Courage of Wagner extolled
TAURANGA: ‘‘I can’t explain Neil Wagner.’’
With that simple quote, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan spoke for us all.
In editions of Wisden to come, his second innings figures of 28 overs, 9 maidens, 55 runs, 2 wickets might be easy to forget, but the context will not be.
That is what Rizwan was getting at.
‘‘Eleven overs in a row on an injured toe, he’s a different guy,’’ he continued. ‘‘His aggressions were beautiful . . . he’s a big bowler.’’
It was Wagner’s combination with Kyle Jamieson that turned a final day that was heading nowhere fast into somewhere fast.
He bowled
11 overs straight on two broken toes numbed by a series of injections.
‘‘People talk about the size of his heart but to have a couple of broken toes . . . he was in a lot of pain,’’ man of the match Kane Williamson said.
‘‘We were trying to use him when the injection was taking effect. It was kind of unique for all of us, but in particular Neil.
‘‘To keep coming out and wanting to contribute, his appetite and motivation to try to make a difference for the team is huge and we haven’t seen it any bigger than the effort he put in across this test match.
‘‘It was a very, very special effort from Wags, one that the team appreciated. We needed him out there and he delivered.’’
‘‘It was an incredible game of cricket; another incredible one against Pakistan,’’ Williamson noted.
‘‘It was great to come away with the result and with the excitement of finishing so late in the piece.’’
The teams head to Christchurch for the second test starting on January 3. A decision on Wagner’s fitness will be made soon. —