TRUE TEST OF FAITH IN POPE
Time for No3 to lead batsmen to big total after Mitchell heroics crush bowlers
OVER to you, England. After New Zealand made a mockery of Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first in this second Test by racking up their biggest ever score here, today presents a chance to put the Trent Bridge pitch into context.
Only once in Test history have an England team conceded more on home soil after inserting the opposition, back in 1989 when Australia declared with 601 on the board at Headingley.
The initial response yesterday evening was positive, as they lost just a single wicket, but they were equally thankful for lives being presented to each of the not out batsmen Alex Lees and Ollie
Pope by one of New Zealand’s centurions, Daryl Mitchell.
In a match that has so far proved a slip catcher’s graveyard, Mitchell took the number of drops in that region to six by first flooring Lees off Tim Southee, thus relinquishing the chance to reduce England to 20 for two, and later allowing Pope to get to a first 50 in his new position of No3 when he reacted late to a knee-high grab off Trent Boult.
Having opened the Brendon McCullum era on a wave of positivity, with only a second win in 18 Tests courtesy of a fine second innings run chase, this will be an examination of the top six’s mettle.
The rapid rate at which the New Zealanders scored their 553 left a nervy period of 26 overs on an elongated second evening and although they lost Zak Crawley cheaply and experienced further jitters, there were positives to carry into day three.
If there was a familiarity about the start, as Crawley nibbled fatally at a Boult delivery for his 18th single figure score in 29 innings since his double hundred against Pakistan, the second-wicket duo ensured England countered the momentum.
Pope ground out 11 from his first 45 balls but flicked a switch with three boundaries in one Matt Henry over, two dreamy cover driven fours sandwiching a top-edged six, to take 39 from his next 21.
And with the sun dipping behind the Radcliffe Road stand, there was a brighter outlook at the other end too as Lees notched up a Test-best unbeaten 34.
Earlier, the fifth wicket stand between Mitchell and Tom Blundell, which stood at 149 overnight, mushroomed into a new New Zealand Test record of 236.
Captain Stokes is clearly going to do things his own way, as emphasised by his decision to allow the bowlers extra rest after day one. On match days, the England team routinely arrive at the ground around 9am but Stokes put this back by three quarters of an hour to give them longer in bed.
Unfortunately, one of them appeared half asleep after morning session drinks when, soon after Mitchell toasted his second century in successive Saturdays and the third of his Test career, he offered a steepling chance straight down the ground off spinner Jack Leach. Matt Potts steadied himself after running round from long-on, but allowed the ball to burst through his hands and rebound off his knee into the boundary cushion.
The morning had begun with the dramatic news that the rural Nottinghamshire pub Stuart Broad co-owns with Harry Gurney, his former team-mate at Trent Bridge, had been ablaze overnight.
‘He’s obviously devastated,’ his new-ball partner Jimmy Anderson said before play. ‘He’s just happy no-one’s hurt. It’s obviously gutting because it’s such a huge part of his and Harry’s lives.’
England’s veteran opening pair started attempting to produce the aerial movement conspicuous by its absence for 26 overs the previous afternoon when the first ball of the innings became saturated after landing in a spectator’s pint of cider.
Among the home attack, it was Potts who got the most movement out of the second one but the most significant outside edge of the first hour saw Mitchell collect four runs through third man.
The celebration was more restrained than for his first innings of the series at Lord’s last week, but he nevertheless exuded the joy of a man making the most of his chance.
But for Henry Nicholls catching Covid on the eve of the first Test, he would have remained on the sidelines. Such moments can define careers.
Mitchell began as a specialist Twenty20 hitter with Northern
Districts but has morphed into a player with a full set of gears as opportunities were bestowed upon him. He also has a penchant for making opponents pay for their mistakes — he scored 101 runs between Joe Root flooring a straight-forward slip chance created by Stokes and his miscuing of Leach on 104, then pummelled a further 86 before being last out for a career-best 190. Blundell, who
negotiated his way to three figures after falling four short last week, was the first to go on the second day when he picked out Stokes at mid-off to provide Leach with his first wicket on home soil since wrapping up the Ashes win at the Oval in 2019.
It did not check the momentum of the Kiwis, however, as debutant Michael Bracewell proved another fine foil for Mitchell.
They began the afternoon session by taking 26 runs off the first two overs, from Stokes and Leach, and England’s only respite came when a rogue shower interrupted things and brought about an early tea. Bracewell fell one run shy of a maiden 50 when Root held on at slip to leave Anderson one shy of 650 Test wickets, sparking a sequence of four wickets in as many overs.
Broad claimed two of them in one over when he had Kyle Jamieson caught behind gloving a short ball, then removed Tim Southee with another bumper which bobbed off the splice to gully.
Leach was gifted a second success by Henry’s sliced drive into the covers before Mitchell’s quest for a double hundred came up short as he chased a wide one from Potts.
But England’s own batting put conditions into some context at the start of what will nevertheless be a long road ahead to preserve their 1-0 lead over the world champions.