Early adventures in the Plunket Shield

As I write in mid-November (roughly the equivalent of mid-May in England), three-quarters of Wellington’s home programme in the Plunket Shield has been completed. The New Zealand domestic schedule is a warning to England as to what may be to come if resistance from county cricket’s defenders is less than staunch.

I could not get to the Basin for any of the opener against Otago, an eight-wicket win for Wellington, but was there on the first and fourth days of a memorable contest between Wellington and Canterbury: Conway’s match.

Wellington v Canterbury, Plunket Shield, Basin Reserve, 29 October – 1 November 2019

Scorecard

Devon Conway scored more runs here than anyone has done before in one match in New Zealand. He followed an unbeaten 327 in the first innings with 66 in the second to top Bert Sutcliffe’s single-innings 385 for Otago against Canterbury in 1952–3. His 53 boundaries were the most hit by a New Zealander (including aspiring New Zealanders). It was the highest individual score that I have ever watched, though I saw only (only!) the 261 he made on the first day. Conway—an immigrant from South Africa—qualifies for New Zealand in October 2020, so it would be well worth a county making him an offer for next season.

At 20 for three in the twelfth over, such profligate scoring appeared impossible after Wellington had been put in by Canterbury, but this was not an archetypal first-day Basin pitch. All three wickets were down to good bowling. Left-armer Nuttall swung one into Fletcher to have him leg-before, then Matt Henry, in Kent form, combined accuracy, movement with a little lift to account for Colson and Bracewell. However, even at this early stage very few deliveries beat the bat, particularly when Conway was holding it.

Tom Blundell joined Conway to put on 34 for the fourth wicket before being given leg-before to Williams. Blundell could not have advertised more widely his view that the ball had hit the inside edge had he taken a full page in the Dominion Post. He stared at the raised finger with the expression of a Pope whose infallibility is questioned. All the way back to the rooms his head shook from side to side as he examined the offending strip of wood. Had he widened the scope of this inquiry it would have revealed that the bat also had a middle, which, appropriately deployed, would have saved him a lot of trouble.

The umpire involved, Garth Stirrat, has been outed in as a retired porn star, so I’ll leave a space here for the reader to insert their own witticism.

One of the characteristics of a class batsman that Conway has is that watching him gives no inkling that the team may be in trouble, or that batting is anything other than the breeziest of activities. As we were to see, he has shots around the ground, but his go-to area is behind square on the offside. So productive was he in this area that Cole McConchie committed a heresy against the creed of modern captaincy by stationing a third man before lunch on the first day, and followed it with a second a few balls later. Conway reached his 50—out of a total of 72— with the first false shot he played, an edge over the slips.

The Canterbury bowling in the early part of the innings was exemplary, with Henry conceding only 11 off nine overs and Will Williams—a tall right-arm seamer with a bouncy approach—12 off eight. The rest of the Canterbury attack could not maintain the pressure. Left-armer Andrew Hazeldine was sufficiently pacey to have Malcolm Nofal caught at mid on when attempting a pull, but was profligate to the extent of reaching his bowler’s century in his eleventh over, as quickly as I have seen it done. Conway is so adept at telling the good ball from the almost-but-not-quite good ball and steered what he got from Hazeldine through the gaps like a pilot in a busy waterway. He reached his hundred with another rare mishit, a top-edged pull that fell just out of reach of the diving keeper, Fletcher.

Peter Younghusband joined Conway for the sixth-wicket partnership and took the role of defensive support seriously as may be judged by the fact that he did not contribute to the first 33 runs they put on, and was on only 14 when the century partnership was achieved.

There were no nervous 190s for Conway; a four followed at once by a six over deep mid-wicket saw to that. He reached 200 before the team had passed 300, which can’t have happened often.

Those two boundaries came off Todd Astle, who had been held back until Conway was well-established, which suggested a lack of confidence in a bowler who is a semi-regular member of the test squad, but asking a leg spinner to bowl in New Zealand in October is like bringing a bear out of hibernation a couple of months early, to forage with the snow still on the ground.

