Day one of the series-deciding third Test undoubtedly belonged to New Zealand as they posted the most runs of any Black Caps side in a single day in England.
A huge opening stand of 317 between Tom Latham and Devon Conway had England in deep trouble, out of ideas and toiling in the scorching Trent Bridge heat, but by stumps, England had taken 4-44 to claim a foothold.
Captain Ben Stokes, back to lead the side after a turbulent fortnight that saw him stood down for last week’s defeat at the Kia Oval, delivered the breakthrough to remove Latham, before Joe Root’s part-time spin drew Conway into a rare misjudgement.
England closed with two wickets in as many balls, as Gus Atkinson bounced out Rachin Ravindra before Jofra Archer had Henry Nicholls caught behind.
It saw New Zealand fall, albeit slightly, from a commanding position of 317 without loss to 361-4 at the close of play after a finale few dared think possible.
“Think about England’s mood at tea as they went into that dressing room,” former New Zealand fast bowler Simon Doull told the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
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Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson both struck with just minutes left in the first day at Trent Bridge.
“If you’d said in their wildest dreams that New Zealand would be four down at stumps, Ben Stokes would have chewed your arm off for that. But now they’ve got them.
“They’ve also got Will O’Rourke starting first thing in the morning on nought – the nightwatchman, who averages two in his Test career – out there first thing in the morning.
“To be four down after being none down at tea, you’d say England would have taken that all day on a very flat pitch. They will be absolutely over the moon.”
‘Could New Zealand have kicked on?’
Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who holds the record for the highest partnership in Test cricket after his 2006 stand with Mahela Jayawardene, questioned whether Conway and Latham missed an opportunity to bury England in the Test match.
“What a great opening partnership it was between Conway and Latham, but could they have kicked on?” he said.
“Devon Conway looked a bit tired and, when you are tired, you’ve got to manage your output in terms of your physicality.
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Just as it looked like England were set for a wicketless day Ben Stokes forced a mistake from Tom Latham who was caught by Jamie Smith.
“You’ve got to push and pull, rein yourself in, allow Latham to take a bit more of a lead because, if they’d gone in one or two down at the end of the day, that would have been all aces in New Zealand’s hands coming out tomorrow morning.
“It was a great opportunity and platform to bat England almost out of this Test match if they had got beyond that 550 mark.
“They still might, but I think England will fancy a couple of wickets early tomorrow and, if New Zealand end up under 500, England would consider that a good, positive foundation.”
‘Under 550 is undersold for NZ’
England are now hoping that a night’s rest, allied to a new ball on Friday morning, could drag them even further into a game that seemed to be slipping away when Latham and Conway piled up New Zealand’s highest partnership for any wicket in England.
“New Zealand would be very disappointed if they’re not somewhere in the vicinity of 550,” Doull added. “And England should feel pretty good about their performance if it’s anything under 500.
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After making England suffer for most of the day both Tom Latham and Devon Conway were removed in the space of a few balls.
“It’s a blazing hot, flat wicket, a home ground for Ben Duckett. We know what Joe Root does at this ground. He could set his tent up and just bat for a day and a half on this type of surface.
“England have the players and the quality, so if New Zealand aren’t in that 550 to 600 range, they will have undersold themselves after the start they got.”
England vs New Zealand – results and schedule
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