Kane praises ‘special’ effort
Boult in doubt for second test
With seven wins from their last 10 test matches, this is becoming a habit for Kane Williamson and his Black Caps.
The latest, against England by an innings and 65 runs yesterday, may have happened in their Mt Maunganui backyard but it was one of their most clinical and dominant of recent times. t sets up a potential fourth successive home series win in the second test in Hamilton on Friday.
‘‘It’s certainly right up there in terms of a tough, grinding test victory,’’ Williamson said.
‘‘To lose the toss and be 350 behind in the first innings, it required something special. It was something special for 200 overs to get us into a position which gave us a chance.’’
Come on down, BJ Watling, man of the match, with fellow Hamiltonian Mitchell Santner a close second and honourable mentions to others, notably Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme.
As pace spearhead Trent Boult nursed sore ribs which require an MRI scan today, making him doubtful for the second test, Wagner did what he does best.
After Santner made the early inroads on Sunday night with the pitch cracking and the ball fizzing, Wagner grabbed the ball and charged in to snare the last five wickets.
On another blazing Bay Oval afternoon, Wagner’s final ball thudded into Stuart Broad’s front pad, dead in front as he ended with figures of 5-44. New Zealand completed victory at 4.45pm, with
21.4 overs left to bowl. England 197, all out, in 96.2 overs.
Williamson, like Boult, wasn’t on the field for the last rites as he sought treatment for ‘‘another niggle’’ in his hip region, which he hopes will be OK when they reconvene in Hamilton.
Back to the batting, where the Black Caps set up another memorable final day charge.
England scored 353 which wasn’t nearly enough after winning the toss on a docile pitch. New Zealand, then, had to bat on, and on, to gain the upper hand. They had a proven man for the job, Watling, whose last two test innings have now spanned 16 hours and 16 minutes.
‘‘He is such a tough competitor but just cares about the team so much to get them into a position to win cricket games.
‘‘It goes a long way to him applying himself for near on 500 balls which is an amazing effort. A lot of people wish they could bat 500 balls, including myself.’’
New Zealand are well versed in closing out test victories with the ball: Abu Dhabi (twice) and Colombo both fine examples against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
This was similar, an almost subcontinental pitch unlike the usual greentops in Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. The ball swung for Tim Southee, de Grandhomme and company on days one and two which helped.
‘‘We saw the wicket deteriorate and knew if you could hit the wicket hard you would get some variable bounce. It was quite unique for New Zealand where you’re generally looking to bowl first and a lot of damage is done in the first couple of days.’’
Santner proved an inspired selection for his first home test in two years. His 126, a maiden test century, helped Watling add a record 261 for the seventh wicket then his three quick wickets hurled England onto the ropes at 55-3.
He couldn’t add to his tally yesterday, ending with 3-53 off 40 overs, including 19 maidens, but he applied the pressure as England’s batsmen defended for a while then, eventually, threw it away.