Stokes drives on

90.3 Colin de Grandhomme to Ben Stokes, FOUR

There’s something uniquely stirring about a Ben Stokes on drive. The manner in which he ends up square on to the bowler, walking down the pitch, gives a combative feel to one of cricket’s most graceful, technically precise strokes. The tone-setting effect is often far greater than the four runs procured. It took him just three balls to impose himself on Colin de Grandhomme’s military medium today, confirming that he remained in the mood in which he started out on the first day, and has been in since the start of England’s World Cup campaign.

Pope’s generosity

102.4 Ollie Pope c BJ Watling b Tim Southee 29 (56)

[caption id=”attachment_127875″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Should Ollie Pope have left the ball which dismissed him?[/caption]

The loudest reminder of England’s bad old pedal-to-the-metal ways – which they had done so much to distance themselves from on day one – came from a player who barely featured under Trevor Bayliss. With Stokes dismissed by a combination of a canny piece of bowling and a spectacular catch in Tim Southee’s previous over, New Zealand had an opening, and Ollie Pope gave them a huge hand in bursting through it, aiming a booming drive at a far-out floater and only succeeding in nicking off. Of course, some wide, full balls must be attacked, and sometimes it won’t go quite according to plan. But this just felt too familiar.

Staying on top

113.6 Neil Wagner to Jack Leach, no run

[caption id=”attachment_127874″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Jack Leach once again acquitted himself well with the bat[/caption]

Even in this year of all years, it is remarkable that whether Jack Leach should be promoted above Jofra Archer in England’s Test batting line-up is even a point of sincere discussion. Indeed, why stop there? In his 55-ball stay, Leach once again demonstrated the stickability that has often eluded his supposedly more talented colleagues; only Stokes has a better dismissal rate for England in Tests in 2019 than Leach, who loses his wicket, on average, once every 78.6 balls, and his partnership of 52 with Jos Buttler ensured England made a par score after choosing to bat first. He is looking increasingly technically assured too, coming through a rigorous short-ball examination from Neil Wagner with minimal fuss, on this occasion working one honed in to his chest assiduously down to long leg. Buttler turned down the single to farm the strike. Perhaps he needn’t have bothered.

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Keeping low

4.1 Stuart Broad to Tom Latham, no run

Up until this point the pitch had behaved itself even if it was a touch on the sluggish side. But the first ball of Stuart Broad’s third over would have sent alarm bells ringing in the ears of the New Zealand batting line-up in the knowledge they will most likely bat last on this wicket. A reasonably innocuous delivery in the channel, Latham quite rightly let the ball through to Jos Buttler behind the stumps. And while it stayed clear of the timber, the good length ball from the six foot five seamer stayed alarmingly low passing Latham at around shin height. The ball’s trajectory was most likely the result of a dead spot on the pitch that’s thankfully wide of the stumps. Either way, it’s a delivery that’ll stay in the minds of the batsmen on both sides. By Yas Rana

Raval unravels

22.4, Jeet Raval c Joe Denly b Jack Leach 19 (68)

[caption id=”attachment_127873″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Jeet Raval’s dismissal was ungainly[/caption]

It had been coming. Jeet Raval has struggled of late, tallying just 24 runs in three Plunket Shield innings before this series, and struggled to rotate the strike throughout his 68-ball stay, which reaped just 19 runs in all. Starved of opportunity, Raval was forced to go searching, aiming a series of hard sweeps – more cross-batted swipes – at Jack Leach, with little reward. Even after one narrow reprieve, England’s LBW review struck down after Eagle Eye showed the impact was just outside the line, Raval kept trying to find a release, eventually falling to a catch from Joe Denly at midwicket.

Curran catches out Kane

39.4, Kane Willamson c Ben Stokes b Sam Curran 51 (85)

[caption id=”attachment_127876″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″] Sam Curran elated, Kane Williamson dejected[/caption]

The defining moment of the day was also its most unexpected and unlikely. Kane Williamson had progressed as serenely as ever past his half-century, bring up the milestone with a customary glide down to third man. But the very next ball he was gone, surprised by, of all things, a Sam Curran bouncer. As concerning for New Zealand as the lack of a match-defining first-innings score from their skipper was the nature of the delivery, the ball spitting from the pitch, and the unevenness is only likely to increase as the game progresses. Batting last may well prove tricky, and over 200 behind with their talisman in the shed, New Zealand face a tough ask to carve out a lead which would make doing so a formality.