The sun has set on New Zealand’s chances in the first test, losing five quick wickets tonight to turn an improbable chase into mission impossible.
The Black Caps required a record score of 394 when they beganthe fourth innings in the day-three dusk, the likelihood of upsetting England dependent on a 23-over examination in the third session of the day-night test.
In the space of half an hour under the bright glare of the Bay Oval floodlights, the hosts’ timid top order wilted.
Facing one of the greats of the modern game hardly helped, with Stuart Broad at times unplayable while rocking the stumps of Devon Conway, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham in the space of 13 deadly deliveries.
But the Black Caps weren’t unlucky; on the opening day they similarly lost 3-31 while facing the well-known challenge of a pink ball under lights, and earlier on day three had let slip an opportunity to dismiss England and begin their chase in daylights hours.
But after shipping 139 runs to batsmen 7-11, as the tourists eventually reached 374 in the second innings, New Zealand allowed their opposition to dictate terms.
Conway continued his recent feast-or-famine form, following his first-innings 77 with a loose drive in the fourth over that allowed Broad to rock back his stumps.
That wicket saw Broad and James Anderson surpass Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath as the most successful bowling pair in test history, having picked up a combined 1002 scalps.
No 1003 must have counted among the best deliveries sent down by the pair, with Broad angling one through Kane Williamson’s sturdy defences to dismiss the former skipper for a duck.
Latham was the victim of another arrow aimed unerringly at the top of off stump, and when Henry Nicholls wretched run extended to nicking an Ollie Robinson delivery he never wanted to play, the chase was in tatters.
Broad, clearly unimpressed with the disruption to his clean pattern on the scorecard, then bowled out first-innings centurion Tom Blundell to reduce the Black Caps to 28-5.
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The sundown carnage was nothing new. New Zealand’s batsmen have repeatedly battled to defuse the pink ball in the final hours throughout the short history of day-night tests, which was what made today’s middle session all the more galling.
After England had resumed day three with a handy headstart of 98, a wild opening to the afternoon saw runs and wickets flow in equal measure - and saw unwanted history being made.
Instructed to bang in leg-stump bouncers - and needing no second invitation - Neil Wagner claimed two wickets in 11 overs but ceded an eye-watering 104 runs in the process.
That was the most expensive 11-over period endured by a bowler to begin an innings in test history, with Wagner watching helplessly as his short balls repeatedly flew to and over the fence.
Ollie Pope (49 off 46), Joe Root (57 off 62) and Harry Brook (54 off 41) took turns to torment the veteran, the 23-year-old Brook feasting on Wagner’s lack of pace with a succession of brutal flat-batted blows.
But no batsman turned his significant start into a score to blow away the Black Caps, and when Root again got himself out on the reverse in the final over before tea, the hosts were right in contention.
Ben Stokes’ bat loomed as a potentially pivotal factor. But after breaking the record he shared with Brendon McCullum for most sixes in tests - coach applauding skipper for No 108 from the sidelines - Stokes’ dismissal by a canny Michael Bracewell was soon rendered irrelevant.
Ben Stokes hits a record-breaking six. Photo / photosport.nz
The lead stood at 312, three wickets remaining, and New Zealand seemed set for a decent spell of batting in the sunshine. But Ben Foakes had other ideas.
The wicketkeeper made 51 from 80 before being undone by Blair Tickner, but his innings could be argued as the most important in the match. Foakes showed there was more to life than batting at a run a ball, not only building the lead but soaking up the daylight hours.
Ollie Robinson’s cameo also added value, reaching 39 off 48, and even Jack Leach’s 40-ball 12 was beneficial.
His dismissal after dinner confirmed the magnitude of New Zealand’s task - and the next couple of hours confirmed their inability to survive, let alone thrive, in the whites under lights.
New Zealand have only twice chased more than 300 to win a test match. A score in that region would now be a near-miracle, and still insufficient.
They begin tomorrow on 63-5, trailing by 331. England’s 10th victory in 11th tests under McCullum awaits in the afternoon.
It would also be England’s first test victory in New Zealand since 2008, ending a seven-match winless run. That triumph came in Tim Southee’s debut; this would come in his home bow as skipper.
At least the Basin Reserve, venue for the second test, has no floodlights.
Both qualities were on display as the 32-year-old compiled a new high score of 138 during day two of the opening test, first keeping the Black Caps in the fight before landing a few solid blows of his own.
Blundell’s fourth test century in waning sunshine lifted New Zealand within 19 runs of first-innings parity at Bay Oval. A good night then became even better as debutants Blair Tickner and Scott Kuggeleijn struck under lights to leave a once-dominant England on 79-2 at stumps.
With the Black Caps earlier slipping to 83-5 in response to 325-9, the tourists had been sniffing an opportunity to wrap up their opponents’ innings as quickly as they curtailed their own.
But after Devon Conway provided the early resistance with 77 and Blundell later built on that platform with a perfectly paced knock, the hosts gave themselves a chance of becoming the rare side to deny Brendon McCullum’s men.
If the Black Caps do prevent their former captain from earning a 10th win in 11 tests as coach, much will be owed to their wicketkeeper capping a magnificent 12 months with the bat.
Since the start of the first test against South Africa a year ago today, Blundell has averaged 69.9 from 13 innings, adding a second hundred to accompany six 50s in that span.
In the first 24 innings of his test career, Blundell appeared a worthy successor to BJ Watling, accumulating an average of 31.6 and sharing in several battling stands down the order.
