Black Caps bowler Ajaz Patel talks about the opportunities and the challenges of facing India on their home turf.
Niall Anderson provides four takeaways from an absorbing second day of the first test between the Black Caps and India in Kanpur.
Super Southee
Tim Southee reached his 13th five-wicket bag in test cricket with a morning spell that few could have seen coming.
The veteran seamer had wandered offthe park with a groin injury on day one, and while he returned to bowl later in the day, looked nowhere near his best.
So, colour most surprised when Southee bowled 11 consecutive overs to start day two – and 11 brilliant overs at that, with a spell of 4-26 that sprung the Black Caps back into the test, and continued his storming run in Asia, where he now has 45 wickets at an average of 23.9.
Black Caps spinners Will Somerville and Ajaz Patel implore Tim Southee to go ahead of the pack and take in the plaudits from the crowd for his five-wicket bag. Photo / Photosport
Southee may already be New Zealand's second greatest test bowler of all time, but if he's not, he's still got plenty left in the tank to add to his stellar resume.
Smoggy Southee
To make Southee's accomplishment all the more remarkable, consider the conditions he was bowling in.
With thick smog covering the ground and the air quality rated as "hazardous", serious questions should be asked about Kanpur's suitability for test cricket, especially in winter, where haze and smog is particularly prevalent in Northern India.
The World Health Organisation judged Kanpur to have the world's worst air pollution in 2018, so perhaps Southee' stunning 11-over spell was unwise in one sense, or maybe – I'm mostly joking, but you never know - it could have made his variations harder to see out of the hand.
And, hey, if things go south for the Black Caps from here and a defeat looks likely, they could always walk off the park in a belated climate change protest.
"No, umpire, we swear it's about our health concerns. It's definitely nothing to do with our impending defeat…."
Selection Seconds
It's time to play every cricket fan's favourite game - second-guessing selection decisions!
Fans could well be joined by a snubbed Black Cap in this instance – with Neil Wagner surely noting that the first eight wickets fell to the Kiwi seamers, and it took until the 110th over – 61 of them spin – before a spinner claimed a wicket.
Given Wagner is better at his core role than Will Somerville or Rachin Ravindra are at their roles, there's a strong argument for his inclusion even if the wicket offers turn, though an inclusion over Ravindra would lengthen the tail for the second test in Mumbai.
Everyone will have wait to see how the first test plays out, and how the Mumbai wicket shapes up, but it would not surprise to see the Black Caps move to a three-seamer, two-spinner attack.
Young Blood
Will Young looked good in just his second test as an opener. Photo / AP
Will Young doesn't make a first-choice Black Caps test team, with his role for now consisting of being a reliable back-up squad batsman, and a likely heir apparent for Ross Taylor at number four once Taylor hangs up his gloves.
However, in another display of New Zealand batting depth, Young showed again that he's too good to be left waiting in the wings. While his 82 against England in his last test was extremely lucky, there was nothing lucky about how he smothered the Indian attack, in a role he had played just once before in tests.
Young is 29, and one somewhat notable fact about most of the recent Black Caps newbies is their experience – Daryl Mitchell, Lockie Ferguson, Devon Conway and Tom Blundell have all celebrated their 30th birthday.
The negative slant to that is it means the Black Caps aren't necessarily set up for years just yet, and will need a new core in three or four years once their standout players start to reach their mid 30s.
However, it is also a quite likely explanation for how the new Black Caps have slotted in so seamlessly at international level, with Young the latest to shine on the biggest stage.
