As a majestic day of cricket in the sunshine at Hagley Oval comes to a close, we look back at a day that saw Kane Williamson return to the Blackcaps side in fine fashion, as well as a day that saw Shoaib Bashir quash any selection doubts with a brilliant 4-fer.
Having lost the toss, and despite it being a gloriously sunny day, with temperatures set to reach 29 degrees after lunch, New Zealand was put into bat by Christchurch-born Ben Stokes, who reasoned that the pitch “will get better as the days go on”. Indeed, in the days leading up to the opening test of the three-match series between England and New Zealand, the wicket at the Hagley Oval was tinged with green, bearing similarities to a typical County wicket in late April – a simple decision for the England captain.
Bowling first pays off for Captain Stokes
Stokes’ decision to put New Zealand into bat paid dividends immediately, with Gus Atkinson dismissing the let-handed Devon Conway in the second over, for just two runs, after a mistimed straight jab stuck to the pacer’s outstretched palms in his follow-through. With that, the New Zealand talisman, Kane Williamson, was brought to the crease, much earlier than he would’ve liked. Having been sidelined with a groin injury for the entirety of New Zealand’s historic 3-0 victory against India last month, Kane Williamson returned to the Blackcaps side in typical fashion.
The early swing of Woakes and Atkinson was comfortably maneuvered by skipper, Tom Latham, who ended up with a well-made score of 47 off just 54 balls (eventually nicking off to the welcoming gloves of stand-in keeper, Ollie Pope, off the bowling of Brydon Carse). Williamson, however, took a little longer to adjust to the early movement, and sluggish outfield, taking 10 balls to get off the mark. The introduction of Brydon Carse, who was able to find a new level of bounce as the wicket began to harden in the morning sun, provided another challenge for Williamson, finding the edge three times before he reached 20, and once after he passed the 50 milestone – yet his delicate, ‘soft hands’, kept him out of danger, as England were left to rue standing inches back from where the edges landed.
A lull before the Bashir Storm
The afternoon session, which only saw one wicket fall, was accompanied by a peaceful sunshine, sending 9,000 spectators sprawled over various deckchairs and picnic rugs, into a gentle lull, enjoying the spectacular background of Hagley Oval, surrounded by a vast expanse of parkland. Williamson’s temperament matched the relaxed atmosphere, as he went on to spend the best part of three and a half hours out in the middle, carefully negating a seemingly lackluster English bowling attack, who defiantly attempted to dismantle the all-time great with a stubborn short ball plan, spearheaded by Carse and Atkinson.
A series of glorious straight drives, staunch defense, and controlled pull shots, saw Williamson creep to 93, edging ever closer to his 33rd test match hundred. Surrey speedster, Gus Atkinson, eventually found the breakthrough, as halfway through the evening session, Williamson failed to get on top of the extra bounce, cutting a wide delivery straight to Zak Crawley at backward point. A disappointing end to a nonetheless fantastic innings, as Williamson once again proved why he is one of the best in the world.
Williamson’s stellar knock was garnished with 50 partnerships with both young superstar, Rachin Ravindra, (who made a classy 34, before disappointedly throwing his wicket away, clipping a Shoaib Bashir full toss to the delighted hands of Zak Crawley at midwicket), and English nightmare (averaging 74 against England prior to this match), Daryl Mitchell who hit a boundaryless 19 off 47.
The wicket of Williamson allowed England to edge in front of the hosts, as Shoaib Bashir, whose selection was the subject of much debate prior to the match, had both wicketkeeper, Tom Blundell and the debutant Nathan Smith, dismissed cheaply – leaving New Zealand at 252-7 as the floodlights were switched on, illuminating the Oval for the last hour of play.
A counterattacking partnership between Matt Henry and Kiwi superman Glenn Phillips propelled New Zealand forward to a competitive position, as the England bowlers again began to tire. Once again, Stokes turned to the pick of the bowlers, Shoaib Bashir, and once again, Bashir prevailed, enticing Henry into a long hop down to Ben Duckett at wide long-on.
England will end the day feeling marginally on top going into Day 2, yet they haven’t really produced any ‘special’ moments of cricket today. New Zealand will be left regretting some wickets that they threw away, courtesy of some rather puzzling cricket shots – but with the entirety of tomorrow’s morning session set to be overcast, and England set to bat early with only 2 wickets left to clean up, the four-pronged seam attack will be eager to get out there as soon as possible, to make the most of favorable conditions, and put the English top order under pressure. All to play for going into Day 2.
