England Pull Off a Dramatic Record Breaking Win
May 26, 2008
Old Trafford: England (202 & 294-4) bt New Zealand (381 & 114) by six wickets
In what seems like the only pocket of the country not touched by the bank holiday rain, England sealed an unlikely win against New Zealand to lead the 3 match series 1-0 with a game to play. This was the 5th highest 4th innings total ever chased by England to win a test match, and the the highest ever at Old Trafford. How sad that this will be the last test match at the ground for some time after such a topsy-turvy, absorbing and unpredicatable game. Had this been an Ashes game it would surely be considered one of the best matches of all time.
Andrew Strauss, slowly but surely recovering lost form, led the chase with a fautless 106. Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special described him as almost being “bereft of shots” and basically nudging and nurdling most of his runs, mainly behind the wicket early in his innings. As his confidence grew over the afternoon though, the cover drives surfaced and his concentration levels remained high. The Middlesex man has worked hard on his technique after a prolonged spell of poor form and he looks to be now reaping the rewards. He eventually perished with the score on 235 and the match effectively won.
England’s captain Michael Vaughan provided good support and he was only 2 short of a half century when he edged a Chris Martin delivery behind.
Partnerships were always going to be vital, and the first three partnerships of the England 2nd innings were all 50+. Kevin Pieterson ran himself out going for a misjudged second run when on 42, but England’s running throughout their 2nd innings had great purpose and intelligence, and was a key factor in winning the game.
Another element mentioned was the use of the heavy roller on the wicket before the day’s play. This seemed to settle the pitch down, as it looked more placid and docile compared to yesterday. But New Zealand didn’t bowl well enough and their fielding was unusually poor - with overthrows, dropped catches and poor body language aplenty. Plenty for the tourists to work on when they play a friendly match at Northampton this Friday.
It was Northamptonshire’s Monty Panesar who changed the course of the game on Sunday. The shy, modest and likeable spinner used the helpful wicket to his advantage, picking up his 100th test wicket and the man of the match award in the process. His 6 for 37 was masterful, and eclipsed the excellent Daniel Vettori. The game should have been New Zealands, but the Loughborough graduate, still only 26 years old, swung the momentum towards England and the batsmen did the rest. His dismissal of Ross Taylor, who struck a beautiful hundred in the first innings, was particularly memorable and was a real turning point.
New Zealand can point to the loss of Daniel Flynn who, in only his 2nd test match, lost a tooth and suffered concussion, rendering him unable to continue his 1st innings or come out for the 2nd. Daniel Vettori was honest enough in his post-match interview not to use this as an excuse though, and from being 179 ahead at the start of their second innings, the Kiwis threw this game away.
They still haven’t found an opening partnership that can score over a hundred after experimenting for 4 years now, and James Marshall looks fragile at number 3. The selectors must also consider selecting the off spinner Jeetan Patel, who played well in the reverse series and gives their bowling attack more variety.
To Trent Bridge on the 5th of June then, with New Zealand hoping to restore some pride and level the series. As Nasser Hussain pointed out on Sky’s analysis, this is a series England really should win so we shouldn’t get too carried away by this win. But an ability to turn a game on it’s head is something very exciting and will please Peter Moores and Michael Vaughan. With Monty Panesar developing his art further, Andrew Strauss looking like the player of old and Paul Collingwood scratching his way towards some semblance of form, the English cricket summer (despite all the rain) is looking brighter.
Links: Match Scorecards
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