Younghusband’s blockade was breached by a fine catch by Tom Latham at second slip. He was replaced by Jamie Gibson, who took the opposite approach, striking out from the start. They were both right, in their contrasting ways. By the time Gibson came in, Conway had been batting for most of the day and was happy to let his partner man the guns.

The Canterbury attack operated like two economies, one managed by Margaret Thatcher, the other by Robert Mugabe. Henry and, especially, Williams (one for 52 from 28 overs) held fast against the inflation of batsmen’s scores, while the other bowlers printed runs.

In my absence on the second and third days, Conway reached his triple century and Wellington declared on 525 for seven an hour or so before lunch. Tom Latham then scored his traditional Wellington double hundred (one in the test match against Sri Lanka late last year and one in the Plunket at Karori in 2013). Nobody else reached 50 for Canterbury, who declared nine down 110 behind.

To what Bismarck said of sausages and laws, add the accumulation of runs needed for an agreed target: it is better not to see them being made. I was glad to have missed the first hour or so of the final morning when the formalities necessary for Wellington to set Canterbury 358 were completed.  

That many runs in a day less half an hour is tough even on a pitch that appeared truer than George Washington. But by the time I arrived late in the morning session, pessimism had already set in among the Wellington faithful, in whose company Eeyore would appear a cock-eyed optimist. Canterbury were 80 for one, with one of the world’s top-ten ranked test batsmen (Latham) in and another (Nicholls) to follow.

However, Bowes, who had opened with 40 from 27 deliveries, had already departed and three more followed in the short time before lunch. Stephen Murdoch was out lbw making room to cut a ball from slow left-armer Nofal that was quicker than he thought. The decision looked dubious, though Murdoch was well back in the crease. The scorecard has links to video of all dismissals, so readers can make up their own minds.

The day took a significant turn in Wellington’s direction in the following over when Latham was caught at second slip, driving loosely at van Beek.

The third to fall was McConchie who, mind straying to the impending ham salad, swept the last ball before lunch to be caught at short fine leg. The bowler was again Nofal, who once more put a little extra speed on the ball. Canterbury’s target at the start of the afternoon was 239 with six wickets and a minimum of 62 overs left.

Nofal has taken 15 wickets in the Plunket Shield so far this year, more than anyone except Neil Wagner, so has moved onwards and upwards from the “golden arm” category. Wellington captain Michael Bracewell, however, with three wickets in 78 first-class games, only aspires to that description. But he did get one to turn to Henry Nicholls, who knocked it cross-batted it to mid off. Only the bowler was more surprised than the batsman.

Now Wellington were ahead and expected to win, particularly as Canterbury had a longish tail. There was a time when a team in Canterbury’s situation would have abandoned hopes of victory and set about digging trenches, but the modern cricketer just runs quicker towards the machine guns. This is no criticism. Here, with two or three more lucky breaks, it would have won Canterbury the match, and it was good to watch.

Todd Astle hit 33 from 15 deliveries, including two splendid straight-driven sixes. On only four, Cam Fletcher hit a Rohan Kanhai-style fall-over hooked six off McPeake. Matt Henry struck three sixes as he made 43 from 40, before falling to an excellent catch by Bracewell, low to his left, which is not where a first slip expects to take a catch from a right-handed batsman. Fletcher followed soon after leaving Canterbury with 126 to get with only two wickets left.

Canterbury continued to press on, if a trifle more cautiously than before. Williams and Hazeldine restored Wellington’s anxietyometer to the high levels to which we are accustomed with a ninth-wicket stand of 64 before Hazeldine off drove straight to van Beek at mid off. Still they hit out; the game ended when Nuttall was caught at long on to give Nofal his fourth wicket. Wellington won a splendid game of cricket by 44 runs.

