England would be quite pleased after restricting New Zealand to 319-8 in 83 overs at the end of Day 1. The 1st Test match was played at Christchurch which generally isn’t a spin-friendly track & despite that Shoaib Bashir took 4 scalps. Even when Jack Leach & Rehan Ahmed were in England’s squad, the duo of Brendon McCullum & Ben Stokes opted for Shoaib Bashir which is his maiden New Zealand Test tour.
New Zealand fans would be quite overjoyed to see their star batter ‘Kane Williamson” back onto the field. The former New Zealand captain had missed the historic India Test series due to a groin injury. Kane came into the team in place of Will Young who had to make a way despite being one of the architects of the triumph in India.
Playing 11 of New Zealand & England
England skipper Ben Stokes had no hesitation that he would bowl first after winning the toss. Ben Stokes is quite a fearless captain who loves challenges. New Zealand surprisingly didn’t have the services of Mitchell Santner for the 1st Test match which may be to manage his workload; he was the skipper for the recently concluded Sri Lanka white ball leg tour.
New Zealand 11: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William ORourke
England 11: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir
Tom Latham & Kane Williamson steady the ship of New Zealand in the morning session
The tall lanky fast bowler Gus Atkinson’s decision to go around the wicket to Devon Conway did wonders for the team. Devon Conway gave a return catch to Atkinson as he couldn’t time the ball properly to cover the region. Kane Williamson & Tom Latham got their eye in & as usual, Kane Williamson was playing his late curt shot to the third man quite perfectly.
Tom Latham & Kane Williamson were taking the game away from the visitors. Brydon Carse in the 14th over dismissed Tom Latham by enticing him to play a cover drive and wicket-keeper Ollie Pope took a catch. Tom Latham was back in the dugout after scoring 47 runs in 54 balls in which he struck 6 fours. Rachin Ravindra was seen playing positive cricket and full of intent and he along with Kane Williamson made sure that no more wickets were lost in the morning session and the score was 104 runs in 24 overs for the loss of 2 wickets.
Kane Williamson continues to frustrate England bowlers in the afternoon session
It was a typical afternoon session at Christchurch where batting became easier. Kane Williamson didn’t look out of touch at all in the afternoon session; he was well accompanied by Rachin Ravindra. Kane Williamson’s shot selection even when there was a short ball trap setup by Ben Stokes.
Shoaib Bashir was getting a bit of turn & awkward bounce from the surface. In the 32nd over, Bashir bowled a full toss to Rachin Ravindra and he shockingly gave a catch straight to mid wicket in the hands of Harry Brook. Rachin Ravindra would be regretting as he failed to convert the start as the batter got out on 34 runs in 49 balls & had hit 3 boundaries. New Zealand’s score was 130-3 in 31.3 overs.
Kane Williamson though was unperturbed by the fall of wickets and made sure to rotate the strike as the scoreboard ticking. Dary Mitchell & Kane started rebuilding the innings. Skipper Ben Stokes didn’t had much answers to Kane Williamson’s defense as well as attacking intent as at the end of afternoon session, New Zealand’s score was 193-3 in 51 overs and Williamson was looking set for a ton.
Shoaib Bashir rips New Zealand’s batting line up in evening session
Daryl Mitchell looked a bit nervy at the start of the evening session as he wasn’t hitting the ball cleanly given his reputation & credentials. The short ball plan by Ben Stokes brought England back into the game. Brydon Carse in the 53rd over, bowled a bumper delivery to Dary Mitchell and he failed to connect the pull shot well and gave a catch to third man.
Kane Williamson too fell in the short ball barrage but he wanted to play a shot over the head of back point fielder but gave a catch to Zak Crawley on the bowling of Atkinson. It won’t be wrong to say that the dismissal of Kane Williamson was a soft and he missed the ton by only 7 runs as the batter was dismissed on 93 runs in 197 balls and struck 10 fours. All of a sudden, the Black Caps were reduced to 227-5 in 60.2 overs.
The Kiwi batters tried to attack Shoaib Bashir and that back-fired as he got rid of Tom Blundell, Nathan Smith & Matt Henry. Ben Stokes had kept fielders in the deep and Bashir kept on giving extra flight & air to deceive the batters which yielded results. New Zealand’s score now is 319-8 and the only hope which the hosts will be having is none other than Glenn Phillips who has looked solid in his unbeaten knock of 41 runs in 58 balls.
What lies ahead for New Zealand & England on Day 2
The Black Caps would be quite optimistic that they can get 1st innings score close to 400 runs. The new ball has been taken and the first half an hour would be extremely critical as New Zealand need quick runs & also need to toil England batters. Day 2 is often considered as a batting day where we can’t rule out the possibility of England playing attacking brand of cricket.
England skipper Ben Stokes would be well aware of the fact that they need to quickly take last 2 wickets. Already, Phillips & Southee have added 21 runs to 10th wicket partnership and can inflict a lot of damage. Chris Woakes & Brydon Carse could be a good option for the bowlers to bowl in tandem as Woakes gets the ball to swing. We can expect a thrilling Day 2 with England slightly ahead in the game.