Yet another day’s play in the ongoing England vs New Zealand Test series was dominated by the visitors in Edgbaston. On a surface were the English batting struggled, young, inexperienced New Zealand batters like Devon Conway and Will Young stood tall and kept the opposition bowling at bay after losing stand-in captain Tom Latham early.
Both fell in their 80s, but primarily thanks to their effort New Zealand finished the day at 229/3, replying to England’s 303.
However, England may consider themselves unlucky. Some close umpiring decisions went against them, including a call for a catch in the slip-cordon.
Conway, the double-centurion in the last game, appeared to be caught in the slips on 22. However, he got a soft not out signal by the on-field umpires, and the third umpire upheld that. Conway went on to scored 80.
Young got an early reprieve when Joe Root dropped him at slip off Olly Stone. Young, 7 at point, went on to add 75 more runs to his tally.
Even Ross Taylor was given out leg-before off James Anderson early in his innings, but the decision was overturned by the third umpire: the ball would have missed leg.
Earlier in the day, England added 45 to their overnight score of 258/7 to cross 300. They began with a positive note when Mark Wood smashed six fours off Trent Boult and Matt Henry in the first 20 minutes of day’s play. Dan Lawrence, firm at the other end, looked set for a hundred. Unfortunately, his partners the tail did not wag once Wood fell for 41. Lawrence remained unbeaten at 81.
Day 3: What to expect
New Zealand now trail by 74 with seven wickets in hand, but the second new ball is not even four overs away. If the visitors can see that off in the morning, they will stand with a chance of taking a lead sizeable enough to win the series. Throughout this series, the England batters have struggled to get going against the New Zealand fast bowlers, and a three-figure lead can put them under substantial pressure.
Taylor, still out there, needs to play a significant role for New Zealand. But if England can get him out early, they might still control the damage.
The weather predictions are pretty good for the day in Birmingham. The sky will be partly cloudy, and towards the second half we can expect a bright sunny afternoon. The conditions are likely to favour the batsmen, and one can anticipate an ideal opportunity for New Zealand to stamp their authority in this Test and in the series.