England celebrating after a wicket vs NZ
The first day of the first test match between England and New Zealand was as crazy as they come. As many as 17 wickets fell on the day, both sides struggled to get going, and only 248 runs were scored.
Bowlers sure made merry, but the conditions on offer raised quite a few questions on Twitter. At the forefront of it, was Wasim Jaffer on took a sly dig at Lords pitch and compared it to the one in Ahmedabad.
When 17 wickets fall in a day at Lords , talk is about the skills of the bowlers. When 17 wickets fall in a day at Ahmedabad, talk is about conditions.
He was not alone, many netizens joined him and seemed to agree with him. It has always been the case. If a wicket offers turn from day 1, and wickets fall as quickly as they did in the Lords test, players, particularly the overseas ones, criticise the conditions on offer.
But, if the same happens overseas, all the talk about the conditions just dies down. Here are a few other reactions:
ENG vs NZ Day 1 Report
In what turned out to be an absolutely crazy 1st day of the 1st test match between England and New Zealand, the black caps - after being down in the dumps - came storming back in the game, as England faced yet another collapase. 17 wickets fell, and only 248 runs were scored on the first day of the match.
It all started with New Zealand winning the toss and electing to bat first. The decision would prove a bad one as England literally ran through the Black Caps' batting order and left them reeling at 45/7.
If it wasn't for de Grandhomme's 42, Southee's 26, and Boult's 14, New Zealand would have been all out under 100. However, due to the above innings, NZ eventually managed to score 132 runs.
Cricket, as they say, is a funny game. England came out to bat, looked assured with their defence, and it seemed like they indeed put in a great bowling performance and the pitch did not have as many demons as NZ made it feel like. But, as soon as Joe Root got out and the scorecard read 92/3, all hell broke loose.
In a matter of minutes, England were reduced to 100/7, and it was all too familiar for the Barmy Army. Boult, Southee, and Kyle Jamieson were the stars with the ball as they picked two wickets each.
Heading into day two, New Zealand will be the happier team and they have stormed their way back into the game. Much like day 1, day 2 promises to be a moving one.
England Playing 11
Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Matty Potts, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
New Zealand Playing 11
Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult
