Well left M/s Conway & Latham
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By Rahul Patil
England 1st innings 435 for 8 (Root 153*, Brook 186, Henry 4/100). New Zealand 1st innings 209 all out (Southee 73, Broad 4/61, Anderson 3/37). New Zealand 2nd innings f/o 202 for 3 (Latham 83, Conway 62, Leach 2/59).
The curious case of Tim Southee the batter. Southee started his test career with a 77 not out in 2008 and made useful lower order contributions for the next 10 years. A noticeable dip in batting form started in 2019 and what made it worse was his poor shot selection with complete disregard for match situations. I was one amongst many who questioned if he should be batting ahead of Neil Wagner and Matt Henry.
Today though, the New Zealand captain mixed caution with aggression and waited for the ball to be in his hitting zone. The result was a much needed innings of 73 and a partnership of 98 with Tom Blundell. Not enough to save the follow on but enough to prolong the inevitable. Long enough to also give confidence to the Kiwi dressing room that runs can be scored on this pitch.
England chose to enforce the follow on in near perfect bowling conditions. No sun, another cold and overcast day and the bowlers had only taken 53 overs to dismiss the Blackcaps. The weather did change dramatically after Tea though and the last session was played in glorious sunshine.
The session before lunch was a stare down contest. All the English bowlers kept plugging away at a length just outside the off stump and Conway & Latham kept leaving everything that they didn’t need to play at. ‘Bazball’ had a nap while 19 overs yielded only 40 runs. More importantly for New Zealand the openers were seeing off the new ball. Something they have struggled to do all series.
A good leave is probably the most underappreciated part of test cricket. Fast bowling is hard work and the most frustrating thing for a fast bowler is to see a batter leaving well. A good leave is a sign that the batter knows where the off stump is. It also sends a subtle message to the opposition that I am going to be patient, I want to play a long innings and you will have to work hard to get me out.
Right throughout their partnership of 149 both Tom Latham and Devon Conway left really well. In a world where the lines between T20 cricket and test cricket are fading quite rapidly it is good to see that the value attached to a good leave hasn’t diminished. At some point in the series The New Zealand top order had to come good. Day 3 is normally the best day for batting at the Basin and both the openers dug in for 53.2 overs.
At the post match press conference Latham who entered the 5000 test runs club said that it was a conscious decision by both openers to leave a lot while the ball was new. Trusting the bounce at the Basin and making the bowlers bowl closer to them was a major part of their plan.
After a long partnership normally one wicket brings two. It’s almost like after years of being together when a loved one passes away the other partner loses hope too. In the case of the Blackcaps Conway’s wicket started a mini slide. 149 for none became 167 for 3. Williamson and Nicholls survived some nervous moments. First to stop the slide and then to see of the new ball when it was taken 10 minutes before the end of the day’s play. New Zealand 202 for 3 at stumps still trailing England’s first innings total by 24.
It was an absorbing day’s cricket. Williamson is on the cusp on becoming the highest run scorer for New Zealand in test cricket. If Williamson and Nicholls can survive the opening burst with the new ball tomorrow morning, it’s still a great pitch to bat on. Is it too early to start dreaming about miracles? Well maybe.
Nobody knows about miraculous turnarounds at the Basin better than Brendon McCullum. 9 years back he batted for almost 2 full days in scoring 302 in the third innings of a test match at the Basin. Wonder what the odds are for something like to happen once again?
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