England’s Bazball revolution has once again stunned cricket with the second-earliest declaration in Test history.
The Poms called things off just 58.2 overs into their opening innings in Mount Maunganui against New Zealand, keen to bowl under lights in the day-night first Test.
They reached 325-9 in effectively less than two sessions of bowling after they again unleashed the aggressive approach that has carried them to nine wins from their past 10 Tests.
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Only Pakistan in 1974, at 9-130 against England after 44.5 overs, has ever declared earlier in a Test match, per stats guru Sir Swamp Thing. (England in 1939 declared 55.2 overs into a Test but it was in the era of 8-ball overs.)
Ben Duckett’s rapid 84 and Harry Brook’s 89 left England captain Ben Stokes able to make an attacking declaration, leaving his team with about an hour under lights to bowl against the New Zealand top order with a new pink ball.
New Zealand’s depleted attack fought back midway through the second session when Ollie Pope, Joe Root (after a bizarre reverse sweep attempt) and captain Ben Stokes fell in quick succession, allowing debut pace bowlers Blair Tickner (1-72) and Scott Kuggeleijn (1-51) to claim their maiden Test scalps.
It didn’t stop Brook from playing his shots, the in-form Yorkshireman accelerating to the high 80s in an innings that featured a glorious straight six off New Zealand captain Tim Southee (2-71) before chopping onto his stumps.
He fell short, for now, of becoming just the second England batsman after Ken Barrington in the 1960s to hit centuries in four consecutive Tests.
Like Brook, Duckett was a revelation during the 3-0 series win in Pakistan two months ago and he maintained his hot streak with 84 off 68 balls.
The hard-hitting opener struck 14 fours and was on course to score England’s fastest Test century – surpassing Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball knock against Australia in 1902 – before he fell to Tickner late in the first session.
Southee, leading his country at home for the first time, put the tourists in to bat with the hope of exploiting the pink ball’s swing on a green-tinged pitch that had been covered for days because of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Their best spell came when Pope departed for 42 and Root for 14 in the space of four balls, followed soon afterwards by captain Stokes for 19.
Most of the wickets fell to aggressive shotmaking, including Root’s, whose attempt at a reverse lap off Neil Wagner was steered straight into the slip cordon.
Preparations for both sides had been disrupted by the storms that hit New Zealand and triggered a national state of emergency on Tuesday but Mount Maunganui avoided significant damage and play started on time.
