Kyle Mills looks for hands to shake after New Zealand's defeat of England. Photo / Reuters
Kyle Mills could scarcely have picked a better time to produce his finest test display for New Zealand.
Needing to capture 10 English wickets in 81 overs to win the first test, Mills roared through England's top order, ripping out the first four wickets in a 25-ball burst
for just two runs to send the tourists into a tailspin from which they never recovered.
In taking four for 16, Mills outdid his own ambitions. He'd been hoping to nip out one wicket early on when the ball was shiny and swinging, at which point spinners Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel were expected to step up to do the bulk of the work through the day.
Instead he sliced through with seam and swing to have England 30 for four and on the slide to 110 all out and a 189-run loss.
"I wanted to bowl maidens, build the pressure, bowl wicket to wicket," Mills said.
"I was really hoping for one wicket. I was pretty fortunate. It exceeded all expectations."
This was Mills' 10th test. His one-day place is assured, but his previous nine tests had produced 23 wickets. He needed a strong performance and delivered. And he preferred to talk about that rather than the outside distractions of a possible place in the second Indian Premier League auction in Mumbai tomorrow night.
Several New Zealand players are understood to have been signed on by the IPL, with some tipped to be under the hammer this week.
"I know there is an auction. That's all I've heard. I don't know who is going to be in it," he said. "I just want to cement myself in the test side, and it was pretty important to play well in this game."
Mills felt New Zealand were the only side who could win when they declared inside the first half hour. The best England could manage was to draw the test.
Now it's on to Wellington.
"We have momentum from the one-day series. We want to set a mark with these guys. We want to put them under pressure and get ahead of them in the game in Wellington."
