That’s all for tonight/today/this evening/this morning. Ali Martin’s report is below, and we’ll be back later for day two. Big first session!
Updated
Kane Williamson’s reaction
It was challenging and we had to work hard to put some partnerships together. The ball did a little bit throughout, but as we know the wicket here is generally fair for ball and bat. The guys applied themselves really well. Both teams fought hard and got some rewards. It’s pretty evenly poised after day one. It’ll depend on how the surface changes throughout.
It’s nice to be back with the team. It was an incredible effort in India and a really proud moment. They played so bravely in conditions that are foreign to us. It was an amazing achievement.
[On Shoaib Bashir] He bowled nicely, he got a bit of drop into the wind and he’s a tall guy so he got some bounce too. He got some nice rewards.
New Zealand and England rarely let us down. That was a really good day of Test cricket, at the end of which both sides will be happy enough. New Zealand were going well at 199 for 3, then badly at 252 for 7 and now it feels about even.
Kane Williamson top-scored with a serene 93, while Shoaib Bashir took four of the eight wickets to fall for England. Nobody saw that coming.
Stumps
82nd over: New Zealand 319-8 (Phillips 41, Southee 10) One last incident on what has been a pretty eventful day. Phillips has a furious drive at Atkinson and inside-edges the ball just short of Pope, who does well to stop the boundary as he dives to his left.
82nd over: New Zealand 318-8 (Phillips 40, Southee 10) Southee has his 93 Test sixes, which puts him sixth on the all-time list behind Stokes, McCullum, Gilchirst, Gayle and Kallis. He tries to deposit Woakes over square leg for No94 and is beaten. It was also a no-ball, England’s 11th of the day. That’s really unlike them.
81st over: New Zealand 317-8 (Phillips 40, Southee 10) Atkinson gets plenty of zip with the new ball. Phillips doubles up after being hit in the vicinity of you know where; Southee clunks drives just wide of the diving Stokes at mid-off. I think Stokes slipped slightly which cost him a yard.
80th over: New Zealand 312-8 (Phillips 40, Southee 6) Southee slugs Carse over midwicket for four to bring up the 300. It’s the start of an expensive over from Carse, who still looks stiff as a board. A bumper flies over Pope for four byes, then Phillips pulls confidently on front of square for four more.
A poor end to an otherwise excellent day’s work from Carse. Now, with about 12 minutes remaining, England are going to take the second new ball.
79th over: New Zealand 299-8 (Phillips 36, Southee 1) A big cheer for the incoming Tim Southee, who will retire after this series unless New Zealand reach the WTC final.
WICKET! New Zealand 298-8 (Henry c Duckett b Bashir 18)
So much for Bashir being tired: he’s changed ends and taken his fourth wicket! Henry tried to go down the ground but dragged the ball straight to long on to give Duckett a simple catch.
78th over: New Zealand 297-7 (Phillips 35, Henry 18) Brydon Carse replaces Bashir, who was starting to tire after a surprisingly full day’s work. Carse looks really stiff, with his pace down below 85mph, but it’s an accurate over that stalls New Zealand’s charge.
77th over: New Zealand 296-7 (Phillips 35, Henry 18)
Phillips is not out! He tried a forcing shot outside off stump but didn’t make contact. England are down to their last review.
England review for caught behind against Phillips!
Phillips hits successive boundaries off Stokes, then survives a big shout for caught behind. England are going upstairs, though Phillips looked pretty relaxed about the whole thing.
This is quietly a pretty big moment.
76th over: New Zealand 288-7 (Phillips 27, Henry 18) This partnership is becoming irksome for England, not just the runs but the speed of scoring. They’ve added 36 in 6.3 overs, a platform from which to go after the second new ball if England take it tonight.
75th over: New Zealand 283-7 (Phillips 23, Henry 17) Henry, who is batting superbly, drives Stokes through extra cover for three more. I shouldn’t sound so surprised after how well he’s playing; he has four Test fifties, three of them in Christchurch.
An affronted Stokes hits him on the shoulder with a pretty good short ball.
74th over: New Zealand 278-7 (Phillips 21, Henry 14) A stinker of a long hop from Bashir is hoicked into the crowd by Phillips. That’s the first six of the match.
Useful runs, there, and New Zealand still have the six-hitting fiend Tim Southee to come.
73rd over: New Zealand 267-7 (Phillips 11, Henry 13) Henry moves into double figures with a classy back-foot drive off Stokes. He’s playing his shots, which I guess is a win-win. If he scores runs, great; if he gets out there’s a fair chance he’ll crack at England’s openers tonight.
