A late two-wicket burst by Chris Martin rocked England's pursuit of New Zealand's first innings of 470 after batsmen had dominated the second day of the first Test yesterday.
A maiden Test century by recalled Ross Taylor, who featured in a seventh-wicket stand of 148 with Daniel Vettori, lifted New Zealand from a middle-order slump to an impressive 470.
At stumps England were 87 for two in reply, after reaching 84 without loss, and still trail New Zealand by 383 runs.
Taylor and Vettori breezed through the morning session and into the afternoon before Taylor fell for 120 and Vettori for 88 as New Zealand's final four wickets went in the space of 45 runs.
Evidence of the role the placid wicket played in New Zealand's innings was put in context as Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook cruised to 84 without loss before Martin struck twice in seven balls.
Cook was first to fall for 38 when he miscued pulling a short-pitched ball and was caught at square leg by substitute fielder Nick Horsley, then nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard edged Martin to Stephen Fleming at first slip.
Vaughan, who had survived a hard chance to Fleming, was not out 44 with Andrew Strauss on one.
But the day belonged to Taylor and his captain Vettori who resurrected New Zealand's innings.
With the second new ball only seven overs old when play resumed, England were looking for an early breakthrough.
Instead they fed the batsmen a diet of boundaries with 105 runs added in the first session.
Taylor reached his century with a boundary when on 98 he pulled a short-pitched ball from the erratic Steve Harmison to the boundary.
It took an inspired bowling change by Vaughan to eventually remove Taylor who was caught and bowled when he top-edged the second ball from part-time bowler Kevin Pietersen.
Vettori was in sight of his third Test century when he tried to guide a ball from Paul Collingwood through the gully, but was snapped up by Andrew Strauss, the lone slip.
Kyle Mills carried New Zealand past the 450 mark and finished unbeaten on 25 as the New Zealand innings finished with Jeetan Patel and Chris Martin dismissed by Ryan Sidebottom in consecutive balls.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS