New Zealand v Sri Lanka, First Test, Basin Reserve, 15 ­­– 19 December 2018

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, First Test, Basin Reserve, 15 ­­– 19 December 2018

Scorecard

Sri Lanka are here for a two-test “series” (two tests do not a series make) followed by three ODIs and a T20. I was at the Basin for the first two days of the first test.

The two teams start this tour having recently been on different ends of the pleasing recent trend of away teams winning test series. Sri Lanka received a 3­–0 drubbing at England’s hands, while New Zealand beat Pakistan 2­–1 in the UAE.

Play in the latter series began at 7pm New Zealand time, so I was able to watch quite a bit of it. The climax of the first test measured Headingley ’81 on the nerve-wrackingometer. It is common these days to measure the progress of tests in terms of which side has “won” each session. Pakistan had dominated on this count. Not many tests have been won by a side that has appeared doomed to defeat for so much of the game. Needing 175 for victory, Pakistan appeared to be sailing home at 130 for three, then 154 for five when a collective failure of nerve occurred against some fine bowling by slow left-armer Ajaz Patel, on debut after taking plenty of wickets over several seasons in domestic cricket. He was well-supported by Neil Wagner’s usual huff-puff-and-blow-your-house-down bowling.

As well as being unbearably tense, the final overs were also very strange. No 3 batsman Azhar Ali turned down considerably more easy singles than Pakistan lost by, even though Mohammad Abbas is a long way off the worst No 11 around. New Zealand continued to offer these up even as the target got into single figures, each team apparently trying to keep the other in the contest. The absurdity of this approach was underlined by the fact that it was Azhar Ali who finally fell, lbw to Patel, the wait for the DRS decision a child’s on Christmas Eve.

Pakistan won the second test by an innings and took a first-innings lead of 74 in the third match. With New Zealand 60 for four in the second innings, it seemed that home-team suzerainty would inevitably impose itself. A magnificent innings from a great player, Kane Williamson, changed the game and the series, with admirable support from Henry Nicholls. Before their fifth-wicket partnership of 212, the previous ten wickets had gone for 120; Pakistan were bowled out for 156 next day, so these were not easy runs. Williamson’s declaration, setting Pakistan 280 in five hours, was out of Brendon McCullum’s Attacking Captaincy textbook. A couple of early wickets shook Pakistan’s confidence: five down by lunchtime, all out by tea.

It was only the second series defeat Pakistan had suffered in the UAE since it became their home base in 2010. A 2­–0 win in the home series here would send New Zealand to an unprecedented second place in the test rankings.

Those of us present the last time Sri Lanka played a test at the Basin hoped for a contest to equal that one, a magnificent match with double centuries from two of the greats, Sangakkara and Williamson, a world-record partnership (Williamson and Watling) and a fifth-afternoon finish. Of the teams four years ago, Latham, Williamson, Taylor, Watling, Southee and Boult survive for New Zealand, Karunaratne, Mathews, Chandimal and Lakmal for Sri Lanka.

The Basin pitch usually behaves like a small child on Christmas morning, opening all its presents early, to become bored by mid-afternoon, so it is customary to put the opposition in on winning the toss, as Kane Williamson did here.

Sure enough, within four overs the gift wrapping had been torn off three wickets, all to Tim Southee. However, it was movement through the air rather than off the pitch that was responsible. First, Gunathilaka played around one that swung in late to be leg-before. DM de Silva got a thin edge to a ball that swung away, then Mendis hit lazily to give Patel, the only fielder in front of square on the legside, an easy catch.

At this point it seemed likely that Sri Lanka, morale low after their home defeat, would fold, but throughout the series they showed resilience. Karunaratne and Mathews put on 133 for the fourth wicket, their survival improbable at times, notably when Karunaratne clipped De Grandhomme to mid-wicket, only for the replay to reveal a no-ball. The edge of the bat either avoided the ball or directed it wide, short or high of fielders. Karunaratne started to play some attractive straight drives and both batsmen took on the short ball.

Inevitably, it was Wagner who led the bouncer barrage. As usual, he was not introduced into the attack until De Grandhomme had had a few overs. The theory is that he doesn’t get anything from the new ball, which, like most things about Wagner’s bowling, defies common sense. It may be more about keeping a hungry dog angry by denying it red meat for longer. The batsmen won the early skirmishes, but Wagner broke the partnership when Karunaratne gloved an attempted hook to Watling.

The weapon of choice continued to be the short ball for the rest of the day. The pitch provided bounce, which isn’t the same thing as pace. It worked for New Zealand, with three more batsman falling to short stuff during the evening session.

