Through the combination of the series already won in England, the colorful ornaments retiring to Tim Southee, and the lively attitude to the leafy banks of Seddon Park, this Experienced easy take on the end of the term vibe. Fast and loose cricket often erupts when the players are tired and the goal line is in sight.
What followed was, at least at first, fairly carried on by both sides. New Zealand launched and not only driven by . they appeared a decent send off to Southee but perhaps also a sense of atonement for the 2-0 scoreline, while the English sailors were blunted with little sign of any edge, trimmed on a recent golf trip to Lake Taupo. It was an arm wrestle on Bessi’s way through the open day.
But England once again forced their affairs. New Zealand, starting with wickets early and 105 runs shared by Tom Latham and Will Young, closed the match at 315 for nine as a sub. Had Mitch Santner not hit an unbeaten 50 for the club, scoring six, things could have been worse for the hosts. They were conceded by Ben Stokes in the toss, but few captains, in such a delightful position, were waiting to follow the onslaught of the wickets.
It is possible that the best England have done before this one – apart from the 18 holes at Kinloch – is to renew their attack in Matthew Potts for Chris Woakes. Not that Woakes had done much wrong in the series. But the fired sailor, who had visibly tried to engage with Potte, shot up like an ox from the back, fired 21 rounds of grun for three for 75 figures.
Among these came a moment in which the sun appeared and continued to strangle something of its own. Kane Williamson simply loves Seddon Park as he comes into the game with a test average of 92.4 from 11 outings at the ground. And as he skillfully continued his way to 44, and rose to three teams at the start of the evening session, there was an ominous sense of another party brewing.
But the New Zealand master is less fond of Pottse, against whom he had fallen three times and four times in matches three summers before. That statistic now reads four in five – eight runs for four off 50 balls – after a beautiful dismissal which saw L’Occitane’s soft hands deflect the ball back to the stumps.
He attempted to kick the ball away from Williamson, who had met the fresh air, and, rather against such cool custom, threw back his head in disgust. His self-flagellation is unlikely to have stopped long after, with Williamson watching New Zealand lose by five wickets in bright sunshine. Only Santner was brought in recently, and some fun from Southee, fueled things.
England’s determination with the series already won and clocked up to 17 Tests of the year is hardly evident. For one, Stokes thundered through 23 overs, his heaviest workload for two years, and the most since 12 months ago. And then Brydon Carse appeared to have a few words to send Potts’ way when his Durham team-mate failed to pull four into the ropes.
Carse pain was pressing the barrier hereleaving the feet quite tattered after two unusually impressive testaments. Soon, after sending daggers the way of Pottse’s prizes, Rachin Ravindra was driving hard for 18 with Ben Duckett slipping, who had previously been grazed by two half-falls by Latham, keeping him safe.
78 This was the first from Carse, the third from the south. Latham, 63, was recalled as a young man, 42 initially dominated, some of them highlighted the stupidity of his omission post-India with 10 sweet boundaries. But when Gus Atkinson hit a sharp delivery and Latham Potts deflected off Ollie Pontiff’s hamstring to open his account, the tide began to turn in England’s favor.
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If Williamson’s dismissal after tea was a case of a lock being picked then what followed was like Swat team piling through with catching, a feature of England’s superiority, on show again more. First came Jacob Bethell going full on the goalkeeper to cover to remove the dangerous Tom Blundell for 21, then Harry Brook pulling a bicycle catch on the rope to Matt Henry; a genre that remains spectacular but almost de rigueur.
The capture, which was most important in that, the retreating southerner, who had walked through the guard of honor, ordered a personal round to turn 95 seniors into three figures. He hit three chances, the last bump to the delight of the crowd, before his fourth attempt went sky high and Carse was held.
Soon Carse packed; Another sign of the so-called dead test-rubber match is that nothing else happens but with total commitment.