Matt Henry could do little to stem the flow of runs coming from the bat of Jonny Bairstow. Photo / AP
Matt Henry could do little to stem the flow of runs coming from the bat of Jonny Bairstow. Photo / AP
By Andrew Alderson at Trent Bridge
How did the Black Caps lose that? New Zealand cricket fans will be mulling over that question after the five-wicket loss to England in the second test, particularly those who set alarms for 4.30am.
They probably envisaged waking up, popping the kettle on andsettling in for a riveting final hour or so before winding into the work day.
Instead, they would have been confronted by the sight of the Bens - Stokes and Foakes - marching off Trent Bridge to heroic applause.
Perhaps the television coverage also cut to the sight of new England coach Brendon McCullum sporting a cheery grin and drinking a celebratory beer on the pavilion balcony. What a rude awakening... only exacerbated by conceding the series with a match to play.
Make no mistake. The England performance was a McCullum blueprint for how the sport should be played in its premium format - a hybrid where cricket's test traditions blend with lessons learned from Twenty20's evolution over the past two decades. The 'Bazball' branding fits the aggressive approach perfectly.
Matt Henry could do little to stem the flow of runs coming from the bat of Jonny Bairstow. Photo / AP
To compound the situation, New Zealand had a depleted bowling arsenal. Kyle Jamieson now leaves the tour with his lower back twinge, Tim Southee struggled for his usual attacking energy, Trent Boult and Matt Henry endured the Bairstow and Stokes juggernaut after tea, part-time off-spinner Michael Bracewell sought a miracle on debut, Neil Wagner was a reserve fielder and Ajaz Patel sat in the stands.
The latter two seem primed for a run in the Headingley dead-rubber starting June 23, in addition to captain Kane Williamson overcoming Covid. Pace bowler Blair Tickner's been called in as a replacement for Jamieson, although one wonders what Lockie Ferguson is up to after achieving Indian Premier League (IPL) glory with Gujarat. Dane Cleaver replaces reserve wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher who pulled a hamstring as a substitute.
"When you have a bowler go down it hurts," stand-in captain Tom Latham said.
"The result's pretty raw at the moment and will take a while to sink in. We were confident if we could get a couple more wickets we were into the bowlers, but sometimes you have to take your hat off and that was the case today with Jonny's power hitting.
"We knew they'd have a crack at anything, given the nature of the scoring across the five days."
The loss of Kyle Jamieson from the Black Caps pace attack was a huge blow to their day five chances. Photo / AP
The team always go through what they refer to as their "processes" after a test, and they must now take care to avoid slipping into a 'groupthink' rut. Consecutive losses in England, and defeats at home to Bangladesh and South Africa, require a robust critique.
The world champions' experience and maturity can handle any such candid assessment. England's chase was extraordinary, but only three other teams have scored more than 553 in the first innings of a test and lost.
Unless one reverts to the luxury of hindsight over selections, three pivotal factors also came into play on the final afternoon.
First, the visitors gleaned false hope from Trent Boult's caught-and-bowled of Joe Root for three. Until that point he had been their nemesis with back-to-back scores of 115 not out and 176.
Jonny Bairstow celebrates his century. Photo / AP
Bairstow strode to the crease without a score over 29 in eight test innings, despite a few handy knocks in the IPL. He was due, but the visitors' euphoria may have subconsciously clouded that prospect.
Second, donning white could not mask how the match morphed into a limited overs mindset after tea with 160 runs required off 38 overs.
New Zealand spread their field, the slip cordon evaporated and they clung to hope as their bowlers were blasted in the Nottingham furnace. When Boult and Henry went short or wide, Bairstow and Stokes went long or square - 68 runs from five overs swung the pendulum of the match.
Third, the MVP effort from the 12th men and women in the crowd unleashed mayhem. Fans chanted and feted Bairstow and Stokes to a 179-run, 121-ball fifth-wicket partnership, echoing the patriotic fervour of the 2019 World Cup final at Lord's. The spectacle was compelling in the media box and more so on the field.
England's '12th Man' was in fine form at Trent Bridge. Photo / AP
Daryl Mitchell, who finished with 252 runs in the fixture, says the theatre was unforgettable.
"As a Kiwi coming over here, we don't get those sorts of crowds back home, so I gave myself a couple of moments to take it all in, and to think 'how cool is this?'. To experience that atmosphere and noise is definitely something you'll remember for the rest of your life," Mitchell said.
