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- Wellington performance, framed by human error and endeavor, gives Test cricket renewed belief that it is the purest format of the game
- There was palpable disbelief on local faces that an historic victory had been achieved. Perhaps the hurt of 2019 had been assuaged, a single run being the catalyst
One run was England’s margin of victory on July 14, 2019 in the ODI World Cup at Lord’s. One run was the margin of New Zealand’s victory over England at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand on February 28, 2023.
Having been privileged to witness both events live, it would be unjust to be asked to pick the best of the two. It could be argued that both of them deserved to be tied on the same score, with honors shared. This was the general feeling at Lord’s, where New Zealand were served a cruel blow by a ball which ricocheted to the boundary at a crucial moment toward the end of the match.
In Wellington, it was England who conspired to lose a match on which they held an iron grip on the first two days. Invited to bat first, England started poorly but a record fourth wicket partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook of 302 propelled them to a score of 435 for eight, at which point a declaration was made. New Zealand responded badly, declining to 103 for seven, before captain Tim Southee bludgeoned 73 runs to inspire a partial recovery to 209 all out.
In four and five day cricket, if a side, batting second, is dismissed for a total that is more than 200 runs less than the side batting first, that team has the option to ask the other team to bat again, or follow-on. This was an option which used to be commonly deployed but, in recent years, has been eschewed, mainly on the grounds that bowlers may be tired, teams may show greater resistance the second time around or that the wicket is wearing, making batting in the fourth innings more tricky.
On this occasion, there was a slight argument for the former, the second was an unknown, but a strong possibility, whilst the third was unlikely, given the Basin Reserve’s historic reputation for pitches becoming easier to bat on over the course of five days. England’s current leadership strategy is to attack and play positive cricket. Thus, it was no surprise that New Zealand was asked to follow-on. At this point, the decision began to unravel. An opening partnership of 149 was built on by the rest of the team, which, despite a late collapse — losing the last five wickets for 28 runs, creating extra drama — led to a total of 483.
England had been left to score 258 runs for victory in slightly over one day, a distant likelihood at the end of day two. The general view was that, given their approach, they would achieve the target, with time and wickets to spare, buttressed by a starting score of 48 for one wicket on the fifth morning. Prior to that day, there have been only three occasions on which a team following on in a Test match has gone on to win. These were in 1894, 1981, both involving England and Australia, and in 2001, involving India and Australia.
Further unraveling of England’s chase came quickly during the morning’s play, as they sank to 101 for five, through a combination of poor shots, an excitable approach and farce, as Joe Root called Harry Brook for a single that Root misjudged. Brook ought to have said no, and was run out without facing a ball. Brook, who can seemingly do no wrong so far in his fledgling Test career, will now struggle to become the first batter in Test history to reach 1000 runs in fewer than 12 innings.
At 80 for five wickets, Root, in a contrite mood, and Stokes, in restrained fashion, set about rebuilding England’s cause. This worked, as they combined to reach 201 for five and victory looked to be back on track. Self-combustion then occurred. New Zealand’s last throw of the dice was to turn to Neil Wagner, a bowler whose stock in trade is to bowl short in an attempt to induce batters to strike the ball, intentionally or not, into the hands of well-positioned fielders. Stokes, struggling with a long-term knee injury, could only spoon a short ball to a waiting fielder.
Less than two overs later, Root, on 95 and within sight of scoring a century in each innings of a test match for the first time, advanced down the wicket to Wagner, seemingly in premeditated fashion to bring up his century with a six, only to place the ball in the hands of a waiting fielder. He did not have to do that, especially considering his experience and class. Initiative swung to New Zealand, but England’s tailenders slowly brought balance back into the match, guided by Ben Foakes, who looked to be winning the match with a mature innings.
Unfortunately, for England, Foakes also perished by hooking a short ball to be well caught by Wagner, who, in mounting tension and disbelief, then had James Anderson brilliantly caught by the wicketkeeper, one run short of tying the match.
If that had been the outcome, it would have been only the third in Test history. The first was in 1960 between Australia and West Indies, the second in 1986 between India and Australia. Furthermore, New Zealand’s margin of victory, one run, is only the second one in Test cricket, after a West Indies match against Australia in Adelaide in January 1993. Performances such as the one in Wellington, framed by human error and endeavor, as well as recovery from a seemingly impossible position, gives Test cricket new lungs and renewed belief that it is the purest format of the game.
The people who were there on the final day — an equal balance of English tourists and New Zealanders — reflected the ebb and flow of the game, believing one minute that their team was winning and the next that the opposite was true. There was palpable disbelief on local faces that an historic victory had been achieved. Perhaps the hurt of 2019 had been assuaged, a single run being the catalyst.