this winter, and only four hundreds, two of them by their wicketkeeper.
England’s specialist batsmen have now had their last innings of a long winter. Time for some scores on the doors. Most runs: Root, 520. Highest average: Root, 43. Most fifties: Root, 7. Most balls faced: Root, 1099. So solid, so consistent, and yet ... no hundreds, and no match-turning performances. He’ll be frustrated with that. Is it a price worth paying for his captaincy? I’m not sure it is.
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93rd over: England 278-5 (Stokes 12, Bairstow 2) Bairstow plays a couple of nice strokes, but straight to the men in the ring. And that’s lunch. England had it just about all their own way until Malan fell, rather flakily, and Root followed him. But the ginger ninjas have shown some intent and got through the first five overs of the new ball. I’m off for a meal I don’t even have a name for. See you soon.
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92nd over: England 277-5 (Stokes 12, Bairstow 2) A maiden from de Grandhomme, as Bairstow smells lunch approaching.
91st over: England 277-5 (Stokes 12, Bairstow 2) Boult is getting plenty of snaky swing, and Stokes is playing him on the walk to counter it. He flicks another two to make it 12 off 12. The lead is now 306. Can we see NZ being able to chase, say, 330? I suspect we can.
90th over: England 275-5 (Stokes 10, Bairstow 2) Unused to taking the new cherry, de Grandhomme begins with a no-ball outside leg, which Stokes helps round for four. Then Stokes edges just wide of second slip for four more. Second slip is Southee, who has returned to the field but not to the attack. Stokes definitely not playing the barnacle.
A tweet from Will Summerlin. “Opportune time to point out that in addition to ‘de Grandhomme’ translating to ‘of Bigman’, ‘Colin’ is french for ‘Hake’. Hake of Bigman has struck.”
89th over: England 265-5 (Stokes 1, Bairstow 2) Boult is back, finding some swing straightaway. Stokes gets off the mark with a thick inside edge, Bairstow with a more confident tuck for two.
88th over: England 262-5 (Stokes 0, Bairstow 0) So a partnership of 97 is followed by one of nothing at all. And the tail is only one wicket away. And NZ have a new ball if they want it, which they do.
“Might have been some 40 runs short,” says AB Parker (23:20). “Still confident of the game ending today.”
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Wicket!! Root c Watling b Wagner 54 (England 262-5)
One brings two! Root drives at a wide one, NZ have the pair of quick wickets they needed, and they’re back in the game.
87th over: England 262-4 (Root 54, Stokes 0) So Malan departs, which may not be a bad thing from anyone’s point of view. Stokes will surely not be in his barnacle mode.
An email from Fan T. “Geographically both series, Aus-SA and Eng-NZ are being played at the same pole – but there couldn’t be better polar opposites. This match is an exemplar of the beauty of test cricket. Fluctuating fortunes and intensely professional.” But a touch soporific at the moment?
Wicket! Malan c Nicholls b de Grandhomme 53 (England 262-4)
Bored of all these dots, Malan chips to midwicket, where Nicholls takes an easy catch. And at long last, we have a wicket taken by someone other than the four new-ball bowlers. Nice one, Colin.
86th over: England 261-3 (Root 53, Malan 53) Wagner has an lbw appeal against Malan, who went back and across and missed one that jagged into him. Doing too much, umpire Oxenford reckons, and HawkEye backs him up. That’s another maiden. The game is going to sleep, and so is my email.
85th over: England 261-3 (Root 53, Malan 53) Malan joins Root in waving his bat aloft thanks to another thick edge for four off de Grandhomme. He’s been whole-hearted, if not entirely convincing. Story of his Test career so far.
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84th over: England 256-3 (Root 53, Malan 48) Wagner, who bowled a beamer earlier at Root (not a threatening one), strings together a few dots. Root, frustrated, steps outside off to play a KP flick to leg, and misses, but the ball is outside off too. That’s a maiden.
A tweet has landed from Jim. “The refreshing of the OBO must be without doubt an English Cricket fan’s worst nightmare. Everything is going well one minute then.... Tim, I am writing from a wet Dublin, tucking in to a few Pizza Hut side orders as a treat, how’s the weather in NZ?” The sun has just come out, and the forecast is set fair.
83rd over: England 256-3 (Root 53, Malan 48) Another hiccup, sorry. The good news is you haven’t missed anything except an announcement about Tim Southee, who is off the field with a virus. Let’s hope he bounces back, or Trent Boult will have to take all the remaining wickets himself.
81st over: England 251-3 (Root 50, Malan 47) As Williamson holds the new ball back, Root flicks de Grandhomme to long leg for a single and completes yet another fifty. He’s been unruffled. Malan thick-edges for four to take England to 250 and drinks. The first hour has belonged firmly to them. NZ need a couple of wickets fast.
“Rob Smyth will be putting in a shift again?” asks Robert Wilson. “Far be it from me to interfere but the kid’s been in the commentary trenches for a parcel of sessions now. Has anyone looked in on him? During the SA/Aus game earlier on, that boy was talkin’ crazy and had wild eyes. Have none of you seen The DeerHunter?”
