NZ vs ENG, 1st Test, Day 1, Review: Trent Boult and Kane Williamson floor the visitors

England and New Zealand locked horns in the first of the two-match Test series at Eden Park in Auckland as the Kiwis hosted its maiden day-night game in whites. But the way things panned out during the course of the day, the hosts couldn’t have asked for a better start to their home season. Trent Boult just ran through the batting line-up of the visitors to register his best figures in Test cricket to shot England out for just 58 in the very first session. Even their skipper Kane Williamson held the forte to floor England completely by the end of the day.

England were inserted to bat first by the home side as Ben Stokes returned to the team as they benched James Vince who struggled with the line outside the off-stump throughout the Ashes down under. The decision to bowl first was clearly due to the amount of grass left on the 22 yards by the curator. The openers Alastair Cook and Mark Stoneman strode out to the middle in order to give their team a strong start.

Boult-Southee duo annihilate the visitors

But what transpired in the middle wouldn’t have come even in the wildest dreams of the skipper Joe Root ever. Trent Boult and Tim Southee used the conditions at its best and literally ran through their line-up. It was the former who started the juggernaut as he scalped Cook for 5 and snaffled key wicket of Root for a duck. Absolutely none of the England batsmen came to the terms with the conditions and soon they were in danger of being bundled out for the lowest ever Test total.

They were reduced to 27/9 in the 16th over only for Craig Overton to come out and play his hosts as they huffed and puffed past 50-run mark. The batsmen were themselves to blame as only the deliveries bowled to Root and Stokes were unplayable. They didn’t apply themselves at all on a challenging wicket and were eventually skittled out on 58 in the 21st over. Overton smashed 33 off just 25 balls and remained unbeaten. While Boult ended with the figures of 6/32, Southee supported him nicely and returned with 4/25.

Williamson masterclass

It was not going to be easy for the Kiwis either as James Anderson and Stuart Anderson came out all guns blazing at them. The former scalped Jeet Raval early in the innings which raised the hopes of the visitors but then Williamson and Tom Latham added 84 runs for the second wicket. Latham was struggling at the other end and his agony was finally ended by Broad in his second spell on 26. Even Ross Taylor was dismissed soon by Anderson which kept England interested in the final session.

Amidst all the happenings, Williamson looked calm and class apart and treated the sparse crowd with a masterclass. His shots were absolutely pleasing to the eyes and never gave a chance to England bowlers who were at times unplayable as well. He never got bogged down and kept on playing his shots especially attacking the spinner Moeen Ali. Williamson and Henry Nicholls fought through the final session under lights which are deemed as the most challenging in the day-night Test match.

New Zealand ended the day on 175/3 after batting for 69 overs and now they have the lead of 117 runs over their opponents going into the second day. Williamson is nearing yet another century and is playing on 91 while Nicholls is unbeaten on 24. The first session, as usual, would be crucial for England as they have no option but to bowl out New Zealand as soon as possible. While the Kiwis would love to bat out the visitors and build a healthy lead in the first innings.

Brief Scores

England 58 after 20.4 overs (C Overton 33*; T Boult 6/32, T Southee 4/25)

New Zealand 175/3 after 69 overs (K Williamson 91*; J Anderson 2/32)

State of the match: New Zealand lead by 117 runs

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