Here’s your day one report and reaction. We’ll be back tonight with day two.
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We’ll have a match report along shortly. In the meantime, you can follow an even bigger game in Adelaide with Geoff Lemon.
Stumps: New Zealand trail by 194 runs
Are you not entertained? Sure, the over-rate was a shambles but that was a pulsating day at the Basin Reserve: 80.4 overs, 366 runs, 15 wickets.
England’s star was Harry Brook, who responded to top-order collapse by larruping 123 from 115 balls. Ollie Pope played excellently again to make 66, and then the seamers took over.
The last hour was all about the outstanding Brydon Carse. He bowled Kane Williamson with a no-ball, a potentially miserable moment that only served to make him even more dangerous. Carse took a brilliant catch to dismiss Rachin Ravindra, then picked up Williamson and Daryl Mitchell shortly before the close.
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26th over: New Zealand 86-5 (O’Rourke 0, Blundell 7) Blundell gets off strike first ball, which means he’ll be back tomorrow barring some unforseeable fiasco.
England have four slips, two men at gully, a short leg, leg slip and leg gully for the nightwatchman O’Rourke. He’s beaten twice but survives the rest of the over. That was all sorts of fun.
25th over: New Zealand 85-5 (O’Rourke 0, Blundell 6) Blundell pads up to an inducker from Stokes that is this close to hitting the off stump. Apparently it missed by 9.9 centimetres.
England are all over New Zealand having taken the last four wickets for 32. Stokes makes sure there’s time for one more over from the rampant Carse.
24th over: New Zealand 84-5 (O’Rourke 0, Blundell 5) Almost another one! Blundell flicks Carse in the air and just wide of the flying Stokes at leg slip.
“Carse is something else isn’t he?” says Phil Harrison. “I’m calling it now - the 2025-26 series is Carse’s Ashes! Only half joking. He couldn’t be any more perfect for bowling in Australia.”
I can’t comprehend how good he’s been since his Test debut.
WICKET! New Zealand 79-5 (Mitchell c Pope b Carse 5)
Carse has struck again! He dug in an awkward armpit delivery to Mitchell, who pushed instinctively at it and gloved it down the leg side. Pope leapt to his left to take another good catch.
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23rd over: New Zealand 79-4 (Mitchell 6, O’Rourke 0) Mitchell punches Stokes down the ground for his first boundary. With Williamson gone he is now the key man for New Zealand, especially after his return to form in the first Test.
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22nd over: New Zealand 74-4 (Mitchell 1, O’Rourke 0) Will O’Rourke, in as nightwatchman, gets a taste of his own medicine when Carse nips one back to hit him amidships. It’s a wicket maiden for Carse, who is just so impressive.
It would have been so easy, natural even, to sulk after bowling Kane Williamson with a peach only to find out it was a no-ball. Instead, Carse has taken a brilliant catch to dismiss Rachin Ravindra and dismissed Williamson for real.
It was the second ball of a new spell, another beauty that pitched in the corridor and straightened appreciably off the seam. Williamson edged a defensive push and Ollie Pope dived to his right to take a very smart catch. Carse and his captain Ben Stokes scream in each other’s faces with delight. This guy is a sensation.
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WICKET! New Zealand 74-4 (Williamson c Pope b Carse 37)
Brydon Carse dismisses Kane Williamson for the second time!
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21st over: New Zealand 74-3 (Williamson 37, Mitchell 1) A quiet over from Stokes, three from it.
20th over: New Zealand 71-3 (Williamson 35, Mitchell 0) Woakes joins the no-ball club, though this time it doesn’t cost a wicket. Williamson continues to punish anything loose, driving an overpitched delivery from Woakes for three. He has 35 from 49 balls, the rest have 31 from 75 between them. And three of them are out.
19th over: New Zealand 67-3 (Williamson 32, Mitchell 0) I thought Carse might have changed ends – he was replaced by Woakes in the previous over – but it’s Stokes to continue. He has three slips and a leg slip for Mitchell, who times a couple of attacking strokes without beating the infield.