Wellington v Auckland, Plunket Shield, Basin Reserve, 8 – 9 November 2019

Scorecard

The following week we were back at the Basin for the visit of Auckland. I arrived soon after lunch on the first day to discover that I had missed Wellington’s first innings, bowled out for 91 having been put in. Lockie Ferguson took four for 23. After his performances in the World Cup, readers will know that Ferguson is capable of bowling as fast as anybody, but now with added accuracy. He had been withdrawn from the T20 series against England to play here in preparation for a summer of test cricket.   

Soon after I took my seat Auckland’s reply was interrupted by the rain, and there you have the story of the rest of match. There were only 26 more overs that day, and 57 in total in the next. As had been forecast, the third and fourth days were washed away completely, so from the outset this was a game played for the small stakes of bonus points. No point then in recounting events in any detail, save to introduce readers who do not follow domestic cricket in New Zealand with the name of Ben Sears.

Sears is a local 21-year-old all-rounder less than a year into his first-class career. He took six for 43, three of them in the two overs he was able to bowl on the second morning before the rain fell. He bowls right arm on the brisk side of medium with a high action. Test opener Jeet Ravel was bowled by a ball that swung in, and was quick enough to hurry Horne into a head-protecting edge.

Wellington finish the first half of the Plunket Shield season with a comfortable lead of 15 points. Whether anybody remembers that when the competition resumes in late February remains to be seen.

I will next report from Hamilton, where I’m heading at the end of the week for the first three days of the test match.

 

England lose in Wellington

New Zealand v England, T20 (second of five), The Cake Tin, 3 November 2019

Scorecard

It is always a pleasure to welcome England to these shores, but the publication of the schedule a few months ago registered a high on the apprehension scale among the cricketing faithful. International cricket at the start of November? We did a collective impression of Sgt Wilson from Dad’s Army, asking “do you think that’s wise?”. The New Zealand climate is a capricious thing at the best of times, but give it international cricket to mess with and it becomes as flighty as a granny fed champagne for breakfast at Christmas.

For this reason, the tour has largely been kept out of the South Island, after the first T20 in Christchurch last Friday. (The third game is in Nelson, but that doesn’t count; it is on the same latitude as Wellington, but whereas the capital looks south, nothing between it and the penguins, Nelson is a north-facing suntrap, generating more vitamin D than is good for anybody). Of course, the weather has made fools of this protective scheduling. Unprecedented 30-degree temperatures swept the South Island today, and some of the North too. You have already guessed where the lowest maximum in New Zealand today was registered: the Kelburn weather station, which overlooks the Cake Tin. Mind you we would have settled for that 18 degrees if offered, and it was wise to play the game in the afternoon. I write in what would have been the mid-innings break and a swirling mist is enveloping the house as if it were captioned “London 1862”.

The two teams had an experimental feel about them. For New Zealand, Kane Williamson is missing the series because of a hip injury (but we all staying as calm as we can in the circumstances). Pleasingly, Trent Boult has made it a priority to play in the Plunket Shield rather than the first three of these games. England are also prioritising the tests. Root, Buttler, Archer, Stokes and Woakes are all missing the T20s but will be here for the tests later in the month, which is the right way round.

Joe Denly also misses the T20 series through injury. I hope that he is fit for the tests. If not, he may not get another chance, having been written off prematurely by some despite creditable performances in the Ashes series. Denly’s grandmother was kind to me as a lunchtime playground supervisor at Herne Bay Infant School in the sixties, so you will find nothing that isn’t positive about him in these columns.

England won the toss and put New Zealand in, which had worked a treat in their easy victory at Hagley Oval on Friday. Sam Curran, who has progressed from promising newcomer to senior bowler with only a scant intervening period, opened along with one of the two debutants, Saqib Mahmood of Lancashire, who, by way of welcome to international cricket, went for six twice in his first over, once by Guptill and once by Munro. The latter was lbw to Curran in the next over, after which Pat Brown of Worcestershire, playing his second international game, replaced Mahmood. He was also given a reminder that he had taken a big step up, with 15 coming from his first four deliveries. He should have had Seifert caught next ball, but Vince put down what looked a straightforward chance at backward point.

