New Zealand v England 2nd Test Day 3 recap: Tough day reveals disturbing truth about Ben Stokes injury

WELLINGTON. Looking back on this tour, England should be grateful to New Zealand for continuing their winning streak on the third day of this final test. At the very least, it looked like a glimpse into the near future, as Ben Stokes’ men could probably expect a few more days like this against Australia this summer.

So the fact that they are forced to dig deep is not bad. They really should do a good job if Steve Smith and company do their part during the Ashes.

That’s because while they may have been destroying teams in fast cricket for almost nine months, the one thing they didn’t have to show in their entire 10-of-11 win streak under Stokes and manager Brandon McCallum is patience. .

But that all changed here when New Zealand finished Day 3 in Wellington with just 24 runs with a 202 out of three after being told to follow him.

Instead of Bazball, it was more like a Bazstall as England were forced to a grueling 84 overs on the field after Stokes made the decision to force a follow-up with his bowlers leading 226 rounds in the first inning.

At the time, many thought that this test could be completed in three days, and assistant coach Paul Collingwood admitted that this was the goal when the decision was made.

“That’s the Stokesy and Baz approach – they want an aggressive option,” he said. “We have always said that we are not afraid to lose, but we want to put ourselves in a position where we can win matches. We felt like we had a good chance that we could win today or come close to winning.”

But, contrary to their low expectations, New Zealand eventually struggled to achieve an intriguing ending.

Key was the starting partnership of Tom Latham and Devon Conway of 149 runs with 52.5 overs. After last summer’s home series against New Zealand, which heralded the team’s resurgence, English bowlers have only managed to hold their own once, when the Pakistanis hit 64.5 overs in a stalemate at Rawalpindi in the winter test debut.

Highlights of the third day

Tim disconnects: New Zealand captain Tim Southey threw the bat and hit four sixes to run to 73 and hit the first 51 of 31 before narrowly missing his best Test score of 77 as he gouged Stuart Broad. His knockout helped his team score 80 points in less than an hour.

Stokes maintain pressure: Despite Southey’s exploits, New Zealand couldn’t avoid the next target, 236. Stokes showed no mercy when he went through with the job. It was only the fourth time in six years and the first time since August 2020 against Pakistan in Southampton that the England captain had done so.

Jack is the boy who breaks through: England had to wait until 53rd to equalize at home, but managed to win over Devon Conway early in the final session in 61st when Jack Leach spun, rebounded and took the lead, who passed to Ollie Pope, who flew short cut.

FINALLY… BREAK 😍

Lich and Papa’s partnership is reunited in this test match… #NZvENG pic.twitter.com/W2OMPLRivd

— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) February 26, 2023

Where there is a will, there is a way: The lich returned to Will Young’s bowl – no, not that one – with a beautiful throw that turned and hit the defense to kiss the stump. The wicket left New Zealand 167 for three and another 59 runs for England to hit again.

Unsurprisingly, Stokes looked disappointed after his decision to force a sequel. A longstanding problem with his knee is another problem that led to the blockbuster “Summer of Ashes”. Although the England captain insists that the left knee problem, which first flared up in the Caribbean last year, is not a problem, the truth is that he has a longstanding problem that may require surgery later this year.

For most of last summer, Stokes insisted that his reluctance to bowl was due to his faith in his bowlers and the hope that he could convince them they were good enough to single-handedly win test matches for his country. .

But the fact that he had waited for the 50th left of New Zealand’s second inning that third day was worrying. Things weren’t going well either when he finally got the ball in his hands, with his two overs in 16 runs and an all-rounder receiving an official warning from referee Chris Gaffany after he hit more than two dodgeballs during his ace. . First over – where both ultra-short serves are not the ball.

The worry is that Stokes won’t settle down after this episode. He will instead move to the Indian Premier League to fulfill his £1.6m contract with Chennai. England are looking to make it through this tournament unscathed, knowing all too well that Stokes returned from the 2021 IPL with a broken finger, causing mental health issues that saw him take an extended break from the tournament later this year, moving to cricket.

“Look, as we all know, he has a knee problem and luckily he’s the captain there and he makes the decisions about when he pitches or not,” Collingwood said. “Stokesy was happy to switch to other options. He has a lot of faith in his team and other bowlers.”

Player of the Day: Tom Latham

On a team of regular men, not superstars, the rookie is a regular whose quality was evident as he completed 5,000 trial runs en route to a daring 83-inning run.

quote of the Day

• Former England captain David Gower praises Leach’s dismissal of Young by BT Sport.

What should England do tomorrow?

England need to abruptly take New Zealand’s last seven wickets and hope they don’t chase too much. But they won’t be stressed out with two days left, especially since on the fourth morning they’ll have a second new ball that’s only three overs.