James Anderson and Jack Leach divided the six rooks as follows: England They placed themselves in a dominant position on the second day of their series by deciding on the second Test against. New Zeland.
After another entrepreneurial statement from the captain Ben StokesPulling the plug on his own side’s first hits at 435 on the eight, the combination of stitch and spin reduced Black Caps to 137 at seven.
Stokes’ eagerness to take two bites at the new ball on either side of lunch saw Joe Root rock his team at 153 in full flow, and it proved to be an inspiring decision as Anderson succeeded in gambling.
In an awkward 35-minute period before the break, he knocked out key guys Devon Conway and Kane Williamson and came back fresh to add Will Young early in the afternoon.
At 21 out of three, New Zealand fully reflected England’s first morning score. But the tourists’ Root and harry brook (186) To thank a beast of 302, New Zealand could not stop the decay. As the field began to change, Leach chose Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell.
All three were caught close, and Ollie Pope made a few excellent one-handed contributions under the helmet to make his mark on the game. When Stuart Broad got a catch and got into action by bowling, the hosts thanked the rain that ended the trial early.
But this also meant more rest for England’s sailors, and with a rising lead of 297 in the bank, a follow-up game could kick in if England chooses to push the issue.
England appeared intently in front of a sold-out crowd at the Basin Reserve, adding 120 runs to the five bases. Root did most of the heavy lifting, going 101 overnight and adding 52 more from just 42 balls, three of which were sixes.
The first of these came from his fourth ball in the morning and made his intentions clear by turning Tim Southee over the ropes to the third man. This shot took Brook and his fourth wicket stand to the three-hundred zone, but the young man was gone a few minutes later. Matt Henry had a shot at a quick rebound, with Brook returning straight to the pitcher.
That ended his father David’s hopes of beating the family record of 210 in the Airedale and Wharfedale League in 2001, but his status as a major force in Test cricket seems to be stable after just six caps.
Stokes was next, and as captain he contributed to a frenzied cameo that became stock in the trade. He held 28 balls, made 27 laps, hit the five limit and could easily have gone out three times.
His end came when he tried to whip a difficult ball from Neil Wagner across the infield and made his way into midfield. Ben Foakes managed an even less graceful exit, first rolling his face and then tripping over a duck while facing Michael Bracewell’s breaks.
In the midst of all this, Root led his 14th run in the Tests to 150 and kicked off the strokes with a four-man showdown. That left enough time for seven extra and two cheap wickets.
Anderson only needed four balls to deliver the goods, taking one away from left-handed Conway and taking a thin edge that neither he nor wicketkeeper Foakes could detect. Plugs, however, were convinced there was a sound, and DRS confirmed their suspicions of a subtle notch.
Williamson was next, and he was flying lazily on a delivery he had to drop to increase his streak from three tries to 10 rounds.
After a 40-minute hiatus, Anderson continued his outstanding sequence work with the new ball, producing a pearl that scraped the edge of innocent Will Young as he zipped it back. it works as it sets up camp at one end.
Latham (35) was caught at the moment of the slip after the third referee reviewed the replays and determined that the ball hit the wrist of his glove before it ballooned to slide. Leach’s next two came with big assists from Pope, who jumped in the short leg to grasp Nicholls’ reverse sweep, then reacted faster to snatch Mitchell’s forward poke at a silly point at close range.
Ollie Robinson cast an extraordinary but unfortunate eight-over spell for six rounds before Broad took seventh, conceding an easy comeback from Bracewell.