Second test’s big talking points
MILESTONE
The big one is the No 1 world ranking, which New Zealand will officially achieve with a win or draw in this test. Should that happen the Black Caps will be ecstatic, and rightly so. It would be a truly remarkable achievement in a golden era for NZ, when several of the big gun nations are also strong.
COME IN, SPINNER?
New Zealand spinners have taken 12 wickets in the past 15 tests on home soil. Even accounting for the fact the pitches here are more suitable to their outstanding pace attack, that is a rather stark statistic. It gets worse when you look at Hagley Oval, where NZ spinners have claimed 2-216 from seven tests. Spinners used during that time include Mark Craig, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi, Ajaz Patel and Kane Williamson, who has one of the two wickets (Craig took the other). Mitchell Santner played the 2017 test against Bangladesh, but was not required to bowl in either innings.
TEAM SELECTION
Of seven tests at Hagley Oval, the team winning the toss has elected to field every time. That is a good indication of a wicket that generally offers pace and bounce, especially early. But it’s by no means an uneven competition between bat and ball. New
Zealand scored 370 and 335 against Australia in 2016 and still lost by seven wickets. Still, the wicket and history suggests NZ may go with four genuine pace bowling options, which would mean a 13th test for Matt Henry and either Daryl Mitchell or Mitchell Santner would carry the drinks, with the other slotting in at No 7 and providing the fifth bowling option.
BABAR AZAM
Pakistan’s talisman did not play in the first test (or the T20 series) due to a fractured thumb and his availability for the second test had been the subject of much conjecture. He was officially ruled out late yesterday, which is a massive blow for the tourists. Azam is a class act with the bat and the only player ranked in the world’s top five in all formats of the game. In fact, his very respectable test average of 45 pales in comparison to his white ball averages (50 in T20s and 55 in ODIs), but even so you wonder what difference his presence in the visitors’ top four might have made to the result in Mt Maunganui, and what it could have done in Christchurch. We’ll never know.
WEATHER
There is always a strong chance the weather will spoil play across a five-day test in Christchurch. Had Hagley Oval been hosting the Boxing Day test it would have been a disaster, but incredibly not a drop of precipitation is forecast for any of the five days of the New Year’s test.