Eng Test tour of NZ, Feb 16-28

[alfie]

New England will win this on a pitch where NZ got nearly 500. Just a case of how long it takes.

Holding you responsible for this result , Arthur

[alfie]

Ah well... as Garlic says , probably England were "due" to lose one of these very close ones. Hurts a bit I guess (especially as it means NZ retain an unbeaten record against England at home stretching past 15 years !) ; but it was such a good game it would be churlish to complain about the outcome.

I imagine there will be plenty of discussion about the wisdom or otherwise of enforcing the follow on (though all rather academic now !) Just for the record , I was fine with it myself - just as I would have been with the alternative choice. Risk and reward : all such decisions take them into account and no one has a crystal ball. This time , NZ batted and bowled well enough to (just) nick the result : well done them

Are there questions thrown up for England by this loss ? Well yes ; but not really any that careful study couldn't have hinted at beforehand. Limitations to the bowling when injury deprives them of their fifth bowler in skipper Stokes : how often does he provide the piece of magic when the regulars get stuck ? Having more extra pace options (hopefully !) available when the home season comes around might help : but the spin position is pretty much the honest but unspectacular Leach - more Ashley Giles than Graeme Swann. They did win in 2005 with Giles on deck though...

As for the batting : what all looked fantastic on flat decks in Pakistan was somewhat shown up today. Brook getting run out like that was a blow ; but it was perhaps symptomatic of the rather frazzled early batting. Definitely seemed to be a touch of panic in the air until Root and Stokes calmed things down. (I do think the night watchman proved a poor move. Robinson tossed his wicket away pointlessly in the morning to give NZ an early lift. And being spared a few balls last night seemed to do nothing for Pope who looked skittish throughout his short innings). Jury still out on how Duckett will fare in English conditions against serious pace attacks , though he has earned a chance to show what he can do.
Foakes did rather well when left with the tail. Patient (maybe a little too careful in passing up singles to protect Leach ?) until he got a burst of runs that so nearly won the day. He may still be at risk as England consider how to fit Bairstow back in the side. Who knows ? One might think that Jonny would have finished the game quickly in his position by hoisting Wagner's bouncers repeatedly onto the grassy banks...but alternately he might have holed out like Root and Stokes . I actually think Foakes' usually conservative approach to batting is a useful counterpoint to the hitters ahead of him in the order (disregarding questions of keeping duties) and would prefer to see YJB replace the underachieving Crawley ; but acknowledge there are batting order issues to be considered too.

All up : bit of a reality check perhaps. This team has spirit and some style ; but still some way to go if it is to mount the top steps of the Test Match ladder. If they learn from mistakes it won't have cost too much but a bit of hurt pride. And the crowd (who actually had a free entry anyway !) certainly got their money's worth

[Arthur Crabtree]

New England will win this on a pitch where NZ got nearly 500. Just a case of how long it takes.

Holding you responsible for this result , Arthur :)

Ended up a better prediction than it looked at five down.

Well done Kiwis. What a come back.

[Durhamfootman]

well... goodness.... I wasn't expecting to see that scorecard when I woke up this morning.

Harry Brook run out without facing a ball, was that Roots fault or was Brook being a bit dozy? (I couldn't tell from the crappy highlight thingy I watched)

I imagine NZ supporters will remember Wellington '23 the way England fans remember Egbaston '05..... they are the very best kinds of test matches

Stokes looked to have been hobbling pretty badly. I've heard about his dicky knee. He won't be turning out for Durham anytime soon...... he'll join Woody on cotton wool duties presumably

[alfie]

well... goodness.... I wasn't expecting to see that scorecard when I woke up this morning.

Harry Brook run out without facing a ball, was that Roots fault or was Brook being a bit dozy? (I couldn't tell from the crappy highlight thingy I watched)

I imagine NZ supporters will remember Wellington '23 the way England fans remember Egbaston '05..... they are the very best kinds of test matches

Stokes looked to have been hobbling pretty badly. I've heard about his dicky knee. He won't be turning out for Durham anytime soon...... he'll join Woody on cotton wool duties presumably

Was a poor call from Root. But Brook should have been alert enough to respond "no !".

Stokes needs a good rest and a lot of work on that knee. It does worry me.

[sussexpob]

If you were to take a whole innings into a highlight reel of dismissals, and rank the shots played for each wicket, I think this set of 10 would be arguably the worst I have ever seen in all my years watching cricket - Robinson started it with a shot I struggle to even come up for a name for, Duckett just flings his bat at something 3 stumps too wide, Pope too is never in a position to get the ball down, Brook never got a chance, and even Root (who pushed his luck a little all day at points) ended up just throwing his wicket away at the crucial moment. The Stokes wicket takes the cherry though, one of the most bizarre shots I have ever seen played in test cricket.

That said, this is what England are now. You chase the dragon, sometimes you get burned. Who am I to say what is right or wrong in approach... the results so far speak for themselves. Its easy to say maybe England could have been more watchful, made better/conservative choices ..... I'd have said the same in the summer as they rattled off record run chases with apparent ease. I do think England have had luck on their side... I guess we will find out in the long term if bazball will become a smouldering wreck, or a blueprint for long term success. At the moment, I cant honestly say - all bets are off.

Hard to really credit NZ's bowlers with much until Wagner turned up with his short ball. There was a period when Stokes got in that they cranked the pressure up, but this score was there to be chased, and England got themselves out pretty much exclusively. The pitch maybe had a little uneven bounce here and there, but NZ's bowlers in general were pretty loose. Credit to NZ's batters for getting a score to make a match of it 2nd dig.

For what its worth.... I always take the follow on, no matter the situation..... so for me it was the right decision.

[mikesiva]

The way England played that last Test reminds me of the way the West Indies used to play calypso cricket in the days before Clive Lloyd.

[Durhamfootman]

If you were to take a whole innings into a highlight reel of dismissals, and rank the shots played for each wicket, I think this set of 10 would be arguably the worst I have ever seen in all my years watching cricket

I've seen the dismissals now, and an awful lot of them were filthy shots, so yes, I rather agree with that

[Arthur Crabtree]

I suppose that's at least the equal narrowest win ever.

[Slipstream]

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/conte ... 15342.html

[bigfluffylemon]

Shades of Edgbaston 2005.

I'll take the blame for that one...