Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of England 2024. 1st Test between New Zealand and England. Venue of the match will be Christchurch.
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On his return to New Zealand’s ranks, Kane Williamson combined grit and flourish to score 93 off 197 balls. However, his infrequent inability to turn around such a promising start was a microcosm of his team’s day, as England defeated a deceptively calm deck to take eight excellent wickets in their series opener at Christchurch. New Zealand ended the day with their innings and their chances alive, thanks to Glenn Phillips, who batted through to the end at 41 not out, including an eighth-wicket partnership of 46 from 56 balls with Matt Henry.
However, given their recent success on a flat deck in Multan, England will think they can profit when their turn comes on a surface that is known for improving as the game goes on. Ben Stokes made the right decision on a green-tinged field that had been maintained fresh by rainstorms in the lead-up to the game, giving the impression that it would be a decisive toss to win. However, the expected early movement did not materialize for England’s quicks as they decided to bowl first, and the spinner Shoaib Bashir emerged as their main source of wickets with 4 for 69 in 20 overs.
England also owe a debt of gratitude to Brydon Carse, whose successful extraction of a fluent Tom Latham was the highlight of the morning session, and to Gus Atkinson, their year-end discovery, who dismissed the dangerous Devon Conway in his first over and then came back in the evening to remove Williamson with a little extra lift outside off, as he fell in the 90s for the first time in 14 innings over six years.
But more than anything else, England’s promising position was due to New Zealand’s lack of a killer instinct, as each of their eight wickets contributed, in one way or another, to their own demise. With Carse’s upbeat energy and Stokes’ usually proactive fielding supporting it, England were anything from passive spectators. Their performance effectively dispelled a lot of the pessimism that had crept in during their previous two Test matches in Pakistan.
However, there were many grounds to doubt England’s choice to bowl first while Williamson was directing New Zealand’s day. After Atkinson’s sharp return catch to remove Conway for two at the end of the second over, he was his usual phlegmatic self after missing their successful tour of India due to a groin strain. Although he occasionally found it difficult to assert himself, especially against the vivacious Carse, who hit him in the grille on 28 during a turbulent early spell and again on the badge as he entered the 90s.
He found the will to persevere and the courage to pick up the pace when the opportunity presented itself. Before Stokes, who was having trouble landing his front foot in the oily morning conditions, hammered in a half-tracker to be dragged deftly through midwicket, Williamson needed 14 balls to get his first run and 47 for his first boundary. Rachin Ravindra, at 20, pressed forward to a decent length outside off and got away with a narrow edge that was only shown after the event on Ultra-Edge, which did little to lift the captain’s spirits in his last over of the session.
Neither the keeper nor the bowler even filed an appeal. That let-off turned out not to be too expensive. Ravindra attempted to give Bashir the charge but was only able to toe-end a sinking full toss to midwicket. Bashir was offered the ball for the 30th over, in the first half-hour after lunch, and deservedly struck in his second over. This was a really favorable track for batting, as seen by his agonized gaze to the sky, which revealed how much he had given his start away. Williamson has no intention of repeating the same error.
With a well-planned double-whammy that included a short-arm pull for four and a lazy drive down the ground off the expected fuller length, he took on the threat posed by Carse. Once his innings got going, he hurried to his half-century with consecutive pulled fours off Bashir, who looked dangerous whenever he hit his length outside off but was all too likely to drift down the leg-side. At 193 for 3, New Zealand was one excellent partnership away from gaining full control of the match, and by tea, he was within striking distance of his 33rd Test century.
Rather, they made a series of mistakes, as their next four wickets fell for a mere 59 runs. Carse returned to the attack with a crowded leg-side field and a diet of bumpers, forcing a sliced pull to Harry Brook at deep third. Daryl Mitchell had been a good foil in a fourth-wicket partnership of 69, but he was dismissed for 19 just 10 balls into the evening session. But the last nail in the coffin was Williamson’s removal. Since his first-over wicket, Atkinson had been having trouble keeping pace, as seen by his 17 overs with seven no-balls.
But one of his most noteworthy qualities is starting to emerge: the ability to harass well-set hitters. Williamson was hit by a short, decently wide ball that was ready to be sliced for four. Zak Crawley at backward point, however, gulped in the dish with delight when his skiddy trajectory found some important additional bounce. After making a similar mistake to give Bashir his second wicket, Tom Blundell, who was struggling for his 17 runs despite being out of form, turned a leg-sided offbreak to Joe Root at leg gully to leave for three.
To cap off a fiercely contested day, Phillips then hit the lone six of the day by dropping Bashir over the ropes. However, Henry attempted a similar move with the new ball in sight, but was only able to pick out Ben Duckett at long-on.
Preview
Although New Zealand’s pitches are sometimes deceptive and the fiery grass at the toss seldom lasts long past the first session, it now looks like a green meanie. Nevertheless, Christchurch has seen overnight rain to maintain the fresh conditions, and neither team expects spin to play a significant role. Ollie Pope’s reimagined position is just as interesting as Bethell’s stunning debut for England. Even Pope’s most devoted fans may have admitted that he is much too cautious to be a full-time No. 3 after he emerged from a dismal tour of Pakistan with 55 runs in five innings.