Stokes’ over ends with a big LBW appeal that is turned down by Ahsan Raza. England have two reviews left but he decides not to risk one. It would have been umpire’s call.
72nd over: New Zealand 261-7 (Phillips 11, Henry 7) Henry chips Bashir nicely down the ground for a one-bounce four.
This has been a stirring comeback from England, who were in bother when New Zealand reached 199 for 3 shortly after tea. They have certainly improved as the day has progressed, even if they’re still a fair way from their best.
71st over: New Zealand 255-7 (Phillips 10, Henry 2)
Updated
REVIEW! New Zealand 254-7 (Phillips not out 9)
Phillips pushes at a short ball from Stokes and is given out caught down the leg side. He reviews straight away, which is the sign of either an innocent or deluded man. In Phillips’ case it’s the former; there’s nothing on HotSpot and the decision is overturned.
70th over: New Zealand 253-7 (Phillips 9, Henry 1) Bashir’s first wicket came from a full toss; the second and third have been down to the extra bounce that he gets.
WICKET! New Zealand 252-7 (Smith c Root b Bashir 3)
Shoaib Bashir’s fine day continues. Smith turns him round the corner towards leg gully, where Joe Root crouches to take a lovely sharp catch.
Cricket is a peculiar old game. England put New Zealand into bat in seamer-friendly conditions, and their leading wicket-taker is the spinner.
Updated
69th over: New Zealand 252-6 (Phillips 9, Smith 3) Stokes takes over from Atkinson, who might have one last burst with the second new ball depending on England’s over-rate. A quiet over, just a single from it.
Drinks
It will frustrate New Zealand that five of their top six got starts, with only Kane Williamson going on to reach fifty. England will hope to be more ruthless when the time comes.
68th over: New Zealand 251-6 (Phillips 9, Smith 3) Smith gets his first Test runs, two of the buggers, with a nice back-foot drive off Bashir. A single off the last ball means he’ll keep strike.
It’s really well poised, this. Tests between England and New Zealand often are.
67th over: New Zealand 247-6 (Phillips 8, Smith 0)
66th over: New Zealand 246-6 (Phillips 7, Smith 0) The new batter is the debutant Nathan Smith, who has a first-class hundred to his name.
Bashir has been a big plus for England: his figures are 14-1-40-2. It was important for him to start the tour well, too, after a disappointing series in Pakistan.
WICKET! New Zealand 246-6 (Blundell c Atkinson b Bashir 17)
A second wicket for Shoaib Bashir! Blundell skids back to drive but is undone by the extra bounce and slices to Atkinson at backward point.
65th over: New Zealand 245-5 (Blundell 17, Phillips 6) Blundell pulls Atkinson for four with a touch of swagger. He’s beaten later in the over, pushing at a good delivery that snaps off the seam, before Atkinson bowls his seventh over of the day. Apart from the no-balls his last two spells have been much better.
64th over: New Zealand 240-5 (Blundell 13, Phillips 6) Bashir tosses one up to Phillips, who accepts the invitation and blasts a drive over cover for four. The fielder, possibly Bethell, leapt with intent but needed a telescopic arm to have any chance of catching it. As they are outlawed by the ICC, the ball ran away to the boundary.
63rd over: New Zealand 236-5 (Blundell 13, Phillips 2) I’d love to see a breakdown of Atkinson’s Test wickets – not just the method of dismissal but also the manner. It feels like he has a greater variety of wickets than the majority of bowlers, which is a fine trait to have.
As is the ability to play positively even when your form is abysmal. Tom Blundell, who has looked to score right from ball one, gets his first boundary with an excellent square drive.
62nd over: New Zealand 230-5 (Blundell 7, Phillips 2) Phillips is beaten, trying to cut a ball from Bashir that grips and bounces. This is a chance for England, though it’s worth stressing that New Zealand have a very short tail. In short, nobody knows anything.
61st over: New Zealand 228-5 (Blundell 6, Phillips 1) I’d have to double check but I think that’s the first time Williamson has fallen in the nineties in a Test match since Sunday 16 December 2018 against Sri Lanka.
Atkinson almost gets his third wicket when Phillips is dropped on 0 by Stokes! He smashed a full ball towards mid-off, where Stokes swooped to his left but couldn’t hold on. It was a really tough chance, even for Stokes.
