One for purists as Pakistanis fight
Fifth-wicket stand of 165 cornerstone of battle by tourists to stay in testing contest
The final day of the first cricket test between Pakistan and New Zealand was one for the purists. The crowd streamed in free at Bay Oval for the first test in five to go the distance in this country.
New Zealand needed seven more wickets and Pakistan needed 302 more runs to secure a result, starting on 71-3.
The stage was set for Pakistan’s Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan to ensure test match cricket lived up to its name, gritting out a cornerstone to the day’s narrative with their fifthwicket stand of 165. Who could begrudge their desire to eke out a resistance and a counterattack? Each had contrasting reasons to succeed for the common cause.
Fawad was potentially playing for his position. He returned to the team in August against England after almost 11 years in the test selection wilderness. The 35-year-old had scored 35 runs in five innings since that recall. His unorthodox open stance, pointing to square leg before exercising a monster trigger movement, goaded the New Zealand bowlers with a full view of the stumps before crouching across at the point of delivery. The methodology worked, particularly square of the wicket, as he ground out 102, his second test century.
Rizwan, playing his 10th test and first as captain during Babar Azam’s injury-enforced absence, got behind the ball and forced the bowlers to follow him
A definitive period came when the second new ball arrived 12 overs before tea. Pakistan needed 204 from 48 overs, a required run rate of 4.25. Fawad and Rizwan saw off the initial hardness and shine when Trent Boult and Tim Southee returned. After tea, their attacking intent was clear, accelerating with boundaries.
Eventually both succumbed but you only had to look at the standing ovations outside the Pakistan dressing room to see what their contributions meant. 1
No country for spinners Mitchell Santner was the man of the minute as New Zealand wrapped up a heart-stopping victory, but his toils earlier in the day were more indicative of how spinners fare on these shores. In the past 15 home tests, New Zealand’s spinners have taken 12 wickets, a mind-bogglingly low number. In that time Santner, Ajaz Patel, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi, Kane Williamson and even an over of Jeet Raval have been tried with limited success.
New Zealand have built impressive depth across most areas in the past few years, red-ball spin is a “work on”.
2
Captaincy case study
It was a test for the skippers. Across the four innings, the two captains combined for 281 runs and soaked up an incredible 663 balls. That’s more than 110 overs faced by Kane Williamson and Mohammad Rizwan alone.
3 Replacing Wags
Working on the assumption that Neil Wagner won’t do a Dick “Red” Conway and have his digits amputated so he can play in the second test in Christchurch, he will have to be replaced. There are options. If Williamson and coach Gary Stead like what four specialist seamers offer the attack, they could go for an old favourite in Matt Henry, who is back from injury, Doug Bracewell, who hasn’t played a test for more than four years, or Ed Nuttall, a like-for-like lively left-armer. All three have been in the wickets recently for New Zealand A. Or, there is another option that might make even more sense: replace Wagner with Ajaz Patel and bring Daryl Mitchell — unlucky to miss out in Mt Maunganui — back into the XI. The drawback is that Mitchell is a little short of fourth-seamer class with the ball, but the upside is Patel is a stronger spin option than Mitchell Santner. Let the debate begin.
4
White line fever
It was pleasing to see Kyle Jamieson fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. It amounted to an expensive birthday present for the right-arm quick who turned 26 yesterday. After fielding the ball on his follow through, Jamieson biffed the ball at Faheem Ashraf when the batsman was away from the stumps and not attempting a run. It was lowrent behaviour from a classy talent but here’s the thing: management would not condone that, but at the same time won’t be disappointed to see that Jamieson has a bit of mongrel in him.
5 Bay had plenty
If you’re being picky, you might have hoped that the Bay Oval wicket was quicker, but other than that the ground passed with flying colours. Despite a bit of iffy weather, the holiday crowds were good, including on the final day when admission was free. More permanent facilities are planned, as are some shaded areas. A New Zealand Cricket study that referenced regional growth forecasts has projected the vast bulk of the country’s cricket playing and consumer numbers to reside in an area marked by a triangle between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga by 2038.