18th over: New Zealand 64-3 (Williamson 29, Mitchell 0) Harry Brook’s innings gets better with each falling wicket.
WICKET! New Zealand 64-3 (Ravindra c Carse b Woakes 3)
Brydon Carse can’t stay out of the game! He has just taken a superb catch to dismiss Rachin Ravindra and gives Chris Woakes his first wicket. Ravindra got a big inside-edge onto the thigh that looped up on the leg side. Carse charged in from midwicket and dived forward to take a brilliant two-handed catch just above the ground.
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17th over: New Zealand 64-2 (Williamson 29, Ravindra 3) A few technical problems during that Stokes over, though you didn’t miss anything.
16th over: New Zealand 63-2 (Williamson 29, Ravindra 2) Williamson jumps up to force Carse through the covers for three, a high-class stroke to a ball of awkward length. Every run Williamson scores after that no-ball will hurt Carse, and he feels the sting when Williamson rifles four more through mid-off.
15th over: New Zealand 55-2 (Williamson 22, Ravindra 1) The cricket is rarely dull when New Zealand and England meet. Even with a dreadful over-rate we’ve seen 335 runs and 12 wickets today.
Stokes almost picks up No13 when Ravindra shoulders arms to a ball that whooshes past off stump. This should be a cracking last hour.
WICKET! New Zealand 53-2 (Latham b Stokes 17)
One captain dismisses another! Latham plays a nothing shot to a back-of-a-length delivery, bowled from round the wicket, and drags it back onto the stumps. He’s fuming with himself as he walks off.
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14th over: New Zealand 53-1 (Latham 17, Williamson 21) Carse continues to harass Williamson, who defends a few deliveries and then knocks a single off the hip.
Carse’s top speed in this three-over spell is 92mph, which might be the fastest delivery of his short Test career. Untimely no-balls aside, he looks so good right now.
Williamson bowled off a no-ball!
It was a stunning delivery from Carse that straightened to peg back the off stump as Williamson played down the wrong line. Carse set off in celebration, only to receive the bad news via the medium of Adrian Holdstock’s outstretched right arm.
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13th over: New Zealand 50-1 (Latham 16, Williamson 20) Williamson has plenty of time to pull Stokes through midwicket for three and bring up the New Zealand fifty. Just over an hour’s play remaining tonight. England would love two more wickets but they’d probably take one, especially if it’s Williamson.
“Surely, statistically, you’ve had a career-best, Rob,” says Paul Cockburn, “even if it was only 0-80.”
That hardly puts us in After The Lord Mayor’s Show territory, does it?
12th over: New Zealand 46-1 (Latham 16, Williamson 17) The first delivery after the review is a nasty short ball that Williamson fences just short of Bethell in the cordon. After a slightly loose first over, Carse is well and truly into his work.
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Williamson is not out!
That was a tough one for the third umpire. Williamson’s bat thumped his front pad as he pushed down the wrong line, but there was another spike at the precise moment the ball went past the bat. It might have been a thin outside edge; it might also have been a continuation of the contact between bat and pad. In short, there was no clear evidence so the third umpire couldn’t overturn the on-field decision.
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England review for caught behind against Williamson!
It was a jaffa from Carse, and though Ben Stokes doesn’t look 100 per cent sure, it’s Kane Williamson and therefore it’s going upstairs.
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11th over: New Zealand 44-1 (Latham 15, Williamson 15) A double bowling change: Woakes off, Stokes on. He still has three slips in place but the ball isn’t doing as much for England as it did the New Zealand bowlers. A couple of runs reduce the deficit to 236.
10th over: New Zealand 42-1 (Latham 14, Williamson 14) Carse comes on for Atkinson, who wasn’t at his best in a spell of 4-0-18-1 but took the important wicket of Devon Conway.
Latham clips his first delivery through midwicket for three, with Bashir doing extremely well to save the boundary. Williamson drives delightfully through mid-off for four; Carse pulls his length back and goes past the edge with a terrific delivery.
