Feature

Late jitters and long waits

Plays of the Day from the fifth day of the first Test between New Zealand and England in Dunedin

Joe Root's run-out gave England late worries  •  Getty Images

Joe Root's run-out gave England late worries  •  Getty Images

Cracking batting of the day
The previous evening, when speaking about his maiden Test hundred, Nick Compton said how it would be nice to "whack a few" from time to time. Perhaps, though, his bat isn't made for it. He was not exactly hammering the ball on the final morning, but suddenly needed to change his piece of willow after a crack appeared down the back of the blade. The new bat worked nicely as he clipped a full toss from Tim Southee to deep square leg.
Half-century of the day
This does not refer to an actual score. Instead, it is the number of deliveries it took for Steven Finn to progress his score from 53 to 54. It was comfortably more than an hour between him adding to his total after reaching his maiden Test fifty and there was a rather sheepish grin on his face when he blocked a ball from Trent Boult which ran past mid-off, bringing cheers from the crowd.
Direct hit of the day
How often do run-outs cause jitters - or worse - when a draw is seemingly assured? The one involving Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe at Antigua in 1998 comes to mind, as does the one between Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen at Centurion in 2009. This time it was Ian Bell and Joe Root. Bell struck a ball sweetly off the back foot and thought he'd found the gap at cover. However, Southee produced a sharp dive, save and collect, then sprang to his feet and threw the stumps down with Root short of his ground.
Spell of the day
Neil Wagner's excellent match continued as he charged in during the final day. He produced a superb spell during the afternoon session, claiming the wickets of Trott and Pietersen - the latter for the third time in three innings. Running in from the Grandstand End Wagner delivered eight pacy overs off the reel. His break was not long, either, as shortly after tea, with a glimmer of hope for New Zealand following two quick wickets, he was back in the attack. He ended the day with the most overs by a New Zealand fast bowler in an innings since Daryl Tuffey sent down 49 against Pakistan at Christchurch in 2001.

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo