England fight back
Bairstow reaches century before bowlers strike early
Joe Root did not exactly scream “I told you so!” at his new-ball bowlers when they made immediate inroads into New Zealand’s batting, after England had been dismissed for 307. But England’s captain could have been forgiven for doing so.
Root came out of second slip and sat on his bowler’s shoulder at midoff. With his encouragement, or direction, James Anderson and Stuart Broad pitched the new ball up and took New Zealand’s first four wickets for only 17 runs, ramming home the initiative which Jonny Bairstow had wrested from New Zealand with his fifth Test century.
Broad, in particular, benefited from pitching the new ball up at last in pursuit of penetration, not back of a length for economy. He drew Tom Latham into a drive, just as the textbook would have it, and had him caught behind for a duck then had Ross Taylor caught at first slip. Never mind if both balls were wide, they were full enough to tempt. At the other end a full ball from Anderson was too much for the frail defence of Jeet Raval.
Broad took a third wicket in his opening spell - untold riches after the Ashes - by dismissing Henry Nicholls for a duck. Umpire Bruce Oxenford turned down Broad’s appeal but, again, the ball was full enough not to be going over the stumps. It was Broad’s 405th Test wicket, taking him level with Curtly Ambrose. Due reward for Broad for upping his game.
It was a state of affairs that had looked highly unlikely. Par for the first innings of this second Test, which began on damp grass, was around 320, so new depths for this tour were being plumbed at 94 for five when Bairstow bustled out to do what he does best. He could bat higher up the order, whether as a keeper or specialist batsman, but nobody can counter-attack, and also inspire the lower order, like Bairstow and his belligerence.
Bairstow, who began by channelling his aggression into his running between the wickets, inspired a hat-trick of partnerships. First was one of 57 with Ben Stokes, which enabled a flustered England to regain some poise. Secondly, after a brief liaison with Stuart Broad, who died not so much with his boots as pink slippers on, came the stand of 95 with Mark Wood, which brought England back into the game as the pair made hay in the last 18 overs before the second new ball; and thirdly, Bairstow’s stand of 48 with the debutant Jack Leach took England into the almost forgotten realm of respectability. Above all, however, Wood in the course of his 52 off 62 balls reminded his teammates that cricket is a game which can be enjoyed.
This Test squad has more than its share of anxious introverts, and the Auckland Test was one grim experience. On his recall, Wood’s ebullience was a cool draught at the end of a long and dusty tour.
Wood had first played cricket against Bairstow when they were 11, and Wood was captaining Northumberland’s juniors against Yorkshire. If Bairstow was already his father’s son, Wood was his uncle’s nephew in that his main batting coach was his uncle Neil, who opened the batting for Northumberland. Thus, the sight of Bairstow puffing out his chest was a reassuring one for Wood, who is playing only his 11th Test – and, what is more, puffing out his chest as Neil Wagner’s bouncers flew past it.
Kane Williamson also made a mistake, for once, in using the medium-pace of Colin de Grandhomme too much and the wrist-spin of Ish Sodhi too little – not until Bairstow and Wood were set, whereupon Wood thumped three short balls in one over to the boundary. “The worrying thing is, I’ve got a 50 [in Tests] before a five-for, so I’ve done that the wrong way round, haven’t I?” Wood said, a natural comedian. “When I went out to bat, obviously we were in a bit of trouble, and Jonny knows I like to have fun and a bit of crack out there, which made it easier. You forget the situation and concentrate on each other, which made it a lot easier for me.
“Jonny, being a batsman, knows how to construct things. At times, I chance my arm a little but, as a lower-order player, Trevor [Bayliss, the coach] always talks about it’s not how you get your runs, it’s how many you can get. I was more disappointed I got out the last ball before the new ball – I let Leachy on his debut go in and face the new ball, which was a bit rubbish, but apart from that I had a great time with Jonny and enjoyed it.
“I’ve worked hard on it [batting] in the last week gearing up for this match, and it was nice the practice I had done I could take it into the game. I actually started as a kid as a batsman, but when it got above 70 miles an hour I realised I wasn’t that good. I think I get to 20 and think
I’m like Bradman and try too much.”
It was a beneficial toss for Williamson to have won because the second Test began on damp grass but Boult and Southee made the most of it by bowling a full length. Given their method of playing within the crease, Alastair Cook and Dawid Malan could not have done much more – other than push forward further, as Leach was to do against the second new ball.
Joe Root and James Vince had a hand in their own dismissals by playing over-attacking shots: Vince aimed through square leg rather than mid-on while Root got carried away as so often in the Ashes. He played a perfect on drive, but Southee’s next ball was a perfect off-cutter which Root hit all round.