Boult’s lightning strike ends Root

Captain’s late wicket has England facing defeat Nicholls hits century as New Zealand make 427 England were left with only seven wickets in hand going into the final day

History is not repeating itself to the letter, or the number, at Eden Park.

Five years ago to this very week, Trent Boult, New Zealand’s left-arm swing bowler, took six wickets in England’s first innings but only one in their second when Matt Prior was left to be England’s unscathed hero as they drew the match, with one wicket left, and the series 0-0.

This time Boult has been more formidable, in the same category as Australia’s Mitchell Starc – as an attack leader, that is, not as a member of a leadership group. Boult’s waspish swing brought his best Test figures of six for 32 in England’s pitiful total of 58. Second time round, Boult proved he can also pitch it short like Starc and rough up the highest class of batsman, specifically Joe Root.

As Root and Dawid Malan were settling into one of the several long partnerships England needed to survive, Root was undone by two of Boult’s thunderbolts which lost little by comparison with those of Zeus, let alone Starc. England were thus left with only seven wickets in hand going into the final day. Five years ago, they had only six wickets, but the pitch was flatter then, whereas this time it has become uneven in bounce – or “up and down”, much like England. The pink ball, furthermore, made it even less likely that England could last the final day of 98 overs because pink balls are harder than red and prone to zip around under floodlights.

Neil Wagner, Boult’s fellow leftarmer, had tried to rough up Root with bouncers from over the wicket – and Root had ducked them, firstly with an angelic smile to Wagner at the end of his follow through, then with a grimace as the sudden ducking aggravated Root’s chronic back complaint which called for his corset. Boult, however, switched from over to round the wicket for what turned out to be the final over of day four – and struck Root on the index finger of his gloved right hand with a ball that kicked.

With the wisdom of hindsight Root could have retired hurt and left the nightwatchman Craig Overton to survive – or not – the last two balls from Boult. Such a tactical move would not have been in the spirit of the game, however, except if Root’s finger had been broken – and the spirit and the laws played a part in day four in Auckland as events in South Africa and Australia unfolded. So Root stayed, and the next ball, another lifter, gloved him down the leg side.

Mark Stoneman also made 50, his first since the third Test in Perth, before being bounced out by Wagner. Again the switch to round the wicket made the difference: already in the over, Stoneman had pulled two, four and six, so he was getting giddy and playing a shot a ball. Alastair Cook had been simply luckless – in good enough touch to get a touch to a ball way outside leg stump.

England’s bowling was the same as it has been much of this winter: James Anderson and Stuart Broad ended with tidy figures but the opposition were not bowled out. Kane Williamson’s declaration was intelligently weighted, as you would expect from the author: England had to score 369 runs to make New Zealand bat again, and 60 of the remaining overs had to be bowled in the last session of days four and five when the ball would be least visible and batting most difficult.

Henry Nicholls, a 26-year-old lefthander from Christchurch, set up the declaration with his second Test century. He has an elder brother, Willy, who works for New Zealand Cricket’s PR department: during the T20 tri-series he had the job of talking to spectators in the crowd, especially those who had made a one-handed catch and earned some prize money. The elder brother is delightfully fizzy, the younger more subdued, and Nicholls patiently followed Williamson’s studious example until he reached his second Test century, whereupon he uncorked some fizz of his own and scored 45 runs off 40 balls.

A wildly optimistic single to Ben Stokes at mid-off was Nicholls’ idea of celebration. He rather cheekily swept Chris Woakes as if he was an off-spinner and took three fours in the over. All through his innings Nicholls shared partnerships of which England had none until Root joined Stoneman, and they became ever merrier. Colin de Grandhomme aided Nicholls in breaking the handcuffs that had been imposed by Broad, while Tim Southee and Nicholls indulged in slapstick.

It would be premature to hail Broad’s economical bowling as a renaissance yet. After the Ashes he had gone back to Trent Bridge’s indoor school and made his action more side-on to revive his outswing, but that went out the window. He had BJ Watling caught behind but that was from a wide ball the wicketkeeper chased, while Todd Astle chopped on.

Woakes racked up a wicketless ton to take his Test bowling average abroad into the 60s compared to 24 at home. Moeen Ali this winter has taken five Test wickets at 126 each and must be nearing the stage where he will be dropped; Root, with his modest offbreaks, has three wickets at 30 while Moeen has been garnering his costly handful. It was asking a lot of Malan and the bowlers of various kinds to turn a tide which has been overwhelming England’s Test team this winter.