WICKET! New Zealand 227-5 (Williamson c Crawley b Atkinson 93)
Kane Williamson, the man who never gets nervous in the nineties, has fallen for 93. He tried to cut the new bowler Atkinson but was cramped for room and slapped it straight to Crawley at backward point. A huge wicket for England.
60th over: New Zealand 227-4 (Williamson 93, Blundell 6) The world would be a much better place if we all had Kane Williamson’s boredome threshold. He’s faced almost 200 balls and his tempo hasn’t changed one bit.
Right, Shoaib Bashir is back on for Woakes, whose overseas bowling average (sorry) has sneaked up to 53.44. I doubt he or we will ever fully understand why such a skilful, indefatigable bowler struggled quite so much outside England.
Blundell is keen to get after Bashir and dances down the pitch twice, though on each occasion he is only able to knock the ball back to the bowler.
59th over: New Zealand 226-4 (Williamson 92, Blundell 6) Duckett hurts his finger while fielding a hook from Blundell, though there doesn’t appear to be any serious damage. Jacob Bethell is high enough at No3, thank you.
Carse almost strikes again when a back-foot defensive from Blundell got into the ground and bounces over the stumps. He had no idea where the ball was. His frustration is compounded when the last ball of the over scoots away for four leg-byes.
58th over: New Zealand 217-4 (Williamson 90, Blundell 4) Blundell is beaten by a lovely delivery from Woakes that gives the off stump an air kiss. After that he takes a single, allowing Williamson to defend the rest of the over with soul-crushing certainty.
Updated
57th over: New Zealand 216-4 (Williamson 90, Blundell 3) Williamson is squared up by a good delivery from Carse, who then clonks him on the helmet later in the over. Williamson was too early on a pull shot and was hit flush on the noggin. There’s a break in play for a concussion test but he’s fine.
When play resumes, Carse hits Williamson on or close to the elbow with a nasty nipbacker. Terrific bowling. He has troubled Williamson much more than anyone else today. Carse, like Mikey, is the big winner of the England bowling attack. And if anyone has any humble pie I’ll take a slice; until about six weeks ago I couldn’t see why England were so keen on him.
This is Kane Williamson’s run of scores in home Tests in the last four years: 251, 129, 21, 238, 6, 0, 4, 132, 1, 121*, 215, 118, 109, 43, 133*, 0, 9, 17, 51, 90*. That adds up to 1688 runs at an average of 99.29. Sub-Bradman.
56th over: New Zealand 215-4 (Williamson 90, Blundell 2) Williamson flicks Woakes fine for four to move into the nineties. The longer he bats, the more you wonder whether England will consider Matthew Potts as a Williamson specialist for the rest of the series. Even allowing for the small sample size, his record against Williamson in Test cricket is remarkable: 32 balls, 3 runs, 3 wickets.
It’s hard to know what to make of Woakes. He’s been unlucky at times, loose at others, and his figures are all too familiar in overseas Tests: 14-4-52-0.
55th over: New Zealand 211-4 (Williamson 86, Blundell 2) Blundell works Carse off the hip to get off the mark. He batted really well against England 18 months ago but has struggled since, with 296 runs at an average of 14. Given his form England might be better off bowling normally to him while still bouncing Williamson.
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54th over: New Zealand 207-4 (Williamson 84, Blundell 0) Williamson pushes defensively at Woakes and edges just short of Root at first slip; as Shane Bond says on commentary, “soft hands saved him”. Four leg-byes earlier in the over had taken New Zealand past 200, and Williamson gets four more with a back cut later in the over.
This has been a bit of an odd day. It feels like England have been well below par yet another quick wicket would probably put them on top.
Updated
53rd over: New Zealand 199-4 (Williamson 80, Blundell 0) New Zealand bat very deep, with Glenn Phillips at No7 and Tim Southee at No10, though there’s still plenty of work for England to do.
WICKET! New Zealand 199-4 (Mitchell c Brook b Carse 19)
England’s short-ball tactic has worked! Daryl Mitchell tries to swivel-pull Brydon Carse and contrives to top-edge a simple catch to Brook on the third man boundary. That’s a bonus wicket for England – but also a deserved reward for Carse, who has again been England’s best bowler. They might have found one here you know.
Updated
52nd over: New Zealand 197-3 (Williamson 79, Mitchell 18) It’s so windy that even the heavy bails are occasionally being blown off. When play resumes, Mitchell takes Woakes off middle stump with a thick inside edge, without which he’d have been plumb LBW. That’s the first of three singles in an otherwise comfortable over. The ball is doing nothing for the seamers now.
