Ben Stokes cut a relieved figure when his press conference before this third Test against New Zealand belatedly veered away from his recent absence for disciplinary reasons and into his favourite memories of Trent Bridge.
The Ashes-sealing win in 2015 was the first that came to mind, Stuart Broad’s eight for 15 and the like. Then came his recollections of the second Test against New Zealand here four years ago, when Jonny Bairstow went gangbusters during the run chase and Bazball was said to have been born.
Well, if England go on to win this decider and ease the crisis triggered by Stokes’s late night after Lord’s, it may well top the lot. Because at the end of a baking hot first day, New Zealand having racked up a 361 for four with centuries from Tom Latham and Devon Conway, the hosts were already in strife.
That strife had eased a fraction before the close, at least, courtesy of late strikes from Gus Atkinson and Jofra Archer with the second new ball. Rachin Ravindra rewarded the former’s efforts with a poor top-edged pull , while Archer wiped out Henry Nicholls for 36 with a snorter that tickled the edge.
But it was clearly a day of toil in the main. While the pitch was a heartbreaker for the bowlers – a symptom of the heatwave – there were already some signs of it breaking up. Batting last, which England are due to do, is unlikely to be as enjoyable as Latham and Conway found it.
Their 317-run stand was a record for a New Zealand opening pair in England, passing the 185 John Wright and Trevor Franklin amassed at Lord’s in 1990. Latham was in princely form from the outset en route to 151. Conway turned a scratchy start into 157 with some brutality after tea.
More ominous was the fact that the last time a pair of visiting openers went past 300 – South Africa’s Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs putting on 338 at Edgbaston in 2003 – it persuaded Nasser Hussain that his time as England captain was up. Notably, Stokes has declined to commit to anything beyond this Test.
Chances were few and far between during the 72 overs Latham and Conway stitched together in punishing fashion. But to the frustration of a sellout crowd that was similarly battling the heat, a couple did come England’s way.
The most telling was in the afternoon when Conway, on 71, propped forward to Shoaib Bashir and a stifled appeal for lbw followed. Everyone believed there was an inside edge and the notion of a review was quickly dismissed, only for replays to show the ball struck Conway’s pad first and was going to hit the stumps.
The more galling one came after tea, however, when Jamie Smith dropped a clanger on his return behind the stumps to hand Latham a life on 129. Atkinson, back from his own Rex Rooms-related absence, had managed to coax a leg-side strangle, only for Smith to meet it with crocodile hands.
It needed Stokes to produce the precious breakthrough, finding some extra energy to tease a tired waft behind from Latham that allowed Smith to atone. With Conway holing out to Joe Root’s tweakers in the next over, it set the stage for England’s late fightback.
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Things had appeared to be breaking their way before play. New Zealand had lost Matt Henry and Glenn Phillips to injury, having already ruled out Kyle Jamieson for workload reasons. England, meanwhile, had upgraded the callow side that was trounced at the Oval with four changes.
But then it happened. The coin went up, Latham called correctly, and made the only decision there was to be made. It sent England into the madhouse, with Latham and Conway cruising to 108 for no loss by lunch, then 213 for no loss by tea, before the late wickets that offered an oasis in the desert. They batted superbly.
It might have been very different had Stokes not moved third slip to gully in the sixth over of the day. The very next delivery from Archer took the edge of Latham’s bat and flew through the vacated spot. Where once such moves produced wickets, now they induce groans.
Archer was used sparingly by Stokes – two four-over spells before tea – while Bashir was tasked with a holding role at one end as Atkinson and Josh Tongue rotated at the other. Bashir began relatively well in this respect, only to lose control of his length later on and allow Conway to cash in.
Save for some bouts of cramp, Conway and Latham enjoyed the conditions, not least an outfield that meant the ball raced off the bat. Latham’s 17th Test century drew him level with Martin Crowe and Conway’s eighth was an impressive personal battle against the technical issues that have dogged him of late.
If there was hope for Stokes then it came from the fact that the Bairstow-inspired win he remembered from four years ago featured New Zealand sitting pretty on 405 for four during their first innings. This is likely to prove a different surface, however, and it is a very different England team these days.
