ALL BLACK
157 days of hurt as England end up back at square one after a miserable, fruitless tour Down Under as Root admits: We’re nowhere near where we want to be
IT started with a headbutt and finished with the skipper on his knees, but after five-and-a-half months and seven Tests England have gone nowhere.
It might not have been a tour de sauce in New Zealand as it was in Australia, where boozy antics resulted in a curfew, but the outcome was the same.
The sight of Joe Root scrambling on his knees in Christchurch on the final day of a possible 35, trying to snaffle catches at the end of a fascinating Test caused a few chuckles, but a second series defeat in a row is no laughing matter.
England had the chance to finish on a high after taking four of the 10 wickets they needed inside the first hour, including two in two from Stuart Broad.
But the character of the Kiwi middle and lower order was enough to deny England’s bowlers for 124 overs and earn a fourthever Test series win over the tourists.
England were left to rue four dropped catches that might have spared their blushes, but that would only have papered over the cracks. This vintage are simply not very good at Test cricket on the road.
They have now set an unwanted record of going 13 successive tour matches without a win, which is a trend that could extend to a challenging summer against Pakistan and India.
“It is very frustrating,” admitted Root. “We threw everything at New Zealand and created chances, but it has been a disappointing winter in terms of results.
“We’re going to have to adapt better to conditions and avoiding an innings like 58 all out at Auckland will play a massive part in that. We’re far better than that.
“There is plenty for us to learn from and to work on, we’re nowhere near where we want to be as a side, but we’ve got some very talented cricketers in this format and hopefully we can build on this week and have a successful summer.”
That is a hope rather than an expectation because England have so many weaknesses.
The batting behind Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow is fragile. Their pace attack apart from Broad and James Anderson is one-dimensional and the spin department has a revolving door moving faster than the balls they bowl.
Here it was Jack Leach’s turn and he acquitted himself well on debut and should be given his chance this summer.
But just like several of his teammates, how he will do is a big unknown.