The players are back on the field and Chris Woakes is about to return to the attack. “There’s a short straw somewhere…” says David Gower on commentary.
A bit of 2.40am reading
Tea
51st over: New Zealand 193-3 (Williamson 77, Mitchell 16) Stokes decides to explore the middle of the pitch in the last over before tea, with the field set accordingly. Williamson and Mitchell play it comfortably enough, collecting three singles, but we’ll probably see more of this from England after tea.
They’ve had a poor day so far and that was certainly New Zealand’s session. They scored 89 in 27 overs for the loss of Rachin Ravindra, who did something unthinkable with a Shoaib Bashir full toss.
Kane Williamson, who has played with increasing authority on his return to the side, needs 23 more for his 33rd Test century. We’ll have a long evening session, two and a half hours, and New Zealand will have the chance to punish a tiring attack. This is the first day of the series, sure, but it’s never too early for a Big Last Session.
50th over: New Zealand 190-3 (Williamson 75, Mitchell 15) Ben Stokes gives Jacob Bethell an over before tea. He’s an occasional left-arm spinner, more suited to white-ball cricket at this juncture, and he starts with a nervous loosener that Williamson puts away for four. The rest of the over is fine.
49th over: New Zealand 185-3 (Williamson 70, Mitchell 15) Williamson’s eyes widen when a ball from Stokes hits higher on the bat than he anticipated. The pitch is essentially very good, and those in the know expect it to get better tomorrow, but there have been one or two hints of uneven bounce.
48th over: New Zealand 184-3 (Williamson 69, Mitchell 15) Bashir tries his luck around the wicket to Williamson. England have been a bit impatient, particularly in the morning session when the pitch didn’t do as much as they expected.
47th over: New Zealand 182-3 (Williamson 68, Mitchell 14) A bouncer from Stokes to Mitchell trampolines down the leg side for five wides. Pope had no chance of stopping that.
Williamson punches confidently off the back foot for three to bring up the fifty partnership in only 62 balls. England are in a peedie bit of bother here.
Updated
46th over: New Zealand 172-3 (Williamson 65, Mitchell 12) Beautiful bowling from Bashir, who beats Williamson with a slower, wider delivery. Pope whips the bails off but Williamson, despite overbalancing, manages to drag his back foot behind the line. The square-leg umpire goes upstairs just to make sure.
45th over: New Zealand 171-3 (Williamson 65, Mitchell 11) Stokes jags one back to hit Williamson on the pad. Too high but this is a threatening start from Stokes, who has changed ends and has the wind behind him.
Just under half an hour until tea. As things stand it’s New Zealand’s session.
44th over: New Zealand 170-3 (Williamson 65, Mitchell 10) Williamson has a bit of fortune, dragging a slog-sweep past leg stump off Bashir. In the circumstances Bashir is bowling pretty well; England would certainly have taken figures of 8-1-29-1 before tea on the first day. The problem has been the lack of consistency from the seamers.
43rd over: New Zealand 166-3 (Williamson 62, Mitchell 9) Ben Stokes replaces Atkinson, who bowled a mixed spell of 4-1-7-0, and draws a late inside-edge from Williamson with a very good delivery. England’s cordon were about to go up for what would have been a plumb LBW.
Stokes pointedly chases after every defensive stroke from Williamson, trying to lift England’s intensity, and is so keen to impose himself on the game that he gives away two overthrows. Those runs aside it was an excellent over.
42nd over: New Zealand 163-3 (Williamson 59, Mitchell 9) Williamson drives Bashir’s last ball down the ground to complete a quiet over. He looks comfortable against Bashir, if slightly wary because of the wind as much as anything.
41st over: New Zealand 161-3 (Williamson 58, Mitchell 8) A terrific lifter from Atkinson jags back to hit Williamson high on the bat, though it turns out it was a no-ball. That’s his fifth, another symbol of England’s disappointing performance, and there’s another later in the over. Before today Atkinson had only bowled seven no-balls in eight Tests.
40th over: New Zealand 157-3 (Williamson 57, Mitchell 7) New Zealand’s only left-handers have all been and gone, which isn’t ideal for Bashir, but England need a spell from him while their seamers recharge. Four from the over.
39th over: New Zealand 153-3 (Williamson 54, Mitchell 6) Kane Williamson averages 66 in this decade, which puts him behind only Kusal Mendis among those with at least 1000 runs. He grits his way through a good maiden over from Atkinson and is hit in the stomach when he misses an attempted pull.
