Masterclass from master blasters
Lou Reed of cricket comes up with the perfect day with ton
He’s a very special player and will easily go down as New Zealand’s greatest, I think.
New Zealand had scored more than 650 runs, three batsmen had scored centuries, one a double and one their first at test level. It had been a near perfect day.
Kyle Jamieson made sure it was. The on-fire paceman struck late in the day, consigning the hapless Shan Masood to a pair and ensuring his side will enter day four needing nine wickets to secure a summer sweep of all four tests.
Jamieson’s unerring control over length drew Masood — who has endured a miserable tour, scoring three ducks on the trot and shelling several chances — half forward and he edged a catch to the bucket-handed Tim Southee at third slip.
Pakistan ended the day 8-1 off eight menacing overs, with Abid Ali on seven and nightwatchman Mohammad Abbas on one.
That no-holds barred spell was made possible by the batsmen, who combined to compile New Zealand’s fifth highest total in tests.
Looking at the bright lights of the scoreboard as New Zealand declared their innings on 659-6, it was impossible to reconcile that image with the idea they were the heel of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s boot from being 74-4.
The broad outline of the day remained the dominance of the Black Caps, the colouring-in came courtesy of the continued brilliance of their skipper.
He wasn’t left alone with the crayons, however. Henry Nicholls started the day on 89 and added another 68 runs. It might not equate to bowling 50 overs on two broken toes, but scoring a century on one leg should not be overlooked.
Daryl Mitchell, on his adopted home ground, again looked to the manner born at the crease in scoring 102 from 112 balls.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” a beaming Mitchell said. “It’s pretty surreal at the moment. Obviously I’m pretty grateful that Kane gave me a couple of extra overs to slog a few there at the end. I was swinging pretty hard there at points to try to make that happen.”
Questions remain about whether he has the requisite penetration with the ball to be considered a genuine test-class allrounder but he is making a case that he should be considered an option on his batting alone.
His innings was punctuated with a number of high-quality shots, particularly the pull, but more importantly for the team, it was the right innings for the right time, coming after the cheap dismissal of BJ Watling (7) threatened to stall progress. He didn’t think for a minute there was an opportunity to score a ton.
“Me and BJ had been sitting in that changing room down underneath for what felt like two days,” he said. “I was just happy to get out there and try to be busy to contribute to putting a total on for us to try to take 10 wickets.”
For a long time he was the “dominant” figure in his century partnership with Williamson, though that might be a slightly gratuitous use of the word.
“Kane’s knock today, that’s pretty amazing and he’s set us up for a chance to win this test match. My role was just to see us through to a total.
“He’s a freak, he’s amazing. He makes the game look so easy at the moment. For me, I played against Kane when we were 14 years old so to be playing test cricket with him is pretty cool. He’s a very special player and will easily go down as New Zealand’s greatest, I think.”
Adding to the sense of occasion was the setting, with Mitchell having made the switch from Northern Districts to Canterbury this season. He did so in large part because his Cantabrian wife, Amy, was due with the couple’s second daughter and has family here to lean on while he is away playing.
There is more work to be done on day four, and possibly Thursday as well. Mitchell believes there is still enough in the wicket to “put pressure on Pakistan”.
Jamieson has already demonstrated that. Mitchell has had a great test; if he sees nine more Pakistan wickets fall it’ll be perfect.
Daryl Mitchell