No other bowler in the Black Caps' current test squad has a better bowling average than Neil Wagner over the past three years. Photo / Photosport
No other bowler in the Black Caps' current test squad has a better bowling average than Neil Wagner over the past three years. Photo / Photosport
The results were wildly different across the series but sticking with his process is what allowed Neil Wagner to decide one of the great tests.
For the left-armer, there was little difference between a pair of second-innings spells he sent down against England at Bay Oval and the Basin Reserve.
The scorecard would attempt to dispute that: in the first test, Wagner bowled the most expensive 11-over period to begin an innings in test history; in the second, his 9.2 overs were the primary reason the Black Caps walked away with a famous one-run win.
But those two spells - 2-104 in Mount Maunganui and 3-38 in Wellington - felt essentially the same for New Zealand sport’s new hero.
“That’s why they call it test cricket,” Wagner said. “You’re gonna get moments when your back is against it. The way England played was pretty positive and they came out hot and hard, but you also know there’s going to be opportunities.
“At the Mount there were opportunities created; it just didn’t go our way. It’s not easy, and at times you’re just going to have to find a way.
“If you get disheartened and you have doubt, then you’re not going to be able to deliver. Obviously that hurt at Bay Oval because no one wants to lose a test match and leak that many runs.
“But we did create chances, so we wanted to keep going with it, because we felt like we were one or two wickets away from turning the game back in our favour. It was a similar sort of thing yesterday, and it just ended up going my way.”
It certainly did. While Wagner’s steady diet of short-pitch deliveries was feasted on by Harry Brook in the first test, day five in the second saw that same barrage remove Ben Stokes, Joe Root and, with the series on the line, James Anderson.
Each wicket was pivotal in the result - and Wagner remains pivotal in Tim Southee’s plans, especially when a partnership needs breaking.
“We just went back to Wags’ biggest strength,” the skipper said. “And he bought into it, he trusted it, even though it hadn’t probably come off as much as he would’ve liked in the series.
Tim Southee and Neil Wagner with their souvenir stumps. Photo / photosport.nz
“But it just shows you that we trusted his best method and he was able to come in and change the game in the last session, like he has done for a long period of time, by doing that.
“It’s an unusual tactic but it’s something Neil’s done for a long period of time. For him to change the game there, when it looked like Ben and Joe had almost taken it away from us, was massive. And it just shows you the sort of ticker Neil’s got.”
That has never been in question, though Wagner’s recent form had raised doubts about his longevity at the top level.
Turning 37 on a potential day five of this month’s first test against Sri Lanka, Wagner banished memories of a lighter workload in England last June and Pakistan in December.
He planned to continue playing while “the fire’s still there” and he was still enjoying his cricket. And as much as he enjoyed his work at the bowling crease, Wagner would most treasure later sharing a beer and a kickabout with his vanquished foes.
“It’s a pretty special moment and a pretty special test to be a part of. You don’t always remember the wickets you take out in the middle, but you remember those moments.
“It was quite funny because they’re a little bit better footballers than we are, but we gave them a good nudge with that, too.”
