WELLINGTON, New Zealand managed to take some catches holding out until Harry Brook launched a provocative counter-action as England’s score fell down to 43-4 during the first session on the first day of the second test match played on Friday.
Brook reached an even 50 in just 47 balls blazing through with 5 fours and 2 sixes. At lunch, with England back to 124-4, he had gone on to score 51 runs. Brook had a good outing with the bat. When he came out on to bat, Ollie Pope was already at the crease, and they both batted together adding 81 runs for the fifth wicket with 50 runs coming off only 37 balls out of that.
In the first test match that took place in Christchurch and won by England by 8 wickets, New Zealand managed to take some 7 catches including 5 of Brook who scored 171 runs in total.
New Zealand had won the toss, chose to bowl first and were able to get Passed Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jacob Bethell within 60 minutes of the start of the Game on a pretty decent looking wicket. The catches were backed up on the Friday.
Brook ended New Zealand’s dominance over the fight during the second hour of play with some aggressive batting which helped brook reach 26 in just 23 balls thanks to three boundaries and a maximum. This enabled him to break New Zealand’s vice over the contest.
The England captain Ben Stokes said that in case he won the toss, he had intended to bat and that from the start of the match, his troops had come ready to attack. Even though he had a pair in the first test, Crawley adopted the mindset as he was playing in a T20. He was desperate for runs. He hit a six off the last delivery of Tim Southee’s first over.
With Matt Henry taking two out of four Tampa Bay wickets in the early stages of the match all which were maidens upto that point, this was an unwise strategy on a greenish pitch where there was seam movement. Particularly when the ball seamed, and it was in the grasp of Matt Henry
The game’s first casualty was Crawley who was clean bowled and beaten by a seam delivery that was directed at his pads and straightened through the bat and pad of his. The next batsman Duckett did not score as he went after a ball that Henry had bowled wide outside his off stump. The ball was pushed even wider and the edge went to second slip tom Latham.
However, any such doubts regarding fielding abilities amongst Kiwis were laid to rest when Daryl Mitchell took a brilliant catch at first slip to dismiss Root for three. Nathan Smith who had previously dismissed Root for a first ball duck in the first test, got his wicket again after a lord cut was tightly fished to Mitchell who performed a diving catch to his right. Smith was able to take the wicket.
After that, Smith dismissed Bethell (16) with a rare bouncer which the batter tried to hook but ended up feathering it through to the wicket keeper, Tom Blundell.
Henry played surprisingly well on the conditions, getting the right length and swinging the ball both ways. Before the lunch break, he had 2 for 14 from seven overs, while Smith had two for 41 from six overs.
Brook, once again, led the way. He was in a position very much like that of the first Test’s first innings when England was reeling at 45-3, when he emerged at 43-4, and managed to salvage England’s innings.
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