Thanks Simon, morning everyone. New Zealand are scoring at more than four an over after being put in, a reflection of a scruffy performance from England but also New Zealand’s confidence and purpose with the bat. They were similarly aggressive – in much tougher conditions – during that glorious victory in India. And this time they have Kane Williamson to anchor the whole thing.
38th over: New Zealand 153-3 (Williamson 54, Mitchell 6) A slightly dodgy single, to which neither batter fully commits until they’re already halfway through it, leads to what David Gower describes, not inaccurately, as “a moment of near-excitement”. Then Williamson pulls, hard, straight into the top of the helmet of Joe Root at short leg. For some reason there’s no concussion test after that one either, but one ball later it is indeed drinks. At which point I’ll hand over to Rob Smyth. Bye!
37th over: New Zealand 149-3 (Williamson 52, Mitchell 4) New Zealand scored 12 runs in the 34th over, but have added just three in three since then. Some refreshing drinks would seem to be in order, and are now imminent.
36th over: New Zealand 148-3 (Williamson 52, Mitchell 3) Better from Bashir, and this one’s a maiden. And it ends with a bit of a ripper, that Williamson really isn’t sure what to do with and thus doesn’t really do anything with.
35th over: New Zealand 148-3 (Williamson 52, Mitchell 3) Atkinson seems to be finding it a bit of a grind at present. He grinds his way through another over, with a bonus delivery because of a no-ball, and despite an extremely optimistic review with no real reward.
ENGLAND SHOULD NOT HAVE REVIEWED!
The ball was not at all close to the bat at any stage.
ENGLAND REVIEW!
A pretty half-hearted appeal for a catch off Williamson, but Stokes decides to check it!
34th over: New Zealand 146-3 (Williamson 51, Mitchell 3) Bashir drags one down the leg side and Williamson punishes it for four, then the bowler almost exactly repeats it next ball, with identical results. That takes Williamson to 50, off precisely 90 balls.
33rd over: New Zealand 134-3 (Williamson 40, Mitchell 2) There’s suddenly a strong wind blowing across the Hagley Oval, which keeps blowing the bails off the stumps, and the resulting aborted run-ups extend Carse’s over a bit.
32nd over: New Zealand 131-3 (Williamson 38, Mitchell 1) Some intel from the venue! “A rather somnolent and subdued atmosphere here in the ground - a bit like a Sunday afternoon county game,” writes Showbizguru. “Even the Barmy Army trumpeter is struggling to raise any interest. Strange that both skippers would have bowled first on this green top. A couple of quick wickets are required [one since delivered]. On the plus side there’s great grub on offer. A ribeye steak with melted cheese in a ciabatta or a full wood-fired pizza. Just under a tenner each.” The post-lunch lull, everyone too full of steak ciabatta to make much noise.
WICKET! Ravindra c Crawley b Bashir 34 (New Zealand 130-3)
A breakthrough! Ravindra attacks Bashir, dancing down the pitch to turn the delivery into a full toss, but then biffs it straight to midwicket!
31st over: New Zealand 130-2 (Williamson 38, Ravindra 34) Well Williamson times this well enough, swatting Carse past mid-on for four, and then follows it with a straight drive for four more, and if those are his only two shots of the over, they’ll do.
30th over: New Zealand 122-2 (Williamson 30, Ravindra 34) England toss the ball to Shoaib Bashir, and try to see if their spinner can have a bit more luck than their seamers. Not yet.
29th over: New Zealand 120-2 (Williamson 29, Ravindra 33) Woakes bowls to Williamson, who seems to have temporarily misplaced his timing. Maiden.
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28th over: New Zealand 120-2 (Williamson 29, Ravindra 33) Carse’s delivery flicks Williamson’s gloves and deflects into his helmet, but apparently not hard enough to require a concussion test. The only partnership in New Zealand’s entire Test history that has had as many as eight innings and outperformed this one is Nathan Astle and Mark Richardson, who averaged 74.11 in nine innings, the last of them a shade over a decade ago.
27th over: New Zealand 119-2 (Williamson 28, Ravindra 33) Woakes to Ravindra, who cuts past point for four. The Ravindra-Williamson partnership, currently in action for the eighth time, averages 68.42 in Tests, which is pretty handy, and that shot takes this one past 50.
26th over: New Zealand 114-2 (Williamson 28, Ravindra 29) Brydon Carse ends his over with a cracker to Williamson, who is beaten by the away movement. England haven’t really had the rub of the (very) green (pitch).