This is a good test for Carse, physically and also mentally. It’s not always easy to follow up a career-best performance a few days later, or so I’ve been told.
9th over: New Zealand 33-1 (Latham 11, Williamson 8) That’s nice from Latham, leaning forward to time Woakes through mid-off for three. Williamson, looking ominously good already, defends the remainder of the over.
In other news, Mitchell Starc has struck with the first ball of the Adelaide Test. Yep.
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8th over: New Zealand 30-1 (Latham 8, Williamson 8) Blimey. Williamson shows his intent by cutting his first ball, a short one from Atkinson, brusquely for four. He looked in outstanding touch in the first Test, even if it was strange to see him fail to convert two fifties. A couple of drives through mid-on and then cover bring him two runs apiece.
7th over: New Zealand 22-1 (Latham 8, Williamson 0) Another lovely delivery from Woakes slips past Latham’s defensive push. But then he strays onto the hip and is turned efficiently for four.
6th over: New Zealand 18-1 (Latham 4, Williamson 0) A genius walks to the crease.
Meanwhile, play is about to begin in the second Test between Australia and India. It’s a huge game, particularly for the Aussies, and Geoff Lemon is on OBO duty.
WICKET! New Zealand 18-1 (Conway c Brook b Atkinson 11)
Told you Gus Atkinson wasn’t bowling well. He has made the breakthrough at the end of a good over in which he troubled Conway repeatedly. Eventually Conway drove loosely, one hand coming off the bat, and edged straight to Brook at second slip.
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5th over: New Zealand 11-0 (Latham 1, Conway 7) Conway leans into a fuller delivery from Woakes and drives sweetly through mid-off for four. That will make him feel a whole lot better as he searches for form.
It’s not quite happening for England with the new ball. Ben Stokes is a proactive specimen so don’t be surprised if we see Brydon Carse earlier than expected.
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4th over: New Zealand 7-0 (Latham 1, Conway 3) While England attacked the new ball, Latham and Conway are leaving as many deliveries as possible. Atkinson is enabling them and again looks short of rhythm; he’s also bowled a no-ball in each of his first two overs.
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3rd over: New Zealand 6-0 (Latham 1, Conway 3) Woakes gets some extravagant seam movement to beat Conway on the inside. He has a few polite words with Conway, who smiles sheepishly. Woakes’ hands go to his head when Conway drags a couple of runs into the leg side; for a split second Woakes thought he had him LBW.
2nd over: New Zealand 4-0 (Latham 1, Conway 1) Atkinson has three slips and a gully for Conway, who is trying to play as little as possible while he gets his eye in. Atkinson’s length gets fuller as the over progresses and Conway takes a quick single off the fifth delivery.
Atkinson’s speed in that over was around 82-85mph.
1st over: New Zealand 2-0 (Latham 1, Conway 0) Both the New Zealand openers are under a bit of pressure - particularly Devon Conway, who averaged 53 in his first 13 Tests but just 23 in the last 13.
Woakes almost gets him for a duck with a superb delivery from round the wicket; it cuts through the gate and bounces over middle stump.
Nathan Smith finishes with bonkers figures of 11.4-1-86-4. He was outbowled by Will O’Rourke (3 for 49) and Matt Henry (2 for 43), in truth, but then he deserves a bit of luck after all those dropped catches in the first Test.
England’s innings can be split into three sections: they were 43 for 4, then 217 for 4 after a pulsating partnership behind Harry Brook and Ollie Pope, and finally 280 all out.
The ball has done plenty today so England won’t be too disappointed with that score. But they’ll also be frustrated that Brook, who made a devastating 123. was run out needlessly on the stroke of tea.
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WICKET! England 280 all out (Carse c O'Rourke b Smith 9)
Carse turns down a single off Smith, who then rams a bouncer over everyone for five wides. The innings ends soon after when Carse top-edges a pull towards deep backward square, where Will O’Rourke takes a fine low catch.
