by The day before the series opener, there was a reunion of the New Zealand team that first beat England in 1978, featuring David Gower, although he was not part of that team on tour, providing an English voice on the panel. When the subject of Geoffrey Boycott’s Seven Hours 70 came up, Gower joked that it was “really fucking fast” by his old mucker’s standards – before apologizing for using the word fast.
What followed England on the opening day here wasn’t exactly dizzying either; Ben Stokes won the toss, opting to bowl and his team bowled only 83 overs. The cricket itself, however, was filled with incident for the 8,000 or so lucky souls who lined the grass banks of this magnificent boutique venue. Kane Williamson top-scored with 93, showing these hands are no less limp for Oil of Olay for missing India’s 3-0 series win, and 319 for eight looked balanced.
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Brendon McCullum had credited New Zealand’s ingenuity for this particular slice of history three weeks ago and, although his England players were a little sloppy – reviews either not taken or burned, a glut of balls without ball and a costly drop from Glenn Phillips early on. on what became an undefeated 41 – they kept chipping away. McCullum will have been particularly pleased with off-spinner Shoaib Bashir as he claimed four for 69 on a green-tinged pitch from day one that both captains had wanted to use first. It was a very Kiwi surface, accelerating and probably going to get realer.
The 21-year-old continues to groove at a consistent length under the harsh light of the international spotlight, but playing mostly in strong wind, he has found a way. Rachin Ravindra, another gem who looks ready from the first ball, managed to turn a full delivery into a full toss after lunch and found mid-wicket on 34, while Tom Blundell and Nathan Smith fell to shots slightly soft.
Matt Henry also holed out an 18 with the dangerous Phillips at the other end. If these players had been English, it would likely have sparked a wave of online outrage over the debauchery. Even without a big turn, however, Bashir’s extra bounce was a big factor.
Much outrage followed the series in Pakistan, a tour where Bashir was bowled by Jack Leach on surfaces that should have been helpful. Backed as a long-term bet, expectations were reversed. After all, no spinner has taken a Test five-wicket haul here, and Bashir became only the second to take four in an innings. He later admitted to being slightly “impressed” by Williamson during their duel and sometimes unsettled by the wind. The answer was to look to be stronger in his bowling action and in his bowling for runs.
“Two years ago I didn’t have a county,” Bashir said. “I’m just very, very grateful for what’s happened over the last year. Stokesy and Baz support me 100%.
“I played a lot of bad balls [in Pakistan] and I was still held back. It shows how much they trust me. Stokesy looks at me and smiles [when I bowl a bad ball] and even that gives me so much confidence.
Bashir’s three strikes after tea brought England back into the contest after putting 193 for three on the scoreboard at the break, with Williamson grimly set at 73.
Gus Atkinson had a positive start to the morning, teasing a return from Devon Conway with the new ball. But after struggling with a few soft foot holes at the City End and overtaking a total of seven times, it was only when he moved to the Botanic Garden End that he found better rhythm and the extra touch of bounce that pushed Williamson to move back.
Related: Kane Williamson admits he was lucky after stylish 93 against England
With Stokes a little wild in his 13 overs and Chris Woakes a little sedate in his 16, the seamers’ choice was Brydon Carse and the extra bite seen in his first series in Pakistan. He finished off a particularly fluent 47 from Tom Latham during the morning session, flicking one away from the left-hander to give Ollie Pope a first catch on his return to the wicketkeeper, and then performed a bumper ploy which allowed Daryl Mitchell to gain the advantage over Harry. Brook has a fairly long stop.
Pope was more than neat with his gloves; a reminder that he is a true wicketkeeper by his upbringing and that the selection error was not his status as a substitute, but rather the lack of top-order cover. His main problem was not realizing that Ravindra had fallen behind on 20 before lunch – no one appealed, in fairness – and as consigliere for two burnt reviews later. As his tenure as alternate captain shows, the decision review system is not his strong point.
These came against Stokes, with the captain also being the one to fell Phillips in the final hour with a diving effort from halfway. As one of the best defenders in the world, Phillips would probably have held his own and after dodging a fourth-ball duck, his late salvo pushed the hosts past 300. Slow in terms of overestimation, sure, but enough action to support the predictions of another series of belts.
