Key events
It came out! Gus Atkinson completes the innings with a hat trick!
34.5 overs: New Zealand 121-7 (Phillips 16, Smith 10) This is phenomenal! And England end the first innings with a lead of 155 runs! The ball was smashing through middle and leg, the review only delayed the inevitable, and the innings ended in a hurry. The over started with a shot from Smith, who was simply dismissive, driving the ball through the covers for four, continues with Atkinson, who dismisses, and is destined to never end.
The TV judge checks it, but the players are already leaving the field!
VARITKA! Southee lbw b Atkinson 0 (New Zealand 125 all out)
He just went and did it! Although Southee has been reviewed because, well, why not, so let’s see…
VARITKA! Henry c Duckett b Atkinson 0 (New Zealand 125-9)
Matt Henry walks out on the first ball! He is beaten by bounce and speed, battling to gully where Ben Duckett takes a low catch and Atkinson completes a hat-trick!
VARITKA! Smith b Atkinson 14 (New Zealand 125-8)
Smith tries to leave one and fails, the ball clips the toe of his bat and ricochets into middle stump!
34th over: New Zealand 121-7 (Phillips 16, Smith 10) Wizard attempts a spell, Woakes replaces Kars in the first bowling change of the day. It’s fair to say he doesn’t get it right away: Phillips pushes one back past him for four, then the next between the gully and point with a similar prize, Phillips doubles his tally in the space of two balls to become (joint) third – highest scorer of the innings.
33rd over: New Zealand 113-7 (Phillips 8, Smith 10) Atkinson continues and Phillips parries one last point for four, well done. News of the worrying weather in Wellington has not impressed everyone: “We are currently following your reports in Co Mayo, in the dark with no power as we are battered by the latest Atlantic storm!” writes Jo Corrigan. “Severe storms? is that all Kiwis don’t know how lucky they are this weekend,” writes John Starbuck, who could be almost anywhere in the northern hemisphere. If it helps, my water supply has been completely out for hours.
32nd over: New Zealand 108-7 (Phillips 3, Smith 10) Kars’ first delivery goes back to Phillips and almost cuts him in two. Later, Smith goes off target for four, a shot with very little power but clearly good timing and outside off spins past mid-on. He was clearly saving the power for the next one, who hits deep square leg for a six!
31st over: New Zealand 97-7 (Phillips 2, Smith 0) Only one single from Atkinson finished, most of which were honestly thrown away while I was still thinking about the previous one.
30th over: New Zealand 96-7 (Phillips 1) Goldilocks from Kars: the first one is too full= and Blundell punches through cover for a couple and the next one is too short and Blundell pulls for four. Then he gets one exactly as it should be.
VARITKA! O’Rourke lbw b Carse 0 (New Zealand 96-7)
And one more! The nightwatchman gets away with a 26-ball duck after being trapped deep leg before wicket!
VARITKA! Blundell b Carse 16 (New Zealand 95-6)
This is lovely from Carse, similar to the one that was too good for Kane Williamson yesterday (but turned out to be a no-ball), and is too good for Blundell as well, doing enough to beat his defensive push and cut off the top.
29th over: New Zealand 89-5 (Blundell 10, O’Rourke 0) A single to Blundell, who bursts into double figures off his 16th ball, and three more to O’Rourke, who now faces 25 not out. The New Zealand Met Service they helpfully publish the laundry drying time, which they put between one and three o’clock tomorrow. Morning showers are useless; strong storms quite comfortable.
28th over: New Zealand 88-5 (Blundell 9, O’Rourke 0) O’Rourke’s Carrs maiden well beaten by a yorker that flies six inches wide of off stump. Meanwhile, Ian Rivett sends me tomorrow’s forecast from Met Office New Zealand, which sounds ominous: “Showers developing in the morning. Northwest wind increasing to a strong gale in exposed areas in the afternoon with gusts 140 km/h.’
27th over: New Zealand 88-5 (Blundell 9, O’Rourke 0) Gus Atkinson to Blundell, whose focus is very much on defence. The best ball catches the inside edge and hits the batter on the thigh from there. There is a pair from the fifth.
“If any partnership gives us 20-30 which puts us pretty close to their score, hopefully good bowling conditions for that for us,” says Nathan Smith. “We’ll probably see the last seam-friendly conditions today before it levels off.” Let’s see, shall we?
Lord David Gower it sounds pretty screechy on the telly this morning. He will be positively hoarse after a long day of commentary. Right now, players are teetering on the edge preparing for action.
“Obviously it’s said here that “you can’t beat Wellington on a good day,” writes Mark Hollingsworth. “Well, it’s pretty perfect today, so let’s hope England can put an end to that local theory…”
Ah, so you’re on the ground, lucky one. Google tells me it’s cloudy in Wellington today, but the TV pictures show it’s glorious sunshine.
What with the Guardian & Observer NUJ chapel is on strike most staff were off work yesterday so here’s PA Media on Harry Brook:
hello world!
Well then. It feels like the day this test, and with it the outcome of the series, will be decided. New Zealand start at 86 for five, still 194 behind, and with 15 wickets down on the first day, everything is moving forward at a great pace. With Will O’Rourke, who has taken 16 balls over his wicket so far after coming in as a nightwatchman maintaining a Test average of three, the onus falls on Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips to get their side back into the competition.
The first day marked another spectacular success for Harry Brook, whose 123 took his away Test average to 91.50, 11 and a bit behind Don Bradman and 22 and a bit ahead of anyone else (to have played at least 10 innings away) in the history of test cricket (for completeness, his home average of 38.05 is good enough for 311th place on this list).
He’s obviously a wonderful player, but with many tipping him to be the team’s next captain after dipping his toe in the captaincy waters this English summer, I found his interview with the BBC for today’s TMS Podcast interesting: along the way, he admits that “to be honest, I try to stay away from pitching talk and chat” and also that “I’m the worst at umpiring pitches”. His clean thinking – to the extent that he thinks at all, rather than just relying on his instincts, he thinks about his own work rather than someone else’s – is clearly one of the reasons for his success, and perhaps when Ben Stokes’ time is over, England would be better off looking elsewhere.
Anyway, and most importantly, welcome!
