English cricket fans have never had it so good. On day one here, a stunning 184 not out from Harry Brook and a century from Joe Root rescued England from 21 for three, as the pair shared a fantastic 294-run partnership.
However long the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes axis lasts, the memories this team has created for those lucky enough to have seen them in the past nine months will last a lifetime.
For the first time this winter, England were briefly in trouble, as they sunk to 21 for three in the first hour of play, and yet from the lowest low they then recorded their highest high, as Root and Brook combined for a staggering partnership that took the visitors to the close in an almost unassailable position, at 315 for three.
Such is the aura around this team at the moment that an 11th win in 12 already feels inevitable. Brook’s century, in particular, was sublime. No one in history has scored more runs after nine Test innings than the 24-year-old Yorkshireman, with his century at the Basin Reserve today the fourth of his career and, arguably, his best.
Arriving at the crease with England in the mire, he played a different game to Root at the other end and a different sport to his already departed team-mates.
Of whether he ranked Friday’s innings as his best in an England shirt, Brook replied: “Definitely. Just the situation of the game more than anything. We lost three early wickets, which wasn’t ideal, but I came out and tried to counter-punch and be as positive as I could be.”
As Root battled and fought for his runs, Brook cruised along and, at one point, hit Daryl Mitchell for consecutive sixes over long-on. Root is one of the most watchable batters of his generation and, yet, in his partnership with Brook, he was little more than a sibling stood in front of the telly. Get out the way, Joe, Harry’s batting. The former skipper’s half-century took him 122 balls; Brook’s hundred took 107.
“There was a period in the middle where he was batting near the five-foot line and I was batting right back on my stumps,” Brook said of their partnership, with both players at one point ramping the Kiwi bowlers for six. “As a bowler, you can’t really see that when you’re running in, so that was probably quite tricky for them to bowl at.
“I don’t look at the wicket until I get out there, I don’t like having any pre-conceived ideas. There was a bit of seam, but it was more bounce than anything. But you combine those two things and it feels a lot quicker and feels like it’s doing more.”
Runs are hard to come by at the Basin Reserve. This season, no first-innings total in domestic cricket has passed 225 and every captain that has won the toss — including Black Caps skipper Tim Southee last night — has elected to bowl, a decision that England would have made also.
And at first it appeared to be a vital toss to win, as Zak Crawley edged behind for two, before Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett fell in consecutive overs, as both were caught by Michael Bracewell in the slips.
The catch to dismiss Pope was good, but the second was spectacular, as Bracewell dived full length to his left and plucked the ball inches from the turf. It was not even midday, but it would be the last time a New Zealander had a smile on their face all afternoon.
The home side had opted to pick an extra batter and, as a result, relied heavily on the returning Matt Henry and talisman Tim Southee to do the legwork with the ball. But when those two were seen off, the gentle medium pace of Mitchell and the wayward bowling of Neil Wagner was feasted upon by Brook and Root. In particular, Wagner took a battering, as he conceded 101 runs from his 17 overs without taking a wicket.
Rain would bring the day to a premature close 25 overs earlier than scheduled, but it held off long enough for Root to bring up his 29th Test century off the final ball before the heavens opened.
“It’s just a regular occurrence, isn’t it?” Brook said of his team-mate. “Twenty-nine now, he’s on a roll. He just said well done [when I got my hundred]. He said a few other things, too, but I don’t know if I can repeat that.”
