Going into the battle, the first priority for New Zealand always seemed to be the match they will be playing a week after in Southampton. They made as many as six changes – four unforced, two forced – for the Edgbaston Test. Of them, none barring Trent Boult has played even 15 Test matches. And yet, they are on the cusp of wrapping up things within four days.
England’s fragility was laid bare in the face of a stern pace attack, as they limped to 122/9 by stumps on Day 3. If not for a brisk cameo from Mark Wood at the fag end of the day, the match would have been over by now. Wood made 29 with the help of five fours and a six and England lived to see another day in the battle. They lead by 37, and by all stretch of imagination, the Birmingham episode is just a session away from its conclusion.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand took an 81-run lead, courtesy eighties from Will Young (82), Devon Conway (80) and Ross Taylor (80). Stuart Broad returned impressive figures of 23.1-8-48-4.
Rory Burns has been the only English batter to have impressed this series. Not today. Matt Henry induced an outside edge that was leapt upon by Tom Latham on the second slip. Dom Sibley, too walked back soon after getting caught by Daryl Mitchell.
Zak Crawley exuded some confidence initially but could not survive an in-swinger from Matt Henry. Ollie Pope was undone by Neil Wagner, who got another in the next over when Dan Lawrence edged to Tom Blundell. James Bracey’s tribulations came to an end after 20 balls, but he got eight runs – an improvement on two consecutive ducks.
Henry and Wagner picked up three wickets each while Ajaz Patel got two, including the prized scalp of Joe Root.
It is not for nothing that New Zealand are in the final of WTC, and England are not. The match was more or less a microcosm of how much New Zealand has evolved in recent years under Kane Williamson and head coach Gary Stead. It also unburied a conflicting thought that says England’s domination in the limited-overs leg has come at a price: relative decline of performance in Test cricket.
Ajaz, who replaced Mitchell Santner, has picked up two wickets in each innings; Henry, who came in for Kyle Jamieson, has already claimed seven in the match; Young stepped into Williamson’s shoes and responded with a gritty 82; Boult claimed a four-for in the first dig; and Blundell’s 34 came at a critical juncture of the game.
The morning session was a tale of two halves, first an hour’s worth of relentless cannonading by two craftsmen operating at near-supreme precision without anything to show. Then their less celebrated colleagues landed much-needed blows after the drinks break.
Stuart Broad and James Anderson were superb throughout the phase, but just could not unsettle either of Ross Taylor or Henry Nicholls. While Anderson stuck to his strengths, Broad’s spell was punctuated by really sharp, rising deliveries. He could have got Taylor with one of those, but Sam Billings shelled the catch at square-leg.
England only got breakthroughs when Wood and Olly Stone came into the attack. Stone got Taylor, well on his way to a century, and Wood soon had Nicholls. Bracey, otherwise a flaccid presence behind the stumps, did well to grab upon both catches.
A question must be asked why a 24-year-old batter with no proven record of keeping wickets at the highest level was thrown into the mix. Bracey never looked comfortable, and chaos and unpredictability aided by favourable conditions only worsened his case.
Taylor completed his fifty with a sweep off Lawrence in his first over of the day. He was a captivating presence out in the middle, and strokes flowed through his blade like a river, only that it failed to pierce the gap as frequently as he would have liked. But even then, his shots touched the ropes as many as eleven times.
Nicholls’ dismissal reduced the tourists to 312/5. Anderson had to toil for over 20 overs for his first wicket when he bowled Wagner through the gate.
It was a day where nothing came easy for the hosts. Henry, Boult and Ajaz struck three fours each, dragging the lead to 81 runs.
Brief scores
England 303 (Dan Lawrence 81*; Trent Boult 4-85) and 122/9 (Mark Wood 29; Neil Wagner 3-18) lead New Zealand 388 (Will Young 82; Stuart Broad 4-48) by 37 runs.