BUMBLE ON THE TEST

BEN’S BIG GAMBLE

I WAS surprised that Ben Stokes enforced the follow-on as the modern way is to bat again, put the opposition out of the game on a wearing pitch, and then go at them again with the ball in the final innings.

With a bit of deterioration in the surface, the spinners come right into the game late on at the Basin Reserve.

THE KIWI CONUNDRUM...

THERE has been a lot of chat on social media about England’s methods and whether they could play in such gung-ho fashion against the great West Indies team of the 1980s. It triggered a thought. Are New Zealand unable to emulate England’s style because they’re wary of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson? Or do they just not have the tools?

A BREEZE FOR BROAD

IN windy Wellington, there is one end to bowl from. Generally, you don’t want the other one! Jimmy Anderson got first dibs, of course. Some bowlers adapt to bowling into a breeze, though, and it can provide the ball with a bit more wobble, so Stuart Broad probably wasn’t too fussed. The way he’s bowling, it doesn’t seem to matter which end you give him.

ENJOYING MY SALAD DAYS

THERE’S nowt left in the shops apparently, so I am growing my own! I’ve got loads of lettuce on the go, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Only trouble is, like in Test cricket, you need time for things to develop in a greenhouse. I am also in the process of erecting a trough to get my strawberries in. This contraption came in 82 parts. On the parcel was a nice-looking lady with a screwdriver, and a warning assembly would take half an hour. Six hours later…

FAMILY FIRST FOR PAT

AUSTRALIA have been in disarray in India but captain Pat Cummins got it right by leaving the tour to be with his sick mother. Family comes first over a game of cricket every time. On the pitch, Australia have been found wanting against spin. Things will be far more straightforward for them over here this summer. I can’t wait.