Black Caps charge towards victory
At a glance
Having been batted into submission by a record-breaking Tom Latham, Sri Lanka’s weary cricketers began hoisting the white flag late on day three of the first test.
After another remarkable day of test cricket at the Basin Reserve, highlighted by Latham’s epic 264 not out, the Black Caps sit poised for a sixth straight test win over Sri Lanka sometime today.
Faced with batting a day and a half to save it, Sri Lanka’s top order folded once more against Tim Southee and Trent Boult to be 20-3 at stumps, still 276 behind, after New Zealand racked up 578 all out.
After 11-and-a-half hours in the field the Sri Lankans were spent and the fresh New Zealand pace attack were spring-heeled, sensing an opportunity and they pounced.
First innings topscorer Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis will resume this morning with a monumental task, after vicecaptain Dimuth Karunaratne joined the pavilion procession with an awful shot to a Southee short one.
Victory would be New Zealand’s 10th in a row at home in November-december tests, and launch them halfway towards becoming the world’s secondranked test side should they finish the job in Christchurch ❚ 302 – Brendon Mccullum v India, Wellington, 2014
❚ 299 – Martin Crowe v Sri Lanka, Wellington, 1991
❚ 290 – Ross Taylor v Australia, Perth, 2015
❚ 274* – Stephen Fleming v Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2003
❚ 267* – Bryan Young v Sri Lanka, Dunedin, 1997
❚ 264* – Tom Latham v Sri Lanka, Wellington, 2018
starting on Boxing Day.
It was Latham’s day at the Basin, field of dreams for so many New Zealand batsmen and nightmare for many a visiting bowler.
The left-hander showed remarkable staying power and concentration, batting 694 minutes and facing 489 balls to carry his bat through the innings as Boult swung hard then holed out. The crowd rose and Latham still had the energy to raise his arms for the full 360 degree salute.
It was the highest score by an opener who carried his bat, beating England’s Alastair Cook’s 244 not out against Australia in Melbourne last summer.
Then tick off the New Zealand records: sixth-highest test innings, best by an opener at the Basin, and third-longest overall.
His 694 minutes was 84 minutes longer than the late Martin Crowe batted in his epic 299 in 1991, and now sits behind only Brendon Mccullum’s 302 against India in 2014 (775 minutes) and Glenn Turner’s 259 against West Indies in Guyana in 1972 (704 minutes).
From early in the day it was clear Latham had eyes on a big one, the pitch still with a mountain of runs to offer. It was a matter of who would stay with him.
He continued at similar tempo, unflappable and seemingly immovable. He dealt with the short ball comfortably and when the seamers overpitched he punished them with textbook cover drives, his trademark and most memorable shot.
As Latham stood firm, there was plenty of movement at the other end.
Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls – those most likely to go big with Latham – each departed for an even 50. A disbelieving Taylor went fourth ball of the day to a ripper when a firm clip off his legs somehow stuck in Dimuth Karunaratne’s hands to a deepish short leg.
Nicholls, newly installed at No 9 on the world test batting rankings, mistimed a lofted drive when set, then BJ Watling didn’t trouble the scorers when he departed in bizarre fashion.
Sri Lanka’s pacemen – notably their most impressive Lahiru Kumara (4-127) – dug the ball in and a startled Watling raised the dreaded periscope and lobbed a catch.
It was all set for a Colin de Grandhomme onslaught and he cleared the pickets three times in his 49, but couldn’t replicate his whirlwind century from a year ago against West Indies.
The tail came and went as they swung hard; with Neil Wagner bounced out in a taste of his own medicine.
He departed examining the index finger on his bowling hand, but galloped out when New Zealand returned to the field.
By the time Wagner bounded in to bowl from the southern end, the damage was done. All that’s left is for him and his pace bowling mates to finish the job and earn a day off tomorrow.
Highest New Zealand test innings: