major events
14th over: England 63-2 (Batell 34, Root 16) Tim Southee replaced Will O’Rourke and Bethel hired him immediately. He pulls the first ball over mid-on for four, a mistimed stroke that edged the fielder, then gets down on one knee to lace up successful Drive behind additional cover. This is about as good as it gets.
It is important that we do not fall into the trap of Bethel. But by the grace of God it is difficult. Put it this way: Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 Test runs is under serious threat from one England batsman and it is not Joe Root.
13th over: England 54-2 (Bethel 25, Root 16) Bethel tells Matt Henry where to put his subtle questions by running onto the track and hitting a drive for four over his head. The intention was rustic but the shot was played effortlessly.
12th over: England 49-2 (Bethel 20, Root 16) O’Rourke is again bowling at 90mph, which turns him from a very awkward bowler to a mildly scary one. Even Root is struggling to find the middle of the bat and almost falls when a gloved pull beats the diving Blundell and goes for four runs.
In the meantime, this email is here. Matt Emerson writes, “There’s something about Will O’Rourke’s mannerisms that reminds me of Angus Fraser.” “Even when he was on a hat-trick it looked as if someone had stolen his lunch money. He’s a little sharper than that great man, mind…”
That’s Fraser x Harmison (2004 version), right? His expression as he walks back to his mark is spectacular.
11th over: England 45-2 (Bethel 20, Route 12) There is more than one way to interrogate a batsman. In the first inning Will O’Rourke pinned Bethel to the wall by the throat until he got the confession he wanted; This morning Matt Henry is using more subtle methods. Bethel was beaten, hit by a nipbacker and then extremely fortunate to see an inside edge shine inside the stumps for four runs.
It may sound strange, but it’s great to see Bethel struggling to survive. He will learn a lot more from this innings than the second innings of the first two Test matches.
10th over: England 41-2 (Bethel 16, Root 12) Bloody hell that’s a shot and a half. O’Rourke bowled a yorker to Root, exactly where he wanted it to be pitched. Root not only kept it out but did so several times that it came for four.
A bouncer burst past the leaping Latham for four byes; The over ends with a vague appeal of a catch on the leg side.
9th over: England 33-2 (Bethel 16, Route 8) Bethel half steer, half edge Henry for four. He softened his hands well, as he has done with similar balls throughout the series. The follow-up ball is a beauty which goes straight down the seam and hits Bethel on the back foot. Henry appealed for LBW but it was too much. Also pitched partly outside leg.
What a series Bethel has had. I don’t mean his output, even if it has been good, as much as his development; The challenge of batting at No. 3 against New Zealand on these pitches – and in many different match situations – is worth two years’ education in county cricket. There may be some short-term pain over the next 12 months, as happened with Joe Root in 2013-14, but he is definitely going to score industrial quantities of runs across all formats.
8th over: England 25-2 (Bethel 9, Root 7) Tim Southee will have to wait for his turn. Will O’Rourke, who bowled a poor over to Bethel last night, picks up where he left off. As a neutral I’m childishly excited about what O’Rourke can achieve over the next decade, so God knows how New Zealand fans feel. I think the example of Kyle Jamieson requires some caution.
Root deliberately drove through backward point for four, either side of awkward defensive shots to repel sharp nipbacks.
7th over: England 21-2 (Bethel 9, Route 3) Joe Root cuts the first ball of Matt Henry for two runs and then drives it just short of point.
Root has scored 1506 runs in 2024, which places him eighth in the all-time list. He is in third place after Annus Mirabihoribilis in 2021, when Root played like a god and his team kept losing.
Henry finished a good first over by getting past Bethel’s defensive push over the wicket.
Players strolling in the Hamilton sunshineAll eyes are on Tim Southee. It’s a beautiful day, as you’d want if you were going to chase 658.
Latest on Ben Stokes from ECB Towers
Ben will be further evaluated at the end of the test. He is expected to bat in England’s second innings if needed
The game will start half an hour earlierat 9.30am BST, to make up for some of the time lost yesterday. That extra half-hour could be crucial for New Zealand as they look to take the last eight wickets in two days.
Preface
This is the 65th and final day of a bumper year of Test cricket for the England men’s team. He saved the worst with a disappointing performance in Hamilton, although after such a poor year we can cut him some slack. England have played 17 Tests, one short of the all-time record, and the players look ready to don silly hats, pull out some crackers and forget for a while the challenges of wobbly seams.
It has been a mixed year in terms of results, with nine wins and eight losses after this game. But while there are still plenty of wiggle room, England have emphatically achieved their primary objective of 2024: revitalizing the team ahead of a bumper 2025 in which they will play a five-Test series… ah, I don’t remember Guess who it is now.
Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith, Braydon Carse and Jacob Bethel all made their debuts in 2024 and have all attracted varying levels of attention. Bashir’s lagging behind is a matter of concern but we should not focus on what he has achieved; Had he taken another wicket yesterday, he would have become the second youngest player in Test history to take 50 wickets in a calendar year.
You will notice that we have not discussed the match situation. there’s no point. England’s score will be 18 runs for two wickets and they will need 107 sixes to win the game. Interesting to see how Jacob Bethel copes with another onslaught from the increasingly fearsome Will O’Rourke Is Ben Stokes fit to bat Is Ben Stokes fit to bat even if he is not fit to bat Be. And, most importantly, how many wickets did the great Tim Southee take on his last day as a Test player.
He reminded Ben Duckett of some eternal truths last night, bowling powerfully to him to take his 390th Test wicket. Southee, Trent Boult, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, who share more than 2,000 Test wickets, have made it to the next lot. (I was going to say ‘next generation’ but considering Matt Henry is 33 and Chris Woakes is 35, it doesn’t seem right.)
The future of both the pace attack and the beloved wobbly seam looks to be in very good hands.
Okay, let’s end on a positive note. This is England’s biggest Test defeat in terms of runs; They are currently behind New Zealand by 639 runs. For both rich and poor, this England team does things their own way. Don’t go to change friends.
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562 runs Australia, The Oval, 1934
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434 runs India, Rajkot, 2024
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425 runs West Indies, The Oval, 1976
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409 runs Australia, Lord’s, 1948
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405 runs Australia, Lord’s, 2015