We last came across James Vince at Canterbury just over a month ago, looking I thought a bit doleful as he came out to bat having just learned that he had fallen well down the test pecking order. He would look back on that as a time of celebration compared to the nightmare day he had today. That was the first of three chances he put down. The second would have been the catch of the season and he did well to dive and get a hand to it as he ran from long on to long off. The third was on the mid-wicket boundary and looked as easy as the first. To be kind, both may have come to him straight out of the sun. A four-ball one rounded off his day. That will happen to anybody occasionally, even a player as good as Vince undoubtedly is. I hope he resisted the temptation to buy a Lotto ticket though; not today.

It wasn’t only Vince who had a bad day in the field. Billings couldn’t hold a high gloved chance from Guptill, Curran might have taken a hard one at backward square leg and Malan dropped the easiest of the lot in the last over. New Zealand missed nothing and that was the main difference today.

Colin De Grandhomme came in at No 4. One day he will stay there for the rest of the innings and put the game so far out of reach that it won’t be worth the other side coming out to bat. Today he made 28 from 12, giving those that followed a little time to breath.

I had just written a note that England’s bowling inexperience was showing when the Lewis Gregory, the other debutant, came on and took a wicket first ball. I had hoped that Somerset’s other representative, Tom Banton, would play today. I suspect that in twenty years’ time it would be something to say that you had seen his first international appearance.

Chris Jordan bowled magnificently, with a slower ball that is one of the best in the business. It is a reflection of England’s ODI strength that they could omit as fine a bowler from the World Cup squad. Sam Curran was also very good. Was the total of 176 for eight enough? Opinion was divided in the members’ lounge, “about par” a common phrase.

England began in the worst possible way as Jonny Bairstow dinked an easy catch to mid on off Southee. The ball may have held up a little, sending the stock of the home total up a few points. Vince’s unhappy day ended soon after, bringing Eoin Morgan in. There followed the most interesting passage of play in the game. New Zealand fed his strength square on the offside, placing, at one point, three backward points, sometimes polishing the apple of temptation by removing third man. Morgan responded by cutting over the top of them to the effect of 32 from 17 balls when he was out to Santner, whose strategy was more orthodox. Morgan was caught at long on by De Grandhomme, on almost the exact patch of turf on which Adam Milne dived to catch him in the World Cup game here four years ago. Then, it precipitated a collapse like an Antarctic ice shelf from global warming. Today the consequences were not as spectacular, but it was as significant a turning point.

Morgan was the first of five England batsmen to be caught on or near the Cake Tin’s long straight boundaries, a sequence that drove the English press contingent into social media apoplexy. Why aim for the long straight boundaries when the short square ones are available? Could they have been taking out the frustration of a late night watching the rugby? I thought Morgan’s post-match analysis to be more reasonable. He praised the New Zealand bowlers for forcing the England batsmen to hit straight, which they did better than the England bowlers. Why, after all, would a batsman hit to a long boundary if he could choose a short one?

In defence of the Cake Tin, though it is an oval, the square boundaries are not ridiculously short. It is a decent shape for a cricket field, which is why it is not so good for rugby and football’s rectangles, from which most spectators are at some distance.

The game seemed to be settled with the required rate nearing 12 an over after 13 overs. With four balls of his spell left, Ish Sodhi would have been pretty happy with two for 15. Jordan hit those four deliveries for a four followed by three sixes, to bring England right back into it. Two more boundaries followed before Jordan became the latest to hole out in the deep, for 36 from 19. A six from Gregory, who had a good debut, was the last of the resistance. The winning margin of 21 runs made it look a touch easier than it felt when first Morgan, then Jordan were hammering the bowling.

T20 is notoriously difficult to predict, but three-two would be a safe enough prediction as long as one isn’t tied down to who has three and who two.

This was an enjoyable game, and a good start to my international cricket watching (the game in Singapore not withstanding), which will see India in Wellington in 2020 and me in Sydney for the New Year test between Australia and New Zealand.