New Zealand 615 for 9 dec (Watling 205, Santner 126, de Grandhomme 65, Williamson 51) beat England 353 (Stokes 91, Denly 74, Burns 52, Southee 4-88) and 197 (Wagner 5-44) by an innings and 65 runs
Neil Wagner’s five-for on the final day ensured New Zealand claimed the spoils in Mount Maunganui’s maiden Test. Attempting to bat through the day with their last seven wickets standing, England were finally dismissed in the hour after tea to lose by an innings.
New Zealand have not lost a Test at home since 2017, and the way they wrestled control in this match – through the record-breaking feats of BJ Watling and Mitchell Santner and a concerted team effort with the ball – ably demonstrated why they sit No. 2 in the ICC’s Test rankings. For England, it was a case of new coach, new approach, but largely the same result.
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Tea England 353 and 161 for 8 (Curran 13*, Archer 10*) trail New Zealand 615 for 9 declared by 101 runs
New Zealand closed in on a crushing victory at Mount Maungenui, as Neil Wagner ripped the guts out of England’s batting on the fifth afternoon. Wagner claimed three wickets in a five-over burst to break the tourists’ resolve after a battling start to the day.
England had been making steady progress in their bid to bat through the day, despite losing Joe Root during the morning session. Joe Denly and Ben Stokes had taken the score on to 121 for 4, approaching the drinks break, when Tim Southee broke the stand via a Stokes drag-on. That provided the opening New Zealand had been striving for, and Wagner charged into the fray to leave England eight down at tea.
New Zealand’s bowlers had been immensely disciplined, though the two big scalps of Root and Stokes, England’s captain and vice-captain, came with more than a hint of batsman error. The dismissal of Stokes, England’s top-scorer in the first innings, dealt the gravest blow to their hopes of saving the game, as he was bowled off his inside edge trying to force a wide delivery through the off side.
Denly’s 142-ball vigil was ended a few overs later, when Wagner went around the wicket and found some extra bounce from a length to flick the glove – Kumar Dharmasena declined the initial appeal but New Zealand successfully reviewed straight away.
Ollie Pope was then suckered in Wagner’s next over, mishitting what looked like a wide full toss but was actually a knuckleball towards cover, where Mitchell Santner continued a memorable Test by taking a flying catch. England then slipped nearer to an innings defeat as Jos Buttler opted to leave Wagner’s first delivery with the second new ball, only to see it crash into the base of off stump.
New Zealand had claimed the key wicket of Root on the fifth morning but Denly and Stokes shut up shop until lunch and signs were that bowling out England would be hard work, despite the pitch increasingly offering assistance to spin.
Stokes, in particular, required one or two moments of luck against Santner, at one point bending to look in agonised fashion between his legs as the ball deflected down and spun back past his stumps. The rough outside the left-hander’s off stump was of particular interest to Santner, with several deliveries misbehaving – though Stokes showed great composure in dealing with what was thrown at him.
Stokes took 25 balls to get off the mark, punching Santner through the covers for one of five boundaries in the session, while Denly once again showed an impressive temperament in testing circumstances.
With Santner looking threatening, Williamson was able to rotate his attack in search of wicket-taking options. However, the sight of Trent Boult heading off after bowling just one over, complaining of pain in his ribs, was a concern for New Zealand.
The teams came back for the final day at Bay Oval with two outcomes on the table. Either New Zealand would take the seven wickets required, and possibly knock off a few runs, to claim victory and a 1-0 lead in the series, or England and the pitch would conspire to deliver a draw in Mount Maunganui’s maiden Test.
Following Santner’s starring role on the fourth day, he resumed mid-over and extended his spell to 20 overs, probing away for any signs that the surface was beginning to wear. Tim Southee was first man Williamson opted to go to from the other end, but it was the switch to de Grandhomme that brought dividends just before the hour mark.
Root, fresh to the crease after Jack Leach’s dismissal from the final ball of day four, had looked reasonably assured, clipping a couple of fours off Santner but otherwise taking his time to get in. However, facing a field with three catchers in the covers, and surprised by de Grandhomme going short, he steered limply to gully and walked off having failed to make a significant contribution to the England innings for the second time in the match.