Cricket: Black Caps batsman's horror run and the toughest man in tests

Niall Anderson covers off five talking points from day four of the second test between the Black Caps and England.

Raval's run

3, 33, 4, 0, 7, 3, 14, 19, 5 and 0.

Jeet Raval's recent run of scores in first-class cricket makes for shocking reading, and his most recent dismissal was the most baffling of the lot.

Given out lbw second ball – Sam Curran hardly appealed, so certain was he that Raval was plumb – Raval wandered off, only for the replays to reveal a significant inside edge.

Did he not know he had hit it?

Is his confidence so low he wasn't sure? Whatever the reason, it was a rough ending to another rough innings.

READ MORE:
• Scare survived: Black Caps deny England
• As it happened: Black Caps v England, day four
• Black Caps denied: England hit back on day three
• Black Caps v England: A day in the field

A cricket hardman

Neil Wagner has now claimed a five-wicket bag in his last four tests, and the man known for his indefatigable bowling displayed exactly why he has that reputation this afternoon.

Not only did he manage to wrap up the tail to end with 5-124 in 35.5 overs of toil, he did so after taking an almighty blow to the leg.

It was hard to tell what was louder – the crack off Joe Root's bat or the crack off Wagner's leg – but remarkably, he got up, kept going, and took four wickets after the blow.

"I asked Joe - 'Did you get all of that?' And he said 'I hit it pretty well'," laughed Wagner at the end of the day.

"I was just lucky it wasn't at the face or at the head. It's just one of those things - it hurts at the time but you just jump back on it and keep going."

Risky Root

After bringing up his century on Sunday with an edge past his stumps for four when on 99, Root was just as uncontrolled on 199, when he took off for a quick single to try and get his double century.

His partner, Ollie Pope, dove at full-length but still would have been out by a mile had the throw hit the stumps, leaving Root with a sheepish grin for the second time in the innings as he took off his helmet to acknowledge his milestone.

When it's slow…

With Root and Pope putting on a go-slow in the morning, members of the cricketing press had to resort to all sorts of means to keep themselves entertained.

The brief list of activities partaken?

Playing online chess, placing bets on NBA games, reading a Bert Sutcliffe book, falling asleep, reading 10 days worth of cycling articles, completing compliance training, and, of course, providing high-quality live coverage on nzherald.co.nz.

Who's on top?

The weather. Yep, if the MetService is correct, the rain will fall early tomorrow afternoon, the test will be drawn, and the Black Caps will seal a 1-0 series victory.