There will have been a few tough conversations around the England environment over the last 10 days or so; there should be more to be had after a wasteful, worrying day that has left them teetering in this Test. From a favourable position, Joe Root and his squad squandered their opportunities with bat and ball in a showing that bore a striking familiarity to their Australian misadventures of the winter.
Wayward with the ball; imprudent with the bat; short of sharpness in the field – it was a day to forget for Root and the ranks against a New Zealand side that contrasted in each facet. Here, perhaps, was the enforced inexperience showing – although mistakes came from the remaining senior heads, too, with Ben Duckett shelling a simple-enough chance at deep midwicket early on and Root making more than a couple of curious captaincy calls.
In the process, the Blackcaps were allowed to swell their first-innings score close to 400 thanks to a maiden Test century from Glenn Phillips. It had been they who had been guilty of letting things slip a touch on the first day; not so here, with a disciplined and determined performance helping them fight back into the series. If it cannot be said that they are in total control, a sizeable first-innings lead is well within reach.
“Being able to get it over the line was fantastic,” Phillips said, having looked to the heavens to celebrate his landmark. “It’s the anniversary of my dad’s passing tomorrow. Today was close enough for the moment to matter. He would have loved to see that. Test cricket was his favourite format, so I know he was watching at some stage.
“The boys kept coming back spell after spell. England got away to a good start, so to be able to peg them back with a few wickets at the end was a really nice reward.”
It really was a horror hour to start the day from England, one that cost them 74 runs in a 12-over span that featured a squandering of the new ball, a simple dropped catch and what felt like a handful of peculiar decisions. Twenty-seven of those 74 came in the three overs that preceded the availability of a fresh bit of leather as England elected, strangely, to thump in a selection of errant bouncers. Phillips went to his half-century from the second ball after the resumption and found good support from Kyle Jamieson, able to play a fine supporting hand despite being struck twice on the helmet and offering that chance to a retreating Duckett.
The sight of a Barbados-born bowler being tossed a five-over old ball was not a surprise; that it was Jacob Bethell rather than Jofra Archer most certainly was. He did, eventually, strike, ending Jamieson’s innings on 41 and the partnership on 87. Onwards Phillips ploughed, though – having shown real bravery and brains to survive a hostile Archer spell on the first evening, the all-rounder made the most of the fresh morning light to cut, clap and carve his way to a first Test ton from 133 balls.
Matt Henry fell to a belatedly-introduced Archer from the very next delivery, however, and Phillips in the next over, when he hoicked Matt Fisher to the legside sweeper. His even 100 was outstanding; that extras were New Zealand’s second-highest scorer spoke both to England’s profligacy and a series of squandered starts from the tourists.
The hosts soon had one of their own. One could not blame Duckett, flying on 36 off 25 balls before being done like a kipper by Emilio Gay, who set off for a single that was never there. “I apologised as much as I could,” Gay admitted afterwards. “I probably picked out the wrong fielder – Nathan Smith is an unbelievable athlete.” Smith was accurate from short mid-off, and then from the top of his mark, pecking the edge of Jacob Bethell’s bat to reduce England to 68-2.
Enter Root, who had been strangely peripheral during the side’s morning toil but not once he arrived at the crease. With Ben Stokes set to be back in action at Durham on Friday, the future of his temporary premiership will remain a subject of interest yet there has never been any doubt of his steadying influence with bat in hand. Root eased, effortlessly, to a fast start to compensate for a partner who had stalled with a milestone in sight. After 14 balls on 49, Gay hooked Will O’Rourke for four to go to a well-earned half-century – one he perhaps needed after his midsummer barbecue of his opening partner – but could not go on, found on review to have fended a short ball off the face into the gloves of Tom Blundell. “To get 50 and not convert it is disappointing,” Gay conceded.
It seemed certain that Root would follow the left-hander to 50; he did not, thanks to a superb bit of seam bowling from Matt Henry and another error of judgement. Looking to leave, the England captain was beaten by a vicious nip-backer, a jagged little pill swallowed by his front pad while on course for the stumps beyond. With Blundell up to the stumps to discomfort a cricketing claustrophobe, a similar concoction soon accounted for Brook, LBW for 24, to leave the hosts in a huge hole.
With a long tail to come, it left the partnership between debutants James Rew and Jordan Cox key. The pair are prolific domestic run-makers, and each former teammates of Henry at Somerset and Kent respectively, but as their former county colleague whirred in from the Vauxhall End, the challenge was clear. Rew should have perished to O’Rourke after top edging to Rachin Ravindra at fine leg; as it was, he was pouched by Daryl Mitchell at first slip after contorting a short ball upwardly once more. He, like England, had got himself in a spot of bother.
