Watch: Tim Southee produced a cracking delivery to castle Zak Crawley late on day four, extending the England batter’s lean run in the series.
The dismissal occurred on the final ball of the eighth over. Crawley had gotten off to a decent start and had scored 24 off 29, which included five boundaries, though he had not looked entirely comfortable. This time, he did not have an answer to Southee’s brilliance. The New Zealand captain pitched the ball back of a length outside off stump. Crawley had a waft at it away from his body and left a gap between his bat and body. The ball nipped back in sharply, cut Crawley in half and clipped the top of off stump.
Crawley could not believe what had just happened but had to trudge back to the pavilion, having failed to convert his start into a substantial score. England, chasing 258 for a win, ended the day 48-1 with Ben Duckett and Ollie Robinson at the crease. Earlier on day four, Kane Williamson scored a superb hundred, and alongside Tom Blundell hauled New Zealand out of trouble. With a day’s play still remaining, it would be interesting to see how this Test shapes up and if England can complete a 2-0 series victory over the Black Caps.
Watch Southee dismissing Crawley here:
Top class from Tim Southee 👏#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/WkE0NlW0ld
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 27, 2023