However, Cox can potentially muddy the waters by returning to his part-time wicketkeeping duties due to the timing of his thumb injury. Pope’s emergency stint in Pakistan in 2022 was so successful (he scored a quickfire century in England’s historic victory in Rawalpindi) that he retained the role for the second Test despite Ben Foakes’ recovery from illness. It is noteworthy that it is five years to the week since Pope first replaced Jos Buttler, also against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2019.
As a keeper, he averages 52.40 in three Test matches, while his career average is 33.74. The seamers Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, and Brydon Carse will be hoping for more friendly circumstances than they experienced in their most recent trip as a trio in Multan, while Stokes drops to No. 7, which looks too low even considering for his own slack form in Pakistan. Williamson will undoubtedly return, but Will Young, the Indian player of the series, may suffer due to the last-in, first-out rule if he is included.
All of this was giving coach Gary Stead a serious selection dilemma, he acknowledged. On the plus side, unlike the spinners who locked down that outcome for all time, Young did at least make the squad in the first place. Glenn Phillips will shoulder the spin burden since Mitchell Santner, who took 13 in Pune, is currently dealing with a side injury and Ajaz Patel, the 11-wicket hero of New Zealand’s thumping victory at the Wankhede, is once again too good for home conditions. Before Jacob Duffy, all-rounder Nathan Smith will make his Test debut.
Making people appear incompetent is not Kane Williamson’s habit—at least not on purpose. However, Bethell simply has to look at his opposite number’s first-drop record if he wants to feel a little dizzy when he takes guard. The top run scorer for New Zealand has batted at number three in all but 20 of his 180 Test innings, scoring an incredible 8263 runs at 57.38. After a protracted groin ailment, he returns at the age of 34 and lends a sense of gravity to a lineup that played some very serious business during their historic series victory in India.
With England’s preference for a plethora of “high-ceiling” players over traditional selection criteria, we’re growing accustomed to their edgelord tendencies. There’s also something really strange about Jacob Bethell’s upcoming appearance at No. 3, even though nothing compares to Josh Hull’s Test debut against Sri Lanka. With a first-class high of 93, he obviously left a lasting impression on the West Indies white-ball tour, but if Jamie Smith hadn’t been away on paternity leave, he probably wouldn’t be in New Zealand at all.
But now that England’s situation has been turned upside down by Jordan Cox’s fractured thumb, the administration has attempted to turn disarray into a strength. Can Bethell’s youthful precocity prevail? He will undoubtedly be made to feel ten feet tall when he goes out to take his guard, but this debut may go either way. Although it wasn’t the best outcome in their nation’s cricket history, New Zealand’s 3-0 victory in the Test series against India was undoubtedly among the best.
Tom Latham’s team combined moments of virtuoso talent with gritty grit and perseverance to find the appropriate heroes at the right times in each and every match, bringing three very disparate matches—in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai—together with an unbreakable spirit. England would have been a little jealous of New Zealand’s successes if they had been watching from a distance during a rare month of red-ball quiet.
The Bazballers’ lack of ruthlessness has cost them often since the beginning of 2023, especially on their most recent journey to these parts some 20 months ago, despite the great cricket they have produced over the last two and a half years. As the year draws to a close, they feel as though they have reached a turning point in their development because they have lost as many Test matches as they have won, including two crushing defeats in Multan and Rawalpindi that have left their record in Asia alone at a dismal P8 W2 L6.
Jacob Bethell’s selection at number three may suggest otherwise, but it’s obvious that the enjoyment element has diminished since the beatings started to pile up, especially when Ben Stokes apologized on the eve of the Test for his rattiness during the Pakistan trip. As a result, Bazball could return to Baz-ics in the upcoming month or two. There is arguably nowhere on earth that this particular England team would rather be at this moment, but it would be incredibly disrespectful to refer to this three-Test stopover as a rest cure.
Even before considering last month’s incredible exploits, New Zealand’s stellar home record would have taken care of that. A series in New Zealand taps into the more lenient elements of England’s present government, from the environment to the culture to the inevitable anonymity of a tour that takes place on the opposite side of the planet and more. It’s an opportunity to live up to the rhetoric with less repercussion than you might encounter elsewhere, including in the backyard of those noisy trans-Tasman neighbors who will be waiting for another year.
It’s also an opportunity to go back to the guiding principles of 2022, when the strain of the global treadmill initially prompted the notion that there had to be a better way. After admitting that the trip to Pakistan was one of the most difficult of his career, Stokes himself arrived in Christchurch early to spend time with his extended family. Brendon McCullum is also back in his domain, but even his renownedly calm demeanor could use a change of pace as he attempts to restore that calm to England’s somewhat damaged foundations.
If the Hagley Oval performs like it did for South Africa’s visit in 2022, bowling first might be another quick way to victory. New Zealand’s seamers thrashed India for 46 in Bengaluru last month, illustrating the task that faces England. Nevertheless, the imposition of an unneeded follow-on at Wellington and the accompanying display of Kane Williamson’s best form ensured that England might have—and maybe should have—won 2-0 at a canter on their most recent tour.
However, that outcome was only one of several careless incidents that have put England in a distant third place in the World Test Championship final. In contrast, New Zealand, who won the title for the first time in 2021, is undoubtedly back in the running. They would advance farther into the mix with another 3-0 series victory. And while it may sound like a lot to ask, it’s nothing in comparison to the victory they’ve just achieved.