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54th over: England 275-9 (Carse 9, Bashir 0)
WICKET! England 275-9 (Woakes c Blundell b O'Rourke 18)
Chris Woakes is caught behind off Will O’Rourke. It’s a triumph for the wicketkeeper Tom Blundell – not for the catch, which was easy, but because he was the only person who appealed. Woakes tried to flat bat O’Rourke over the off side and got a gossamer-thin edge.
Blundell was sure he heard something and, with two reviews left, Tom Latham decided to go upstairs. It was a good decision.
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53rd over: England 271-8 (Woakes 15, Carse 8) Brydon Carse, a Test match No10, charges his first delivery and muscles it over mid-off for four. That’s an extraordinary shot, which he follows with an edge that lands short of the cordon and scuttles between Southee’s legs for four.
Nathan Smith has figures that are surely unique in Test cricket history: 11-1-81-3.
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WICKET! England 263-8 (Atkinson c Phillips b Smith 4)
Gus Atkinson lasts just three balls: a top-edged hook for four, a play and miss and then an edge that is smartly snaffled by Phillips in the gully. It was a really good delivery from Smith that bounced and straightened off the seam. England will hope for more of the same when they bowl, which should be any minute now.
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Harry Brook’s record in Tests in New Zealand
89 (81 balls)
54 (41)
186 (176)
0 (0)
171 (197)
123 (115)
Overall 623 runs at 103.83, strike-rate 102.13
Tea
52.1 overs: England 259-7 (Woakes 15) That’s a frustrating end to a glorious innings from Brook: 123 from 115 balls with 11 fours and five sixes. It’s his second run out in as many innings on this ground. And, more importantly, it has turned a good session for England into a slightly disappointing one.
WICKET! England 259-7 (Brook run out 123)
A minor shemozzle on the stroke of tea. Brook drops Smith on the leg side, sets off and is sent back by Woakes. Smith collects the ball in his follow through and throws down the stumps with Brook not even close to making his ground.
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52nd over: England 259-6 (Brook 123, Woakes 15) A maiden from Henry to Woakes, including two more past the outside edge. It looks like there will be time for another over before the break.
51st over: England 259-6 (Brook 123, Woakes 15) Smith, on for Southee, nips one back to hit Brook in the stomach. Nicely bowled. Brook works a pair of twos to leg, then shapes to uppercut and is beaten by a ball that follows him.
Time for one more over before tea.
49th over: England 255-6 (Brook 119, Woakes 15) Brook continues to take a breather on the job by taking another single early in Henry’s over. Woakes softens his hands to ensure an edge falls well short of Mitchell at first slip.
49th over: England 254-6 (Brook 118, Woakes 15) Southee loses his line on a couple of occasions, which allow Woakes to nail drives for four through point and then cover.
England have such a strong tail in this game, with Atkinson and Carse still to come. It still doesn’t compare to this South African 8-11 at Adelaide in 1997-98:
Brian McMillan
Shaun Pollock
Lance Klusener
Pat Symcox
Lance Klusener at No10 FHS.
48th over: England 243-6 (Brook 115, Woakes 7) Matt Henry replaces O’Rourke, who bowled a ruthless spell of 5-1-19-2, and becomes the latest bowler to beat Woakes outside off stump. It’s terrific bowling, particularly with a ball that is 48 overs old. The more Woakes plays and misses, the more encouraged he will be about his chances with the ball when the time comes.
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47th over: England 240-6 (Brook 114, Woakes 5) Southee deserves a wicket for what has been a really challenging old-ball spell. Woakes almost offers a return catch, then plays and misses at successive deliveries. The second was such a jaffa that Woakes smiled broadly in recognition of Southee’s craftsmanship.
Incidentally Brook has faced only 10 balls in eight overs since the wicket of Pope, which is the main reason the scoring has slowed. He has 114 from 103 balls, Woakes 5 from 23.
