BJ Watling scored 120 in the third innings seven years ago against England at Headingley. Photo / Photosport
BJ Watling scored 120 in the third innings seven years ago against England at Headingley. Photo / Photosport
By Andrew Alderson in Leeds
New Zealand secured a 199-run cricket test victory over England the last time the sides met at Headingley in 2015.
The Herald asked two architects behind that result how they would aim to repeat the feat in the third match of this series,albeit a dead rubber with the hosts 2-0 up.
BJ Watling scored 120 in the third innings seven years ago, despite a knee niggle preventing him wicketkeeping. His century broke a 66-year jinx as the only Black Cap to mark the milestone in a test at the Yorkshire stronghold. He helped set a 455-run target. His injury enabled Luke Ronchi to play his maiden test.
The current Black Caps assistant coach top-scored in the first innings with 88 off 70 balls. Batting at number seven, he came within cooey of Shikhar Dhawan's world record 85-ball ton on debut.
Ronchi suggested one place to instigate change might be the slip cordon after butterfingers from both sides at Trent Bridge.
"The surfaces haven't been the quickest so the guys have been standing closer.
"Normally you talk about soft hands and want to let them give with the ball but in that situation, because the Duke's that bit harder, you've got to be ready to grab it and hold on tight.
"The more you take your time, the harder it can hit your hands and such missed opportunities can have such a massive impact."
BJ Watling during a Black Caps training session. Photo / Photosport
Watling concurs, especially if Headingley starts mimicking the North Pole again. The forecast suggests summer might stay in the waiting room.
Cricketing life can be tricky enough when you have a split-second to pouch a 156g stitched leather missile. In 2015, albeit almost four weeks earlier in May, the New Zealand cordon hunched their shoulders into a freezing 13-knot westerly and snaffled several rippers.
"I remember it being reasonably cold, so you make sure you rug up," Watling said.
"It was a slow-ish surface, but that tended to change when the cloud cover came over and the lights turned on with a newer ball.
"Generally in English conditions that can happen often and it gets trickier. There was a little bit of swing and seam there, too."
New Zealand became world champions building their own style of game which tends to oscillate between attrition and aggression.
Ronchi wants that independence to remain rather than copying any gung-ho England approach under the coach-captain combination of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
"That's won us a lot of games, so to go away from it too much could be silly or naïve.
"We need to realise that, remember that and trust that.
"Sometimes, for instance, what may be the best plan against another team doesn't work if you don't have the bowlers to do it that way."
Black Caps batting coach Luke Ronchi. Photo / Photosport
Ronchi said that doesn't mean ruling out trying to force a change to England's tactics.
"Obviously they've been hitting the ball beautifully and making important runs, so we've got to have some new ideas and play out different scenarios at training."
One ironic example in 2015 came from McCullum trying to buy the wicket of Stokes at 62 for four in their second innings.
Two slips, a leg slip and a short leg assumed their positions as spinner Mark Craig zeroed on the footmarks outside the left-hander's off stump. McCullum parked up at silly point and remained unflinching, even when Craig dropped short and Stokes' backlift took a deep breath.
He was dismissed for 29.
Watling said McCullum's influence is obvious now he has switched camps.
"They are going to be aggressive, positive and try to move the game forward. We haven't been able to counter that, but it's exciting to see England playing in such an entertaining fashion.
"We're pretty close but have just missed out in key moments to put them under more pressure. I don't think we're far off.
"Remember too, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell have batted fantastically in tricky conditions and it was good to see Devon Conway and Will Young contribute as well [at Trent Bridge]."
Bear in mind spin played a key role seven years ago, with Craig taking five wickets for 121 runs across the match, and Williamson three for 15 in the second innings. Pundits will have a better idea in two days but… Ajaz Patel, anyone?
New Zealand also won a test at Headingley in 1983, their first in England after 28 previous attempts. Lance Cairns took 10 wickets for the match and Sir Richard Hadlee, in one of four instances in his 86-test career, took none.
The Black Caps have lost five and drawn one in other appearances at the venue.
