
England strike under the lights after Harry Brook, Ben Duckett cut loose
Tracy Mensah
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New Zealand 37 for 3 (Conway 17*, Wagner 4*) trail England 325 for 9 dec (Brook 89, Duckett 84) by 288 runs Another day, another display of genre-busting Test cricket from England's incorrigible Bazballers.Which aspect of this latest instalment most tickles your fancy? The idea that either or both of Ben Duckett and Harry Brook could, and maybe at least one of them should, have crushed Gilbert Jessop's 121-year-old, 76-ball record for the fastest England hundred? Or what about the sight of Joe Root, England's modern great Test batter, being caught at slip while attempting a ramp shot on the first afternoon of a Test?Or how about Ben Stokes' latest captaincy pièce de résistance - a first-innings declaration after a mere 58.2 overs, the second-quickest such gesture in Test history? England by that stage had romped along to a typically freestyle 325 for 9, at a rate of 5.77 an over, and with arguably only Ollie Pope the victim of anything that could conventionally be described as old-school bowling "pressure". When your minds are as free as lads on a golfing holiday, an attack featuring two nervy debutants holds few fears, notwithstanding the enduring class of Tim Southee and the indefatigable Neil Wagner.England's innings wasn't quite as eye-popping as their last first day of a series - their 506 for 4 in Rawalpindi in December - but its denouement was notable in its own right. It's hard even to classify their declaration as a "gamble", given England's high-rolling Test lifestyle, but it was a typically calculated move from Stokes. It left New Zealand facing a 90-minute examination under Mount Maunganui's full-beam floodlights, and by the time they had tottered to 37 for 3 in 18 overs before the close, it had paid rich and irresistible dividends.Ollie Robinson - already regarded by his team-mates as the equal of his seniors James Anderson and Stuart Broad - wasn't kept waiting long to live up to his heightened status. Introduced for the fifth over, he duly struck with his third ball as Tom Latham fenced limply to
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England strike under the lights after Harry Brook, Ben Duckett cut loose
Tracy Mensah