76th over: England 238-3 (Root 47, Malan 37) Boult and Southee have failed to deliver, for once, so Williamson saves them for the new ball and sends for Wagner and de Grandhomme. Still no alarms for England. The main drama at the moment is in the Guardian content-management system, which is struggling to save anything.
Here’s Peter Rowntree. “This has been by far the most absorbing Test Match of the winter, with the teams close enough to create the fluctuations in fortune that make Test Cricket so fascinating. England with their noses in front, but one or two good sessions from the Kiwis and the game could change yet again. But besides the cricket fluctuations, the game has all sorts of other interesting subterfuges such as will Stoneman, Malan and/or Vince do well enough to retain their places; can anyone else take a wicket, for heavens sake, whose names are not Boult, Broad, Anderson or Southee.” Good questions.
73rd over: England 229-3 (Root 44, Malan 31) Malan sees that tickle and says, “I raise you a classical cover drive.”
An email from Jason Ali. “’.....would a second preamble be an amble, or a reamble?” I am not too bothered.” Er, OK. “However, you have got me to thinking about a nice slice of apple crumble – I believe the correct terminology is portmanteau: A-MBLE (served with a hefty table-spoon of whipped cream). However, It’s 6.55am here in Hong Kong and there is no way I can lay my hands on the said dessert. Bastard.” Well that didn’t go quite where I was expecting. But thank you.
72nd over: England 223-3 (Root 43, Malan 26) Root is in the groove already. He gets a four and a two off Southee, both with leg glances: the four the finest of tickles, the two square. Root has been England’s best batsman, as usual, this winter – but with no century to show for it. Is today the day that changes?
71st over: England 217-3 (Root 37, Malan 26) No alarms yet for England. They’re looking busy, NZ are taking their time. The commentators reckon a declaration, if it comes, will come before tea.
An email arrives entitled Frankie Howerd, from Kim Thonger. “Frankie would have called them prologues, not preambles. Titter ye not.” Ha.
70th over: England 215-3 (Root 36, Malan 26) A single apiece off Southee, and that’s the fifty parrtnership.
“Tim.” John Starbuck, good to hear from you. “One of the things I really value about the OBO is the freedom from betting adverts, yet we are often talking about the odds of this, that and t’other. Let’s speculate, but without putting any actual money on it, eh? That way, we can keep our bit of the game honest, at least, with no attempts to finagle anything.” The OBO: where the ethics come from the readers.
69th over: England 213-3 (Root 35, Malan 25) A boundary for each batsman off Boult – a crunching cut from Malan, a silky glide from Root. The 68th over, in case you’re wondering, was a maiden from Southee, who was aiming too wide of off. Some technical issues here, sorry.
67th over: England 204-3 (Root 31, Malan 20) Trent Boult opens up, and Dawid Malan gets the day going with a stab to square leg for a single. Joe Root draws a fine stop at gully out of Kane Williamson, then takes a single himself off a thick inside edge. It’s cloudy but dry, which is a big improvement on the day I’ve just had in the East Midlands.
“Evening Tim.” Evening, Phil Sawyer. “I would suggest posting the same preamble twice might be termed a sheambles.” Lovely.
I seem to have given you two preambles. Or rather, the same preamble twice. Which raises the question, would a second preamble be an amble, or a reamble?
We need something to raise the tone, and here it is. “Any idea.” asks AB Parker, “what odds you can get for England being bowled out by 250 and the game ending today in a 7-wicket thrashing?” Ouch.
Preamble
It feels like an April Fool – or even, at a pinch, a resurrection. A Test match is unfolding overseas that England are now firm favourites to win. They are 231 runs ahead of New Zealand with seven wickets in hand and two days to go.
After a bruising winter, today ought to be a walk in Hagley Park for Joe Root. His eye is in, his team are on top, a hundred is there for the taking, he has both his elderly fast bowlers in the mood at last, and he may even have the luxury of making a declaration.
But, as ever with England, there are reasons to be fearful. Every Test on this ground has been won by the side batting last, and the finishes haven’t even been close. (Small sample, of course, and the targets were only 105, 201, 105 again and 109.) Today’s early start, in honour of New Zealand’s clocks being on winter time, could bring some lavish movement, and even if it doesn’t, there’s a new ball due in an hour.
The New Zealanders are hard to beat at home, they’re in the better form of these two sides, and the prize they have their eyes on is bigger. For them, glory beckons, in the form of a rare whitewash; for England, the best thing on offer is mere respectability.
Join me at 11.30pm UK time (we think), which is 10.30am in NZ, to see if Boult and Southee can grab the wheel again. Or go to bed now, and join Rob Smyth for the second half of the day, which, if Root, Malan and Stokes keep England on top, should be the spicier of the two. And do send in your thoughts, on your Easter, your April fool, or even the cricket.
Preamble
Tim will be with you shortly.
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