Wicketkeeper Dickwella played as well as anyone whatever the length of the delivery, intelligently mixing the orthodox and the unconventional. The sweep/glance/scoop that sent a Southee full-length ball to the fine-leg boundary was the shot of the day, as beautiful in its own way as a Gower cover drive.

Trent Boult’s first wicket came from the last ball of the first day, Rajitha caught behind. Southee had five by this stage and had pushed ahead of Boult in their contest to have taken most test wickets. By the end of the series, both were in the 230s with Southee retaining a four-wicket lead. Southee bowled superbly, but Boult’s performance might have been enough for a five-for on another day.

Dickwella resumed on the second morning on 73 and in the same vein, scooping Boult to the fine-third-man boundary, but any ambition that he might have had regarding a century was thwarted by Kumara, a No 11 possessed of the fatal combination of self-belief and concrete boots. He deftly glanced straight to leg slip to give Southee his sixth wicket and to leave Sri Lanka all out for 282.

The general feeling was that this was inadequate, but by how much? It could have been a good deal fewer had the ball found the edge more often on the first morning. Only four of the Sri Lankans had reached double figures, but three of them had gone on to 79, 80 not out and 83.

Latham and Raval looked very comfortable in the early overs of New Zealand’s innings, the Sri Lankan attack mundane, but getting little help from an increasingly sleepy pitch. Raval looked especially fluent through the offside, as confident as he was when he looked a class above everybody else in making a century for Auckland at the Basin earlier in the season. He needs a big score in a test sometime soon, having made seven 50s but no 100s from 16 tests to date, and this looked a good opportunity. But hooking at the last ball before lunch, he toe-ended a catch to Dickwella to be out for 43.

No cricket lover should miss any opportunity to watch Kane Williamson bat. It doesn’t much matter in which form of the game as his approach barely changes. His century in the ODI on a dodgy pitch at the Cake Tin was the best batting I watched in 2018. Here he resumed where he left off in the UAE a week before, as if he had paused for a drink rather than flying 14,000 km. Two rasping offside fours off the back foot off the second and third balls that he received made it clear that playing himself in was superfluous. Without showing the least sign of urgency or risk he made 91 at a run a ball, a big century looking as certain as Christmas.

For want of a better idea, Chandimal turned to Dhananjaya de Silva, whose soothing off spin had brought him seven wickets in 20 tests at an average of over 70. Possibly salivating a little, Williamson swept the second ball de Silva bowled him straight to backward square leg, where Rajitha took an easy catch. Wiliamson returned the rooms bearing the demeanour of a politician who has thrown away a 20-year career with a one-night dalliance in a seaside hotel.

Tom Latham ended the day on 121, having reached his century with overthrows, just like Alastair Cook at the Oval a few months ago. Latham looked as in control as Williamson and also had a pleasing range of shots around the field. The difference is that the intervals between them were longer.

These days Ross Taylor bats with a sort of impatient bustling, as if he knows that his time in the game is finite and he wants to make the most of it. He has a young family and it would be no surprise if after the World Cup he chooses the easy rewards of the T20 circuit, while he is still young enough to command a hefty price. He reached 50 by the close, though should have been caught at second slip. At the end of the day New Zealand were 29 ahead with seven wickets left, and the course of the match seemed clear.

I wasn’t there for the remaining three days, so missed Latham becoming only the second New Zealander to carry his bat in a test, his 264 not out being the highest score made in such circumstances for any team. He made another big hundred in the second test—his eighth century—and has risen to 14^th in the test batting rankings. With Warner out of commission, the only openers in the top ten are Karunaratne and Elgar, and on form Latham would get into a World XI ahead of either.

With a deficit of 296 and three down for 13 by the end of the third day, Sri Lanka’s only hope was a forecast of rain for day five, but the chances of the last seven partnerships lasting all day appeared remote. In fact, one partnership, between Mendis and Mathews, sufficed. They batted all day, and through the 13 overs that were possible the next day. I’m not sure if I’m pleased to have missed it or not. To see your team’s hopes receding, inevitably but so slowly, is the cricketing equivalent of watching global warming. But this was only the 22^nd time that a pair of batsmen had occupied the crease for a whole day, so on balance I’m sorry that I wasn’t there. Yes, the rain saved them in the end, but it would take a very mean spirit to think this undeserved.

Similar weather in Christchurch would have repeated the trick. Set 650 to win, Sri Lanka were 24 for two at the end of the third day, but were still there with 231 for six 24 hours later. This time the sun shone and New Zealand completed a 423-run victory. This is one of Sri Lanka’s weaker teams, but it is not short of spirit or fight.