England seamer Sonny Baker revelled in a strong start to his Test career as he banished the bad memories of his white-ball debuts.
Baker was given a bruising introduction to international cricket last summer as he went wicketless and took plenty of punishment in a one-day international against South Africa and T20 international in Ireland.
His first day as a Test cricketer was rather better, though, with the 23-year-old striking twice against New Zealand to help leave the hosts just about on top at the Oval.
Baker first drew an indeterminate shot from Rachin Ravindra to have the left-hander caught in the gully before hurrying Daryl Mitchell with a sharp short ball to have him caught at midwicket.
The Hampshire quick celebrated each dismissal with his trademark energy and ebullience, and was delighted to give a better account of himself in front of a packed crowd.
“How do you think I enjoyed it?” Baker beamed when asked about his first taste of Test cricket. “It was brilliant. Awesome.
“Obviously, a tough day for the boys, we bowled a few sets there, but I think the game is somewhere in the balance. But I’m obviously just so happy to be underway and get my first one. I’m buzzing.
“Could you tell? I am so thankful to have been able to have a proper debut that I think is reflective of where I’m at. My biggest learning from my Ireland debut was probably that I felt like I wasn’t being myself. The ball would go through to the keeper and I would be like, ‘oh, thank goodness it didn’t go for a boundary’ and just scurry back to my mark. I’m the biggest carry-on ever – surely I should just get stuck in? I think that is just how I am so I made a big commitment coming into this of that is how I am going to be, that is how I am going to go about things.
“I’ve obviously played in front of decent crowds during the Hundred and stuff, but that was proper. In T20s there is music on, so you don’t sense the crowd as much, but when it is silent and there is just a trumpet in the background, you really feel the crowd really getting behind you. That was awesome.”
Baker was presented with his cap before play by former England bowler Steven Finn having been one of three debutants alongside Jordan Cox and James Rew in a new-look England side.
There were five changes in all to an England side that had lost three seam options since the first Test, with Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson left out as the pair are investigated following a breach of curfew and Ollie Robinson unavailable due to a knee injury.
“I did see it as a bit of a free hit, really,” Baker admitted after the upheaval. “It’s just such a good opportunity for me to get stuck in. We’ve obviously had Robbo go down with a bit of a knee injury. Three seamers come out and you are the 12th man – you do the maths and you are going to be relatively close to playing. I’m so happy to have got the opportunity and got the first one underway.
“Even last night, I was struggling to eat really. This morning I could feel the anxiety build up in your stomach. I was very honest with people that I was pretty nervous going into the day, but once you start warming up, everything goes away. To be honest, the cap presentation was probably more emotional than anything, seeing how proud my parents were. I was trying not to get emotional in front of the lads but I was struggling a little bit, to be honest.”
New Zealand closed the first day on 291-7, with the new ball due three overs into tomorrow morning.
