Henry Nicholls opted against reviewing his dismissal after the ball didn’t hit him on either the bat or the gloves but on the forearm and even though New Zealand had all three of their reviews left in their ongoing Test against Pakistan at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.

Walking in at five, Nicholls ably supported captain Kane Williamson, adding 133 for the fourth wicket and completed his half-century before seemingly being undone by a Naseem Shah bouncer. A short ball from the young Pakistan quick hit Nicholls flush on the forearm and popped up towards Shan Masood in the slips, who made no mistake in completing the catch.

Nicholls did consider taking a review but oddly decided against it. There were two noises so there were suggestions by the host broadcaster’s commentary team that Williamson might have talked him out of the review but with replays showing that the ball had in fact taken no part of his glove and with all three reviews in the kitty, he would have been safe had he gone for the review.

Meanwhile, Williamson completed his 23rd Test century, scoring 129 before Yasir Shah removed him just a little more than four overs after Nicholls’s dismissal.

New Zealand were 301-5 in their first innings at lunch on the second day after having lost both of their set batsmen in Nicholls and Williamson after a solid start to the day. A series win would take New Zealand to the top of the ICC Test rankings.

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Henry NichollsKane WilliamsonInternational CricketNew Zealand v PakistanSeries Editorial