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25th over: New Zealand 112-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 29) The first ball after lunch raps Ravindra on the pad, to much chuntering from the cordon, but it was heading down leg, and possibly flicked the bat on its way through. From there there are a few fine shots, culminating with a tasty four wide of mid-on. And with those runs Ravindra overtakes Williamson, despite facing 36 balls to his teammate’s 57.
The players emerge from their dressing-room-based mealtime, and more cricket is about to happen. Brace, brace, brace, etc.
“Just to check,” writes Tom Hopkins, “is overlooking a caught behind something that proper wicketkeepers tend to do?” I think it generally is more the kind of thing improper wicketkeepers get up to, but hey, nobody’s perfect.
Meanwhile in Guyana, Hampshire are playing Rangpur Riders in the Global Super League, with Shan Masood and James Fuller at the crease. Action here if you need something to see you through the lunch break.
LUNCH! New Zealand 104-2
And that is luncheon. New Zealand will be pretty pleased with that, while in England’s dressing room they’ll be turning off all the TVs, awkwardly avoiding the captain’s gaze, and pretending nothing interesting just happened.
24th over: New Zealand 104-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 21) Stokes bowls, Ravindra edges through to the keeper, and … nobody notices! Not a whisper from England. Nothing. Ooooh!, says Ollie Pope, before tossing the ball to Joe Root. Stokes just turns around and marches back to his mark. Scenes!
23rd over: New Zealand 103-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 20) Woakes is back for an over or two before lunch. Three runs off it.
22nd over: New Zealand 100-2 (Williamson 26, Ravindra 17) Stokes falls over in his follow-through, those slippy, dusty footholes wreaking havoc again, and to add insult to inconvenience it’s a wide and he has to bowl it again. He gets it right second time, beating Williamson’s outside edge, but that’s followed by a cover drive and then a pull, both for four, and Stokes has his head in his hands. 10 off the over, and New Zealand are in triple figures.
21st over: New Zealand 90-2 (Williamson 18, Ravindra 16) Edged, and short again! Ravindra pokes at Atkinson’s first ball but it plops just short of Root at first slip, but then the second ball is much less good and the result much less good also, Ravindra pulling for four.
20th over: New Zealand 83-2 (Williamson 18, Ravindra 9) Ben Stokes has a bowl, and when he bowls one short Williamson produces the shot of the day so far, pulling dismissively for four.
19th over: New Zealand 74-2 (Williamson 13, Ravindra 6) Atkinson keeps plugging away. England keep threatening, but they haven’t got the rewards they would have wanted at this point, having seen the pitch and won the toss. Meanwhile I’ve got some bad news for Leo Walmsley – as Ali reminds me from the ground, there’s no TMS, with TalkSport hogging the rights for this tour. You could try here.
18th over: New Zealand 72-2 (Williamson 12, Ravindra 5) Another cracking delivery, this time from Carse to Williamson, but again the batter gets nothing on it. Meanwhile Leo Walmsley would like the overseas TMS link if anyone’s got it to hand?
17th over: New Zealand 71-2 (Williamson 12, Ravindra 5) Phwoar, that is a peach of a delivery from Atkinson, but it rises just past Ravindra’s outside edge. Then Ravindra has a swing at a short one and misses, and there’s some discussion behind the stumps over whether he might have got a little something on it. But he didn’t get anywhere near it, and England wisely choose not to review.
16th over: New Zealand 71-2 (Williamson 12, Ravindra 5) Ravindra already looking pretty decent, and England starting to settle down for a bit of a grind.
15th over: New Zealand 68-2 (Williamson 12, Ravindra 2) Atkinson comes back. So far today a few players have found the pitch a bit skiddy, just where the bowlers’ feet are landing in their delivery stride, but the outfield hasn’t been skiddy enough, which is why there have been only six boundaries, all scored by Latham.
WICKET! Latham c Pope b Carse 47 (New Zealand 62-2)
14th over: New Zealand 62-2 (Williamson 8) England make the breakthrough with (deep breath) the last ball of the first over of the second hour of the first day! Nips off the seam, kisses the outside edge, gives Pope an easy catch behind the stumps, very nicely bowled.
A couple of balls earlier there’d been loud shout as Carse slammed one into Latham’s front pad, but it looked a bit high and England didn’t think it was worth a review. Plus it pitched outside the line of leg stump, so there’s that.