46th over: England 239-6 (Brook 113, Woakes 5) Woakes has been roughed up in the past, most notably in Australia in 2017-18, and O’Rourke’s plan is clear and obvious. The leaping Blundell does well to save four byes when Woakes ignores a bouncer. The rest of the over is defending solidly.
Woakes could do with some runs after a poor recent run: before today he’d scored 39 runs in his last seven Test innings, albeit with a couple of bits of red ink.
45th over: England 239-6 (Brook 113, Woakes 5) Brook drags Southee round the corner for four, then both batters have a stroke of fortune. Brook plays and misses; Woakes inside-edges past the stumps for a single. A really good over from Southee ends with a nipbacker that hits Brook in the mentionables.
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44th over: England 233-6 (Brook 108, Woakes 4) O’Rourke bowls five wides to Woakes, then hits him on the shoulder (body, not bat) with another malevolent lifter. It’s very easy to see why New Zealand are so excited about O’Rourke, who is still only 23. Imagine him and Kyle Jamieson bowling together on a flyer.
43rd over: England 227-6 (Brook 107, Woakes 4) Chris Woakes is beaten twice by Southee, two seductive deliveries he could have left, then belts a cover drive for four to get off the mark.
Since you asked, I haven’t a clue whether this is a good score or not.
42nd over: England 222-6 (Brook 106, Woakes 0) Stokes made two from 15 balls – and even those runs came off a leading edge. But it felt like brilliant bowling rather than poor batting from Stokes. Most players in world cricket would have struggled to deal with that kind of interrogation at the start of an innings.
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WICKET! England 222-6 (Stokes c Latham b O'Rourke 2)
Magnificent bowling from Will O’Rourke! Ben Stokes may never have been worked over as emphatically in his whole career. O’Rourke drove him back with a couple of short balls, then slipped one fuller to beat the drive. Trampolining deliveries at 89mph are no fun for anybody, and Stokes was put out of his misery when he edged a length delivery to second slip. That’s about as good as it gets from O’Rourke.
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41st over: England 220-5 (Brook 105, Stokes 2) Southee replaces Phillips, who four overs were milked and manhandled for 32. He took a bit of tap himself this morning but this is a good time to bowl – certainly to Stokes, who likes to play himself in. One from the over.
“Blah blah blah Brook is heart-stoppingly brilliant blah blah,” says Robert Wilson. “Did someone mention Peter Willey? It was not so much that watching Peter Willey actually bat was one of the brightest pleasures of my youth (though it was up there) but watching him stand at the crease was definitely a highlight.
“There have been plenty of scowling, blinking crab/squid hybrids over the years. The crouchers, the squatters, the cowering hunchers and the grovelling stoopers. But Willey took ugly batting stances to another level. A mix of mime artist emoting diarrhoea and those blokes who point and hunker down on aircraft carriers, Willey seemed to believe he might actually be compelled to play the odd shot with his arse (and in an era of single down-the-wicket camera positions, he always looked like the camera was behind him even when it wasn’t). And all this while sporting the beard and barnet of the dastardly roué in an Alan Ayckbourn play - or the Sheriff of Nottingham in a very cutprice 197Os version of Robin Hood. They simply don’t make artists like that anymore.
“(After writing this, I checked him out on YouTube, lest this little paean be too overblown and fantastical. I think if anything, I’ve gravely undersold it. What a legend!)”
As Livia Soprano used to say, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
40th over: England 219-5 (Brook 104, Stokes 2) Will O’Rourke looks a serious handful. Stokes, surprised by more extra bounce, gets a leading edge that drops short of gully and runs away for a couple.
WICKET! England 217-5 (Pope c Ravindra b O'Rourke 66)
Pope tries to pull O’Rourke, is beaten for pace and spoons the ball high in the air. Henry (mid-on) and Ravindra (short leg) leave it to one another at first before Ravindra scampers forward to take the catch.
That was almost a carbon copy of the false stroke Pope played in the previous O’Rourke over. Probably not the smartest bit of batting to try it again, but overall he played a terrific innings: 66 from 78 balls with seven fours and a six.
