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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In two different versions of that same old saying, Harry Brook demonstrated that you have to make hay while the sun shines. As the sun returned for the day’s final two sessions, England recovered from a tumultuous working-over under cloudy morning skies to storm towards first-innings parity by the end. His seventh Test century—and sixth away from home—was a magnificent and significant contribution to a day of drastically different weather patterns.
However, it is uncommon that New Zealand has ruined their own chances with as many fielding errors as they did on this captivating second day. During England’s 319 for 5, six easy opportunities were wasted, including four for Brook alone. These opportunities also came at very regular intervals: on 18, 41, 70, and 106, as if to deflate their bowlers whenever they appeared poised to reverse the trend. The result is a game that now seems to be England’s to lose.
They felt that this track would grow better and better for batting after they had taken eight first-day wickets after opting to bowl first, and that appeared to be the case. With his captain, Ben Stokes, who was ominously placed on 37 from 76 at stumps, Brook himself put up crucial partnerships of 151 for the fifth wicket with Ollie Pope, who reacted to his wicketkeeping rearrangement with an outstanding 77, and an undefeated 97.
In the last overs of the day, Stokes did, however, have a life of his own on 30 when Tom Latham fumbled catch No. 6, his third of the day, this time at short cover. However, England had not prepared for the chaos that awaited them during the first three hours of play when the clouds were present. Almost twice as much swing was available than England had managed, and the hot, windy weather that had greeted the first day’s play was replaced in the morning by cooler, cloudy conditions with a little breeze that was ideal for encouraging the ball to speak.
In the end, New Zealand was bowling in the circumstances that England had hoped to take advantage of after winning the toss. And the intensity of their bowling assault had shades of their incredible 46-all-out performance against India in Bengaluru last month, after New Zealand’s first innings had been concluded for 348, with the addition of 29 runs in 40 minutes. The most spectacular blows came from debutant Nathan Smith in the last over before lunch, when he removed fellow newcomer Jacob Bethell for 10 and, crucially, England’s kingpin Joe Root for a duck.
Zak Crawley was the first to go, lbw to Matt Henry for a 12-ball duck, leaving his average against New Zealand at a dismal 10.43. The circumstances surrounding Bethell’s first innings at No. 3 could hardly have been more difficult. He had not contributed to his score in 13 more deliveries after being forced to wait 13 deliveries before he nudged his first run through the leg-side. However, Smith’s arrival freed his arms with a pair of boundaries, one off the pads and the other through backward point.
But in the beginning of his second over, Smith had the last laugh—and then some. He delivered a brilliant seaming ball with minutes left in the session that slanted in at the left-hander from around the wicket, kept its line, and bit and rose onto the edge. Smith endured a torturous wait when the third umpire ruled out a ball, but he ended the session with an even more crucial cut while the exhilaration was still high. Root took an under-edge into the stumps after facing down three deliveries, two of which were declared no-balls this time.
However, his fourth delivery was on a broader line and nipped back off the surface. A bowler with the lively energy and motion of Australia’s Andy Bichel had an incredible debut, and as the teams exited the field, New Zealand appeared poised for a number of more similar moments. Ben Duckett, who hit six fours in a 62-ball 46, at least resisted in his own unique way, but he turned his luck into a bucking bronco rather than just riding it.
Before the beanpole seamer Will O’Rourke coaxed a deadly top-edge to deep backward square, he escaped the first wasted opportunity of the day, to Latham at second slip on 23 off Henry, and then managed to get away with two more inside-edges and a spliced pull over deep third. England was reeling at 71 for 4, and their situation might have been irreversible if Brook had lost the first of his four lives in the very next over.
Glenn Phillips had made a poor miss at gully on 18, which was made even more obvious when he ended Pope’s shaky stay with a one-handed screamer at backward point about 30 overs later. As was the case when Brook was on 41 and Latham spilled his second of the innings, another poor mistake at first slip, Smith had been the unlucky bowler. But by that point, the sun was starting to rise, and England’s insatiable need to take the initiative was already regaining some of the territory that had been lost.
Pope was once again frantic from the start, taking on O’Rourke’s height and bounce with a succession of streaky slaps over the cordon, one of which he understood very little about. Pope was ranked No. 6 for this Test, presumably because he is keeping wicket, but also as a result of his somber tour of Pakistan. However, as Brook followed suit with a stunning flip for six over fine leg off Henry, England’s run-rate started to revert to the standard 4-an-over pace that has allowed them to thwart several bowling attacks in recent years.
With Brook hitting a second six over fine leg and Pope nudging to leg from a fast 59 balls, both players had dominated to their fifties by teatime against a now middle-aged ball. As they maintained that energy into the evening session, New Zealand’s mistakes kept piling up. When Brook wrapped into a slog-sweep on 70 off Phillips, Devon Conway blew chance No. 4 at deep midwicket, and his century was already certain. With a spectacular lap-scoop over the keeper’s head off Southee, he duly advanced into the 90s.
He then hit Southee past deep point to get his century from 123 balls. He was formerly the second-fastest player to achieve 2000 Test runs in terms of balls faced, with a quick 2300, and the eighth-fastest player in terms of innings. There was still time for one final break; Blundell clanged down the leg-side behind the stumps, but perhaps there was no way to get rid of him given that the umpire missed the edge and singled four byes as well. The conclusion of New Zealand’s own innings had foreshadowed the day’s theatrics.
It was not an easy stay, as shown by Phillips’ audible exclamation of “oh you weasel!” as Chris Woakes beat him with an outswinger after he had converted his overnight 41 to an undefeated 58. In addition, he was given a fright on 42 when Carse, who was producing a decent head of steam, struck him hard in the grille with a top-edge off the splice. As a portent of things to come, Root dropped him at slip in the same over, a difficult diving opportunity to his right. However, Carse had already done Southee a favor with his first delivery of the day.
He finished the innings with career-best figures of 4 for 64 in his third Test, ultimately hitting O’Rourke off stump with an outswinging yorker. It served as a reminder that England has bowlers capable of competing on this fascinating surface as well. They will think they can win this game again if they also have the catchers.
