England have once again stunned the world with their ‘bazball’ tactics as they declared their innings with one wicket left on the first day of the two-match Test series against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. England’s skipper Ben Stokes decided to call off the innings in just 58.2 overs as they unleashed their aggressive approach and reached 325/9 in less than 3 sessions.
They sacrificed a few runs from the last-wicket pair for a little more time while bowling as they wanted to get some breakthroughs with the new ball under the lights. Earlier, New Zealand opted to bat first after winning the toss. Tim Southee provided the early dismissal as he took Zak Crawley’s wicket in the 3rd over of the first innings.
However, later, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope stitched a beautiful 99-run stand for the 2nd wicket. Duckett was only dealing with boundaries as he scored 84 runs off just 68 deliveries at a strike rate of 123.53 which included 14 fours. Pope also departed after scoring 42 runs. Former England Captain Joe Root couldn’t provide much to the scoreboard as he was dismissed while playing the reverse scoop shot.
Harry Brook fell 11 runs short off his ton
Stokes joined Harry Brook and they weren’t afraid to go after the Kiwis. Brook was playing more aggressively among the two batters. Stokes couldn’t keep the one end safe as he got out after scoring 19 runs. Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes came to bat at no.7 and gave Brook good company.
Brook was nearing his century but departed after scoring 89 runs off just 81 balls which included 15 fours and 1 six. He fell short of his much-deserved century but it was a brilliant knock from the youngster as he continues to enhance his reputation in the longest format. The Blackcaps didn’t look effective initially but made a pretty good comeback at the end.
Meanwhile, New Zealand already lost their 3 wickets as opener Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, and Henry Nicholls departed cheaply and couldn’t even get to the double digits score. England will look to wrap up the New Zealand batting line-up as soon as possible in order to take an early lead in the match.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
Bazball ki chakkar me iski AVG 45 reh jayegi aur ise fraud Bola jayega https://t.co/j5h1WFJBp5
— Atul (@_its_atul) February 16, 2023
aane do iise #INDIA me…fir dekhte hain #BazBall … https://t.co/vvb5E9SHii
— Bhargav (@vargav4u) February 16, 2023
Eng declared on first day itself. 😳
Ye bazball bhi dekhte hain kya gul khilayega..— DEEPak🏏 (@DE_WA05) February 16, 2023
England have started getting too cute with this Bazball thing…..#NZvENG
— Vipul Ghatol 🇮🇳 (@Vipul_Espeaks) February 16, 2023
Try this with India
— Anshul Guleria 😊 (@hellroccker) February 16, 2023
Pakistanis about to start weight lifting for BazBall again 😵😵💫😵💫
— Reyan (@_reyan_19) February 16, 2023
India mein nhi chalega Inka bazball
— lalit (@lalitma43912278) February 16, 2023
With all these Bazball tweets and Stokes's early declaration, I think I'll just pretend that there's no ENG v NZ happening right now.
Meri tabiyat kharab honay lagti hai inki itni tareef dekh k.
— Kanza (@kanzaimtiaz) February 16, 2023