Harry Brook makes his eighth Test century!
39th over: England 217-4 (Brook 104, Pope 66) There it is! Brook works Phillips for a single to reach the most brilliant, game-changing century: 91 balls, nine fours, five sixes. He’s touched with genius, this lad, and watching him play like this is the closest thing we’ve had to the KP Experience.
He points his bat skyward, looks up to salute his grandma Pauline – and then gets back to business by smashing Phillips to the extra-cover boundary off the last ball of the over.
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38th over: England 210-4 (Brook 99, Pope 64) O’Rourke replaces the luckless Henry. Brook, on 98, charges down the pitch and slashes a cross-bat shot that bounces not far short of Conway at third man.
Pope shows how to do it by staying in his crease and uppercutting deliberately for six. But then he has a moment of fortune when he’s late on a flick-pull and spoons the ball over the head of short leg. That could easily have gone to a fielder.
England, who were put in and reduced to 43 for 4, are scoring at 5.52 per over.
37th over: England 201-4 (Brook 98, Pope 56) Pope touches Phillips for a single to bring up the 150 partnership in just 23.4 overs – a frankly outrageous response to England being in trouble at 43 for 4.
The Phillips experiment hasn’t worked. His three overs have gone for 25, including a rank bad ball that Brook whirls past short fine leg for four. He’s two away from another century, and this time he hasn’t even been dropped once
36th over: England 190-4 (Brook 93, Pope 50) Henry’s frustration continues when another lovely delivery beats Brook’s attempted drive. He has bowled beautifully in both spells.
Pope is not out!
It wasn’t umpire’s call, it was bouncing over the top. New Zealand lose a review.
New Zealand review for LBW against Pope!
Pope flicks Henry for three to reach a fine, counter-punching fifty from 65 balls. He’s never been known for his consistency, and this is only the second time in the last four years that he has made 50+ in successive Test innings.
He survives another big LBW appeal after walking across his stumps. “Probably umpire’s call,” says Henry to his captain Tom Latham, who goes upstairs with a couple of seconds to spare. It’s pretty close.
Highest Test average at No5 (min: 1000 runs)
Harry Brook 68.83
Joe Root 67.25
AB de Villiers 62.11
Rishabh Pant 61.77
Michael Clarke 60.80
35th over: England 183-4 (Brook 91, Pope 47) There he goes. There he is goes. Brook dances down to drive Phillips over long off for a big six, his fifth of the innings. A slap for two takes him into the nineties, yet again.
34th over: England 173-4 (Brook 82, Pope 46) This is a fabulous contest between Henry and Brook. Two of the first three balls go past the outside edge; the other is smeared disdainfully over mid-on for four.
With a bit more luck Henry could have five-for already. Pope has an escape later in the over when a leading edge plops short of Williamson on the off side.
33rd over: England 168-4 (Brook 77, Pope 46) Tom Latham turns to the offspin of Glenn Phillips, presumably hoping Brook or Pope will do something silly. The big shots will come soon enough, you’d imagine, but for now they settle for four low-risk singles.
32nd over: England 164-4 (Brook 75, Pope 44) Brook opens the face to steer Henry past second slip for four. Strokes like that must drive quality seam bowlers to distraction. I doubt crap seam bowlers enjoy them much either.
Brook has 75 from 70 balls, a continuation of a statgasmic record in Tests in New Zealand. He has made 575 runs at an average of 115 with a strike rate of 102. And that includes being run out without facing a ball in the second innings on this ground two years ago.
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31st over: England 158-4 (Brook 70, Pope 43) Pope jabs at Smith and edges this far short of Latham at second slip. He gets the next ball away, back cutting efficiently to the fence.
So, this medium-term No3, who should it be?
Ben Stokes Technically suited but his brain whirs far too much in the field, even when he doesn’t bowl, so he needs a rest.
Joe Root Doesn’t want to bat there, vulnerable to the new ball and especially extra bounce.
