England defeat New Zealand by 8 wickets in 1st Test at Hagley Oval

Despite New Zealand’s best efforts to postpone the inevitable, England won the first test on Sunday by eight wickets and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Daryl Mitchell, who struck 84 as a lone rearguard and was the last man out, helped New Zealand bat through the whole first session when they resumed on the fourth day with just a four-run lead and four wickets remaining.In his lone test match, Brydon Carse took 6-42 for match statistics of 10-196, helping England win by just 104 runs after New Zealand was bowled out for 252 in their second innings.

New Zealand led by just four runs at 155-6 to start the day in a dangerous position. Carse quickly dismissed Matt Henry and Nathan Smith to claim his maiden Test five-wicket haul.
Before Joe Root caught him at deep midwicket off Gus Atkinson’s bowling, Tim Southee hit two sixes in his final series, raising his Test total to 95. Atkinson had to finish his over when England’s skipper, Ben Stokes, pulled up while bowling, causing a little worry. When Chris Woakes caught Mitchell in the deep, Carse added his first-innings numbers of 4-64 and secured his maiden ten-wicket match haul.

The pitch at Hagley Oval supplied pace and bounce on all four days, and England was in a great position from the opening day when it won the toss and had New Zealand 319-5 at stumps.
Rachin Ravindra and Tom Lathan (47), who both had strong starts but failed to finish, and Kane Williamson (93), who kept the New Zealand innings together. On the opening day at Hagley Park, young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir bowled 20 overs and took 4-69, an exceptionally high effort for a spinner.

As New Zealand reached 348 on day two, Glenn Phillips hit 58 not out, his half-century.
Ben Duckett scored 46 at a fast tempo to set the tone for England’s first innings, which was propelled by Brook’s 171, his sixth test century, after New Zealand dismissed Zak Crawley early.
New Zealand’s poor catching also contributed to England’s dominant position. At 17, 41, 70, 112, and 132, it missed seven receptions, including five of Brook’s.

In the second over of England’s innings, New Zealand was able to take off Zak Crawley (1). Then, to provide a little suspense before the conclusion, Ben Duckett was bowled when the tourists were 55-2.However, England reached 104-2 in only 12.4 overs at a run rate of more than eight runs per over thanks to Joe Root, who scored 23 after a first innings duck, and Jacob Bethell, who blasted an undefeated 50 from 37 balls, his maiden half-century in his first test. With with a day and a half remaining, the win was achieved.

Before the series comes to an end in Hamilton, the second Test is scheduled for Friday in Wellington.

Ben Stokes: “Very happy with the way we performed throughout the week. We were 45 for 3 so to go on and get a pretty likeable lead was very nice, and our bowlers were relentless throughout. He needed a little bit of luck along the way, but you’ve got to make it count when the opposition are dropping catches left, right and centre… he’s an incredible talent, constantly looking to put pressure onto the opposition. Amazing. Look, I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up with Brydon and always known of his potential and his talent. He’s an absolute workhorse who will keep charging in all day.  Chasing those little targets can sometimes be difficult… Beth has grown into his own in that little period there. He’s been playing like that all summer in the white-ball team, so nice to see him do it in whites. Batting slightly down the order, but when Gus and Carsey come down the order and play like that… having a long batting line-up is pretty valuable. I’ve not spent that much time out in the middle for a long time. It’s been a pretty heavy week this week, bowled 20 overs, lot of time in the field, spent some time in the middle… hurt my back diving for a ball as well. It’s more management than anything else. With where we were in the game, it didn’t feel necessary to eke out any more balls than I needed to. I think the body is going to be good for this outing, and I’m raring to go for Wellington. You’ll see in Wellington!”

Tom Latham: “We were happy with the position we had, and we had our opportunities. On a different day, catches go to hand and things might be different, but that’s the sport we play.  Some days it doesn’t quite fall your way. From our point of view, it’s always an attitude thing in the field. Guys were not meaning to drop catches… That’s cricket, and hopefully we can be better next time. The partnerships we were able to build on the first day were great… We had our moments. Things could have been slightly different but a quality team like England put you under pressure. For everyone it’s about trying to contribute as best they can… I’m no different. We’re working hard to produce runs and wickets. That won’t change over the next couple of days. It’s always about trying to stay level as best we can… we’ve got another opportunity in a couple of days and we’ll be working hard.”