Andrew Alderson and Dylan Cleaver reflect on New Zealand’s last session cricket test victory over Pakistan at Bay Oval which provisionally takes them to No.1 in the world.
Dylan Cleaver provides five takeaways from the final day of the first test.
No Country For Spinners
Mitchell Santner was the man of the minute as New Zealand wrapped up a heart-stopping victory, but his toils earlier in the day were more indicative of how spinners fare upon these fairshores.
Mitchell Santner claimed two rare wickets by a New Zealand home spinner. Photo / Getty
In the past 15 home tests, New Zealand's spinners have taken 12 wickets, a mind-bogglingly low number. In that time Santner, Ajaz Patel, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi, Kane Williamson and even an over of Jeet Raval have been tried with limited success.
While New Zealand have built impressive depth across most areas in the past few years, red-ball spin is a "work on".
Captaincy Case Study
It was a test for the skippers. Across the four innings, the two captains combined for 281 runs and soaked up an incredible 663 balls. That's more than 110 overs faced by Williamson and Mohammad Rizwan alone. It's even more stark when you consider that Williamson threw his wicket away in the third innings of the match seeking quick runs.
Replacing Wags
Mitchell Santner claimed two rare wickets by a New Zealand home spinner. Photo / Getty
Working on the assumption that Neil Wagner won't do a Dick 'Red' Conway and have his digits amputated so he can play in Christchurch, he will have to be replaced. There are a number of options.
If Williamson and coach Gary Stead like what four specialist seamers offer the attack, they could go for an old favourite in Matt Henry, who is back from injury, Doug Bracewell, who hasn't played a test for more than four years, or Ed Nuttall, a like-for-like lively left-armer.
All three of those options have been in the wickets recently for New Zealand A.
Or, there is another option that might make even more sense: replace Wagner with Ajaz Patel and bring Daryl Mitchell – unlucky to miss out in Mt Maunganui – back into the XI. The drawback is that Mitchell is a little short of fourth-seamer class with the ball, but the upside is that Patel is a stronger spin option than Santner.
Mitchell Santner claimed two rare wickets by a New Zealand home spinner. Photo / Getty
Let the debate begin.
White Line Fever
It was pleasing to see Kyle Jamieson fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. It amounted to an expensive birthday present for the right-arm quick who turned 26 on day five. After fielding the ball on his follow through, Jamieson biffed the ball at Faheem Ashraf when the batsman was away from the stumps and not attempting a run.
It was low-rent behaviour from a classy talent but here's the thing: management would not condone that, but at the same time they won't be disappointed to see that Jamieson has a bit of mongrel in him.
Bay Had Plenty
Mitchell Santner claimed two rare wickets by a New Zealand home spinner. Photo / Getty
If you're being picky, you might have hoped that the Bay Oval wicket was quicker, but other than that the ground passed with flying colours. Despite a bit of iffy weather, the holiday crowds were good, including on the final day when admission was free. More permanent facilities are planned, as are some shaded areas.
A New Zealand Cricket study that referenced regional growth forecasts has projected the vast bulk of the country's cricket playing and consumer numbers to reside in an area marked by a triangle between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga by 2038. There's just one point of the triangle letting the side down in terms of a suitable cricket facility. Guess which one?
