Infamous former All Black prop dies
A pesky eighth-wicket partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood has denied the Black Caps a firm grip on the second test match against England.
On a day in which both teams had their moments at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval, the pair put on 95 runs as the tourists rebounded from 164-7 shortly after tea to finish day one on 290-8.
It was an excellent counterpunch from wicketkeeper batsman Bairstow, who will resume on 97 on Saturday morning, and No 8 Wood (52), one of three players brought into the side which was comprehensively beaten in the first test at Eden Park.
Wood, in the team to inject some much needed heat into England’s bowling attack, hadn’t gone past 32 in his 10 previous tests, but had his way with a New Zealand attack which lost its way late in the day.
Sure, Neil Wagner dropped a caught and bowled chance when he was on 48, but it was otherwise a fine knock nobody saw coming.
His aggressiveness complemented Bairstow’s more steady approach, and was desperately needed after they were earlier staring down the barrel of another miserable first innings total.
As was the case when the Black Caps skittled the tourists for 58 to setup a comprehensive win in the first test in Auckland, it was the Tim Southee (5-60) and Trent Boult
(3-79) show with ball in hand. Having sent the weary visitors into bat, the pair combined to take all eight wickets on a day Southee nabbed his seventh five-wicket bag in test cricket. It was Southee who finally ended Wood’s resistance when he attempted one too many expansive drives and was bowled, but New Zealand had already let their opponents off the hook.
England’s position is perhaps roughly where one thought they might have finished the day when they resumed after lunch at 70-2, and with opener Mark Stoneman
(28 runs) and captain Joe Root (20) set. But moments after Root played an exquisite on-drive off Southee’s bowling to tick the scoreboard over to 93-2, their innings took a turn for the worse.
Southee started the rot after he jagged one back into the touring skipper, who inexplicably played a loose shot and had his off-stump uprooted.
Left-hander Dawid Malan was trapped lbw by Boult first ball, before Stoneman joined them in the hut after his patient 35 from 111 balls knock came to an end when he edged Southee into Tom Latham’s safe hands at second slip.
He was the third man to fall in the space of nine balls, the flurry of wickets reducing the weary tourists to 94-5 in the 38th over.
It was up to Christchurch-born all-rounder Ben Stokes and Bairstow to dig England out of a hole, something they made a good fist of as they made it to tea at 150-5.
However, they added just one run after the break before Stokes was strangled down the leg side to a Boult delivery.
Stuart Broad then biffed his wicket away by chipping Southee to mid off and New Zealand were all over them, at least until Wood joined Bairstow at the crease.
Bairstow is painfully close to a fifth test ton, employing aggression against Neil Wagner and Ish Sodhi in particular in a 154-ball knock which has comprised 11 fours and a six.
He played out a maiden from Wagner in the final over of the day, not tempted to swing at a serving of short balls to bring up three figures.
Not out at stumps was debut spinner Jack Leach, one of three changes from the team who lost by an innings and 49 runs in Auckland.
The others were Wood and James Vince, in place of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Craig Overton.