Harry Brook Still too soon, especially in Australia with the extra bounce
Ollie Pope Far better at No6
Jamie Smith Too soon even if he doesn’t keep wicket, never mind if he does.
Jacob Bethell Too soon against India and Australia, plus he’s not in the best XI at the moment.
I suspect Pope, who has always been a very selfless player, will return to No3 in the summer. I hope he doesn’t regret it. Maybe these performances will empower him if/when he does move back up.
Pope is not out!
30th over: England 154-4 (Brook 70, Pope 39) Pope survives, though it was closer than I thought: umpire’s call on the point of contact with both pad and stumps. He didn’t get far enough down the track to invalidate the appeal.
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New Zealand review for LBW against Pope
Henry sees Brook coming and rams a bouncer past his face to tell him to stay in his crease. Brook does just that and pulls the next ball handsomely for six. This is so much fun.
Pope, on the charge, survives a pretty big LBW appeal. I thought it was probably outside the line, and he was a long way down as well, but New Zealand have reviewed the decision.
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29th over: England 146-4 (Brook 63, Pope 39) Pope plays another gorgeous drive for four, this time through extra cover. England have got a problem on the horizon because he looks so good at No6; it’s not just the runs but the way he is scoring them. We haven’t heard the F-word* all series.
Brook edges Smith just short of the slips and away for four. Enough of propping and cocking: he makes room to slam the next delivery over extra cover for a simply preposterous six. It’s his third of the innings, all over extra cover I think.
* Frenetic
28th over: England 130-4 (Brook 52, Pope 34) Matt Henry, who bowled a single spell of 7-4-14-2 this morning, returns after lunch and beats Brook with his first delivery. He’s had a Test career of two halves. His first 55 wickets cost 41 apiece, the last 57 have come at 19.
He has an appeal for wicket No113 turned down when Pope flicks at a delivery down the leg side. A very good over ends with Brook playing and missing for the second time. Even in this very fine seam attack, Henry looks a class apart.
27th over: England 128-4 (Brook 51, Pope 33) Smith has three slips waiting for an edge, though as you’d expect there’s nowhere near as much movement as there was with the new ball. Pope, who looks so much more natural at No6, rifles a lovely drive through mid-off for four.
The players are back on the field. Harry Brook will resume on 51; Ollie Pope has 29. Nathan Smith, who has figures of 6-1-41-2 on day one of a Test match, has the ball.
“Many thanks for your summary of the action we’ve missed,” says Nick Parish. “Mostly very informative, although I’m not convinced those of us who have followed this England team before really needed to be told that Zak Crawley went cheaply...”
The more he fails, the more certain I am he’ll score 800 runs in next winter’s Ashes. I’m fascinated by good but not great players who produce their best against their best. Peter Willey and David Steele are good examples from the past. On an individual level, the New Zealand No3 Andrew Jones had outstanding head-to-head records against the best bowlers of his era.
“Cricket though!” writes Adam Hirst. “What an amazing session that I almost saw. Soon Joe Root will oon not even be Yorkshire’s best batter. Whatever England manage in the rest of the day though, could get…* overshadowed by news from Adelaide.
“*I don’t even like using the word ‘trumped’ any more."
Toilet humour may never be the same again.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, belated over-by-over coverage of the second Test between New Zealand and England in Wellington. As you may be aware, Guardian and Observer members of the National Union of Journalists have been on strike for the last 48 hours, hence the late start to our coverage. If you’d like to know more about that, click here.
If you’re here for the cricket, the whole cricket and nothing but the cricket, here’s a summary of the morning session.
England, put in by New Zealand, reached 124 for four from 26 overs at lunch
They were 43 for 4 after Matt Henry and Nathan Smith took two wickets apiece
Zak Crawley (17), Ben Duckett (0), Jacob Bethell (16) and Joe Root (3) all fell cheaply
Harry Brook made a 48-ball fifty, with two sixes and five fours, and added 81 for the fifth wicket with Ollie Pope (29 not out)
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