Williamson's Brilliance & Blundell's Resilience Lead New Zealand's Fightback Against England
On the fourth day of the ongoing Test match between New Zealand and England at the Basin Reserve, the spotlight was on Kiwi captain Kane Williamson's magnificent innings.
The elegant batter scored his 26th Test hundred, becoming the leading Test run-scorer for New Zealand, and spent more than six hours at the crease in the second innings.
Williamson leads New Zealand’s fightback
The former Kiwi skipper’s knock proved to be crucial for the home side as they built an increasingly handy lead over England after being forced to follow on.
England began the day with a new ball to aid their efforts, which paid off as Ollie Robinson removed Henry Nicholls early in the day.
Williamson became the leading run-getter for New Zealand [Source: Twitter]
Williamson was joined by Daryl Mitchell, and the two put up a fierce resistance against the English attack.
Mitchell's aggressive knock of 54 runs off just 52 balls helped him reach his half-century milestone by hitting Jack Leach into the stands at long-on.
Mitchell's proactive approach against both seam and spin bowling was effective, but he fell to a top-edged hack across the line at Stuart Broad.
After Mitchell's wicket, Tom Blundell joined forces with Williamson and the duo stitched a match-defining 158-run partnership.
This was the second consecutive day when New Zealand batted through the afternoon session without losing a wicket.
Blundell, who passed his 50 for the sixth time in 11 innings against England, gave hope to the home team that they could set England a challenging target.
England, however, were not lacking in ideas as they tried to break the sixth-wicket partnership. They employed a short-ball tactic, which almost brought them the wicket of Blundell on 30.
But the Kiwi batsman's firmly struck pull hit the hands of James Anderson at backward square leg and went straight down.
Williamson, on the other hand, remained the key man for the Kiwis. He played with soft hands and barely gave up anything resembling a chance to the English bowlers.
As the stylish batter’s innings progressed, he overtook some notable names in Test cricket such as Ross Taylor, Justin Langer, Ian Bell, and Michael Atherton.
The 32-year-old spent eight balls on 99 before finally finding the boundary through backward point off Stuart Broad.
Williamson's knock ended when he was caught by Harry Brook, who claimed his first Test wicket by sending back the talisman for 132.
Once the Kiwi batting mainstay was dismissed, the English bowlers quickly wrapped up the Blackcaps innings and bowled them out for 483, setting themselves a target of 258. Blundell was the last man to depart as he agonizingly fell short off a ton by 10 runs.
In response, the England openers started their innings cautiously but picked up the pace as they got their eye in.
They resorted to their 'Bazball' approach and started scoring runs quickly. The visitors lost their first wicket in the form of Zak Crawley who was cleaned up by New Zealand skipper Tim Southee with a jaffa for 22 off 27 balls. At Stumps on Day 4, England’s scoreboard read 48/1 after 11 overs.
Talking Points
- Williamson’s return to form: Williamson, the prolific Kiwi batsman, had been experiencing a period of poor form for quite some time. However, he proved to be the man of the moment as he stepped up to the occasion, bailing his side out of trouble with an exceptional knock of 132 runs off 282 balls, including 12 perfectly-timed fours.
- Jack Leach’s fifer: In a series dominated by fast bowlers, left-arm spinner Jack Leach displayed his resilience and determination, taking an impressive five-wicket haul. Despite the challenges posed by the opposing team, Leach continued to bowl with great discipline, ultimately conceding 157 runs while taking five crucial wickets in the process.
Expectations from Day 5
It is pertinent to mention that the highest successful chase at the Basin Reserve is the 277 made by Pakistan in 2003, but the English side would surely back themselves to continue rewriting records, having overhauled four targets of a greater magnitude in 2022 alone.
With their batters in exceptional form, the tourists would surely fancy chasing the target in their own attacking way.
Brief Scores
New Zealand 2nd innings: 483 all out
Kane Williamson 132 (282), Tom Blundell 90 (166);
Jack Leach 5-157 (61.3), Harry Brook 1-25 (8)
England 2nd innings: 48/1
Zak Crawley 24 (30), Ben Duckett 23* (29);
Tim Southee 1-19 (5), Michael Bracewell 0-11 (2)
England need 210 runs to win.
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