The test that slipped away
From winning a series against Pakistan where everything happened on day four, to a home test where they got nothing.
A frustrated New Zealand captain Kane Williamson felt his side couldn’t have done much more as he digested a first-test draw against Sri Lanka in Wellington after dominating the first three days.
On a seriously flat Basin Reserve, lacking its usual bounce, the home bowlers toiled through the first wicketless full day in a New Zealand test on Tuesday as Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews built a monster partnership.
Their Sri Lankan record stand against New Zealand was still unbroken on 274 after 53 minutes play on the final day, before rain had the final say and the sides go to Christchurch at 0-0 for a Boxing Day decider. Sri Lanka ended
287-3, still trailing by nine, with Mendis on 141 and Mathews on
120.
Asked if he’d have done anything different, Williamson said with a laugh: ‘‘Maybe everything.
‘‘We sat down and had a number of conversations with other senior players and at breaks and said ‘what’s something else we can try?’ and we tried pretty much all of it.’’
Combined with a stiff northerly which further dried the pitch on Tuesday, the bowlers were thrown off their stride and the usual Basin bounce wasn’t happening. Bizarrely no chances were offered, not even mix-ups for potential run outs.
‘‘There were a couple of wide Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain
balls that lobbed maybe 10m toward point but only 5m in distance. I think that was the best we got,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘Without the bounce and defensive strokes nothing was carrying through to the keeper. We tried a number of short deliveries which might have brought about something foreign in terms of strokeplay but it was very difficult.
‘‘We shouldn’t ignore the fact that the two Sri Lankan batters played beautifully.’’
The draw, which was called just before 4pm, cost New Zealand a shot at their first world No 2 test ranking, which was theirs if they won the series 2-0. It also ended a five-test winning streak against Sri Lanka stretching back to Colombo in 2012.
Williamson was more rueful than annoyed, after they took charge with a Tim Southee sixwicket bag before Tom Latham batted for 694 minutes to craft New Zealand’s sixth-highest test innings, 264 not out.
Then they reduced Sri Lanka to 13-3 before Mendis and Mathews followed Latham’s lead and showed how hard it was to dislodge a batsman.
Six days after returning from Abu Dhabi where they beat Pakistan 2-1 on turning tracks to wrap up a seven-week tour, New Zealand were back in action, but not using that as an excuse.
‘‘The first two days were brilliant and put us in a really strong position. Tom Latham bats beautifully with jet lag, so we’ll get him on a world trip in a couple of days,’’ Williamson quipped.
New Zealand will take the same 13-man squad to Christchurch, where Williamson hoped for more pace and bounce, which Hagley Oval usually provides.
END OF AN ERA P46-47 Scoreboard
‘‘We . . . said ‘what’s something else we can try?’ and we tried pretty much all of it.’’