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13th over: New Zealand 58-1 (Latham 44, Williamson 7) And that is DRINKS. An excellent first hour for New Zealand, with just the one wicket down and Tom Latham rattling along at a fair old pace – 44 now off 49 and a strike rate of 89.79.
12th over: New Zealand 49-1 (Latham 39, Williamson 4) Carse starts out over the wicket to Latham, who pushes at it as it angles across him but again no edge. Then an inside edge clears the stumps and runs away for a single.
11th over: New Zealand 43-1 (Latham 36, Williamson 1) Woakes is bowling excellently, though this is a quiet over rather than a dangerous one – he’s going at 2.66 an over, with all three of the day’s maidens, Atkinson 5.25, Carse 6.00.
10th over: New Zealand 43-1 (Latham 36, Williamson 1) Brydon Carse replaces Atkinson, and Kane Williamson scores a single off his 14th delivery. Then Latham edges well wide of the slips and that’s another boundary.
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9th over: New Zealand 37-1 (Latham 32, Williamson 0) Gorgeous delivery from Woakes, moving quite sharply off the seam, and somehow Latham doesn’t get any bat on it! He gets plenty of bat on the next mind, middling it through mid-off for four.
8th over: New Zealand 33-1 (Latham 28, Williamson 0) Another no ball from Atkinson, another boundary for Latham. “Hi there,” writes Dean Kinsella. Hi! “Another sleepless night ahead of us. Its great being retired. I see Athers has questioned the wisdom of bringing three spinners on a tour to NZ and only one keeper. The upshot of which is that Pope is picked at 6 and gets the gauntlets. My feeling is he was pretty close to being dropped. Is he going to be the latest batter/keeper who keeps his place even with poor form?” That’s down to Bethell, I think. If another batter gets a chance and makes an unarguable claim for inclusion in the side, and with Jamie Smith certain to come back in at the start of the summer, then Pope’s grip on a place becomes extremely uncertain.
7th over: New Zealand 25-1 (Latham 21, Williamson 0) Edged! But it doesn’t carry to Ben Duckett at fourth slip, and Williamson gets away with it. And again! This one lands even shorter. A maiden from Woakes, who hasn’t had much luck so far.
6th over: New Zealand 25-1 (Latham 21, Williamson 0) Since Conway’s wicket Latham has faced 21 deliveries, and Kane Williamson has faced just three. He faces all six of these, sending the first of them rattling through mid-off for four.
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5th over: New Zealand 19-1 (Latham 15, Williamson 0) It’s all going on here. Latham leaves Woakes’ second delivery, which bounces just over the top of the stumps. Then he works one to fine leg for four, and hits the next to Bashir, who gathers and sends a bizarre throw nowhere near Ollie Pope or indeed any of the four members of the cordon and away for four overthrows! Then the last shapes away, just beating the edge.
4th over: New Zealand 8-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 0) Apparently, the commentary team tells me, this pitch is not as green, as dark or indeed as lush as it often is here, so perhaps my description a short while ago was a little overblown. Looks plenty green to me, though.
3rd over: New Zealand 5-1 (Latham 1, Williamson 0) Four leaves and then two not-leaves from Latham, the last of which gets him off the mark.
2nd over: New Zealand 4-1 (Latham 0) Gus Atkinson shares new ball duties. There are a couple of no balls but alongside those he tempts Devon Conway into having a bit of a push at one he should have left well alone, but he doesn’t get bat on ball, and then Conway mistimes a drive off the last, his bat slips in his hands as the ball hits it and it goes back whence it came, into Atkinson’s mitts.
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WICKET! Conway c&b Atkinson 2 (New Zealand 4-1)
Last ball of the over, and Conway prods it back towards Atkinson, who reacts well to grab it as it flies to the left of his left shin!
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1st over: New Zealand 0-0 (Latham 0, Conway 0) Just as the first ball is bowled, the big bongs of (arguably) major breaking news chime as the following lands from ECB HQ. Looks like Ollie Robinson’s new passport has been delivered:
Durham’s Ollie Robinson added to England Men’s Test Squad
Durham wicketkeeper-batter Ollie Robinson has been added to the England Men’s Test squad for the tour of New Zealand. Robinson replaces Essex’s Jordan Cox, who sustained a fractured right thumb during the team’s warm-up period last weekend in Queenstown.
This marks the 25-year-old Robinson’s first call-up to the senior England squad. He has delivered solid performances for Durham in the County Championship, boasting an average of 48 with the bat in 2024 and an impressive 58 in 2023. Robinson has also demonstrated his skill behind the stumps, with 92 Championship dismissals across the past two seasons.
