It was a great counterattack by Johnny Bearstowe and Jamie Overton. Out of 91 for six, with England almost dead and buried, they moved the game to New Zealand in an exciting way and at 264 for six they returned their country to this test.
This was a great example of what Brendan McCallum and Ben Stokes want from this test team. It’s not all about exploding when the odds are against you. It’s about finding out when is the right time to attack.
Beirstow and Overton, who showed real thought on their test debut, measured it to perfection.
91-6, Jonny Bairstow and Jamie Overton brought the game to New Zealand in an exciting style
And this can be the kind of performance that the highest order can learn from, because you have to strike the right balance. Too reckless and you run the risk of collapsing into a pile. Too timid and bowlers are all over you. You need to figure out a way to put them under pressure. Bearstow and Overton did so well.
Of course, the collapse of the highest degree came against the exclusive swing bowling from Trent Boult. From the first ball his rhythm was excellent, his lengths were good and his tempo was high enough.
Most importantly, he pulled England’s top three with a late swing – not a swing from the hand that allows the beaters to line it up, but a swing about three-quarters of the way down, just as you decide which shot to play.
I don’t think Alex Lees could do much for the ball that brought him. You always talk about hitting the top of the stump – that was the original delivery on top.
If nothing else, Lees might have to look at the ball, which nearly cost him the door before, a flash that was extinguished by Daryl Mitchell on the first slip.
The excellent partnership of the pair of 209 runs brought England back to the third test at 264-6
Alex Lees was eliminated for four with a perfect ball that hit the top of the stump in the first over
Lees deserves credit for the way he opened his game at Trent Bridge. But if the ball swings, such a blow – neither a cut nor a kick from behind – brings the cordon into play.
Ollie Pope and Zack Crowley suffered similar layoffs. If the big discs against Boult’s swing look like high-risk hits, it’s because they are. Jeffrey Boycott, a legend in these parts, always said that if the ball swings, you try to see it early and play it late.
Of course, Boult also has this delivery that goes through the right, so both beaters would watch out for that and cross their stumps to cover it. But you can get in trouble when the ball turns back.
In Crowley’s case, he lands on his heel while driving, which means he can’t bend his front leg in the shot. But when you don’t have a nickname, you start throwing your hands at the ball. Again, the balance is right. At one end of the spectrum you have Dom Sibley, Rory Burns and Hasib Hamid who are just looking to survive. In the other you just leave.
Pope seems to have a problem with the loss of balance in the fold. He appears to be moving at the point of contact, his head falling into the crease. He goes to the ball instead of letting him come to him.
From the first ball the rhythm of Trent Boult’s bowling was excellent and his pace was high enough
Joe Ruth fell victim to top-class bowling from Tim Southy, who approached the stumps for several deliveries and then jumped out of the fold, as he does from time to time. This changed the angle and convinced Root to play with him. When the ball moved away late, Root was given the shot.
Which takes us to Ben Stokes. That shimmy down the field became one of his shots, as he showed when he hit Southee for six. But maybe he could look at Neil Wagner before deciding to blame him.
Earlier, he played a great shot against Southee, which went a little wider after the Stokes attacked him again. But Stokes held back a part and stabbed it through the covers for four – his blow to the innings.
However, he didn’t have that shot against Wagner – and the ball wasn’t there to hit. There was no plan B.
It was a rare occasion when Ben Stokes struggled to get his pace in test cricket
Stokes is one of the two best batteries in England, with Root, and there are not many cases where he failed to achieve the right pace in test cricket. But I just hope he doesn’t try to overdo it in this new era, because he’s too good for it.
What the game on the second day confirmed to me was that in test cricket there is no one way to hit – this is what distinguishes the form from the versions of the white ball game. When Bearstow went crazy on Trent Bridge, he had given himself a tribune before tea. You adapt to what is in front of you.
We will have to accept that England may be slightly confused as it adapts. But one thing is for sure, as Rob Key said, it’s going to be a lot of fun – and that’s for sure.
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