Another Test match, another intriguing contest! After capitulating on the final day at Lord’s, New Zealand must feel gloriously vindicated after turning the tables at Headingley, playing the sort of cricket which served England so well last week.
One of the many things I’ve taken from this short but very sweet series is that one-day batting has had a huge impact. Not so long ago, once the seventh wicket fell in an innings the tailenders would be thinking more about their run-up and new ball strategy than getting a few runs of their own. Now, everyone can be a hero with the willow!
Tino Best, Ashton Agar and even our very own Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson have written their names into record books in the past few years. In the past few days we’ve experienced still more fearless fireworks from numbers nine to eleven. Amongst the general glut of boundaries, the last two wickets in the four innings at Headingley have produced more than 300 runs. OK, I know that the second NZ innings was declared during the ninth wicket partnership but that’s still an impressive aggregate for a bunch of bowlers.
At Lord’s, it was mostly Ben Stokes but in Leeds, Luke Ronchi and Matt Henry (each twice), Stuart Broad, Tim Southee and Trent Boult had three-figure strike rates against their names. The Black Caps’ second outing, after another dodgy start, was played out in the image of their brilliant captain Brendon McCullum. Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling may have ridden their luck on occasions but their aggressive approach pressurised fielders into dropping catches and bowlers like Broad resembling nervous teenagers serving up short-pitched tripe.
The Sunday spectators were presented with a feast of runs, then the NZ tail really rubbed it in on Monday morning, declaring on 454-8. Apart from Latham and Williamson, every player struck at least one six! Watling’s excellent century was the single most important contribution, earning him the Man of the Match award. However, Mark Craig’s 99 unbeaten runs and tight bowling earning five wickets should not be underestimated. Trent Boult and Tim Southee occasionally gave even Anderson a lesson in new ball swing bowling, and Luke Ronchi’s belated Test debut at the age of 34 resulted in 119 runs and some tidy displays behind the stumps. Even Williamson made up for his unusually poor display with the bat by clinching the game with 3-15, his vital victims being the dogged Cook, pegged Stokes and ragged Broad.
England weren’t completely outplayed. After all, it was a Test match in which Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson became the first Englishmen to pass 9,000 runs and 400 wickets, respectively. Adam Lyth achieved his debut century on his second appearance, Jos Buttler stuck around admirably for 73 on the final evening and Matt Wood did enough to keep his place for the Ashes.
More worrying must be the form of Ballance, Bell and Moeen Ali. Broad’s clueless bowling may have yielded seven wickets at Headingley but he went for six an over! Acceptable in an ODI but not a Test match. Joe Root fared even worse with the bat but even the finest batsmen have an off-day following his excellent display in the first fixture.
For now, let’s celebrate a wonderful brace of Test matches and in particular the attitude of McCullum and co in levelling the series in such style. The appalling negativity and time-wasting we saw from Cook’s men two years ago should be consigned to history. If the new brooms at England’s helm follow suit, the Aussies may yet face a real challenge later this summer.
