England’s persistence was rewarded yet again as familiar frailties haunted New Zealand on the first day of the third Test, Jeff Thomas reports from Hamilton.
On a muggy morning in Hamilton, Ben Stokes won the toss and looked skywards. A dense and persuasive layer of cloud loomed large over Seddon Park and the England skipper didn’t hesitate to ask his opposite number, Tom Latham, and his misfiring Black Caps, to have a bat. At lunch, with the cloud cover all but burnt off and New Zealand unscathed at 93-0, it looked to most observers like a rare misjudgement from Stokes.
In truth, the fact New Zealand had reached the interval without losing a wicket was something of a minor miracle. Matthew Potts, recalled to the England line-up in place of Chris Woakes, probed impressively throughout the morning session but spent much of it with his hands on his disbelieving head as he watched the opening pair either play and miss or edge him infuriatingly to safety. “We were a fraction unlucky to have them none down at lunch,” was the Durham man’s rather large understatement at stumps. He was also delighted to just be back playing for his country. “It was fantastic, obviously with the sun beating down it can be seen as hard work but I enjoy every moment that I put this England shirt on.”
It was a stiflingly hot day in Hamilton and while the super-fit Potts, and the rest of England’s seamers, gamely plugged away throughout the afternoon session, their patience and perseverance had only brought three Kiwi wickets. At tea, with Kane Williamson (who averages over 90 at Seddon Park) well set, New Zealand were sitting relatively pretty at 172-3, considering they had been inserted.
However, mid-way through the final session and with a strong sense of déjà vu, the brittle Black Caps had quickly slipped from this position of strength to the much less healthy 231-7, and, as has so often been the case in the series, the demise of Williamson precipitated the muddled collapse that followed. When Williamson departs you can almost feel New Zealand’s confidence evaporate, the middle order stuck between wanting to counter-attack but not having the belief to fully commit. Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips were all dismissed attempting to be positive but were ultimately half-hearted in their drives.
On the surface, the manner of Williamson’s dismissal shortly after the tea break was fortuitous for England and the previously luckless Potts. The No.3 defended a length ball from the England seamer down into the pitch with his famously soft hands, but could only watch in despair as the ball spun backwards in slow motion and onto the stumps. It was, however, the result of a well-designed plan. “I’d been a fraction wide to Kane early on trying to swing a few and we had a little bit of a discussion, Pope, Stokes and myself,” said Potts. “Popey felt as though we could maybe go wide of the crease and angle it a bit more towards the stumps, at fourth stump/off-stump and just keep smashing away at a hard length and I think that dismissal comes from that clarity of job that we’re needing to do.”
It was a huge moment, and its significance and importance for the team was the focus for Potts, who has now dismissed Williamson four times for just 11 runs in his short Test career. “It’s a massive wicket at that point in the innings,” he said “Less about personal milestones or achievements but I think at that key point in time, Kane could have potentially taken the game away from us, so to get a good player like that, to get a massive scalp for the team, I’m proud of that.”
An entertaining unbeaten half century from Mitchell Santer and some lusty blows from the retiring Tim Southee, who smashed his 96th, 97th and 98th Test sixes onto the grassy banks of Seddon Park, took New Zealand to 315-9 by the close. But it was Potts’ 3-75 from 21 overs which was the stand-out contribution of the day and wrested control of the contest back to England.
Having now had a taste of the action and performed so well, did the England man find watching the first two Test matches from the sidelines a frustrating experience? “I wouldn’t say frustrating, I enjoy every single moment playing with this team. Every time I put on an England shirt, I feel an immense sense of pride and it’s not just for me, it’s for the ten other blokes that walk out onto that field.”
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