A regular in England Lions squads since 2019, Robinson has gained valuable experience on tours to Australia, Sri Lanka, and India in recent years.
Robinson is expected to join the squad in New Zealand on Saturday.
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Right, anthems sung, players out. Chris Woakes has the ball. Cricket imminent.
“Why is Bashir playing instead of Leach?” harrumphs Paul McIntyre. Well, because he’s England’s first-choice spinner in all conditions, as Ben Stokes put it in Pakistan last month.
Meanwhile I’ve just had my first ever tacle and it was extremely nice, though I’m not convince we need any more similarly-flavoured orange citrus fruits. Enough already!
We’ve had our first look at the Test match pitch, and it is greener than a jealous, queasy tree frog.
So the debutants can chill out for a while: Jacob Bethell is unlikely to be batting this morning, and Nathan Smith is unlikely to bowl. Meanwhile, an email!
“I loved the idea of Moneyball and using recognised but under appreciated metrics of genuine impact, but also love the adrenaline-fuelled gut-feeling selection policy of Bazball,” says Tom van de Gucht. “But rather than, as Harry Hill would say, ‘Which one is better, there’s only one way to find out, Fiiiiigghghhhht!’ I’d genuinely love to know how much the data crunching has progressed and is still going on behind the scenes.
“There must be so much more intel on all biomechanical data, yet Stokes and McCullum seem to be going back to the style of the talent scouts Billy Beane fought against, who used selection criteria such as how symmetrical the player’s face was and if they looked good when running. Unless it’s all a smokescreen and their selections are massively data driven, but they’d prefer to sell their laid back image to pull opponents onto a false sense of security.”
In short, and to summarise, you don’t have a clue what’s going on.
England win the toss!
Ben Stokes has won the toss for England and has chosen to have a bowl.
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Right then, the British TV coverage has started and a coin toss should be incoming.
Ali’s been a busy little bee, there not being much else to do in New Zealand except write about cricket, and here’s his bit on a reenergised and refocused Ben Stokes:
Come rain or shine, New Zealand cricketers tend to wear a smile on their faces. But this week there is a palpable glow around the place, that remarkable clean sweep in India, coupled with victory for the women’s team in the T20 World Cup, still fresh in the memory. Hagley Oval is sold out for the first Test against England, folks drawn to its inviting grass banks.
English cricket has felt a little less cheery by contrast, be it their women’s team flunking that latest shot at a global title, the continuing culture war as the sale of the Hundred teams gathers pace, or the men’s Test side having lost in Pakistan to reopen the debate about the merits of so-called Bazball. Ben Stokes seemed to embody the mood in Pakistan, his return from a hamstring injury resulting in what he calls one of his toughest trips. A burglary back at home added to the stress levels and nearly forced an early flight back, only for his wife, Clare, to persuade him otherwise.
But before the first Test that gets under way on Thursday (10pm on Wednesday in the UK), Stokes appeared refreshed and re-energised.
Much more here:
Here’s a memorable quote from Warwickshire’s Olly Hannon-Dalby about Jacob Bethell:
He’s just one of those guys. A cool cat, quietly confident, funny but also seriously hungry and hard-working. He’s made two international debuts already, just bagged an IPL deal and he is about to play Test cricket. He’ll probably end up marrying a Bond girl.
And here’s Ali Martin’s profile of Bethell, which handily is the article the quote came from:
Hello world!
If you’re only as good as your last game, New Zealand are phenomenal and England concerning. But Christchurch is not Rawalpindi and nor is it Mumbai, and at the risk of stating the obvious these will be different teams in a different situation. Since they wrapped up a 3-0 series win at the Wankhede at the start of the month New Zealand have left out Will Young, who scored 244 at 48.80 in India and was named player of the series, and Ajaz Patel, who took 15 wickets in those three games, bringing back old-timers Tim Southee and Kane Williamson as well as a debutant seamer in Nathan Smith. Meanwhile since the loss that condemned them to a 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan last month England have gone from three spinners to one, given Ollie Pope the gloves and brought in a debutant of their own in No3 Jacob Bethell, veteran of 20 first-class games. If this isn’t quite a clean slate it is at least a slate that requires only minor washing up.
There seems to have been a lot of interesting Test cricket happening over the last couple of months, and I’m looking forward to a bit more. Welcome!
Since we already know the teams, this might be a good place to put them:
New Zealand XI: Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Pak) and Rod Tucker (Aus).
TV umpire: Adrian Holdstock (SA).
