At Lord’s, day two: New Zealand 132 and 236-4 (D Mitchell 97 not out, T Blundell 90 not out) v England 141 (Z Crawley 43; T Southee 4-55, T Boult 3-21).
He may not have been 100% believable, but Tom Blundell insists getting onto the honours board at Lord’s isn’t on his mind.
The Black Caps wicketkeeper-batter will resume his innings on 90 not out on day three of the first test between New Zealand and England at Lord’s in London on Saturday night (NZ time).
With him will be Daryl Mitchell, who is just three runs away from a century after the pair produced an unbroken fifth-wicket stand worth 180 on day two overnight to put the tourists in a fine position after a shaky start to the three-match series.
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Black Caps were in deep trouble against England but their bowlers dragged them back into the first test.
That allowed New Zealand to reach stumps at 236-4, a lead of 227 with six second-innings wickets in hand and three days remaining.
When Devon Conway was caught behind down the legside off Stuart Broad in the 23rd over to leave NZ reeling again at 56-4 in their second dig, there was a legitimate chance the five-day encounter would be over with three to spare and all the unsold tickets would count for nothing.
But Blundell and Mitchell dug in to initially defy the hosts and then looked to push their side into a potentially match-winning position should they continue to stretch the lead.
“Obviously it’d mean a lot, but there’s a long way to go in this game,” Blundell replied to a question in the media conference on how much a century at the ‘Home of Cricket’ would mean personally.
“Daryl and I have got a big job tomorrow to continue that lead, but ultimately it’d be fantastic.”
Blundell, playing his 18th test, has two test centuries – one on debut versus the West Indies in Wellington in December 2017 and a memorable ton as opener against Australia at the MCG two years later.
“We’ve got a lead, and Daryl and I tried to remind ourselves we’ve got to build that.
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Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell put on an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership worth 180 on day two.
“Those milestones will take care of themselves, but first and foremost we’ve got a job to do and that’s increase our lead.”
Mitchell, in the side with Henry Nicholls suffering a calf injury prior to the team’s departure from New Zealand, is eyeing his second test century in his 10th appearance, with his ton coming versus Pakistan in Christchurch at the start of 2001.
“I thought Daryl batted especially well and to build a partnership like that was pretty pleasing,” Blundell said.
“It was a very tough situation to come into, but I thought me and Daryl, we showed intent. It was that sort of wicket where you had to show a bit of intent and the runs will come. That’s what we spoke about really, is trying to build a partnership – obviously ended the day pretty well.”
The wicketkeeper-batter said he focused on doing his things.
“Playing the way I want to play, being positive … trying to play the ball late. There was a little shape early on. I was trying to play as late as possible and look to hit it really straight.
“The pitch was a little bit slow, quite hard to get a bit of rhythm at times, but if you get through that and keep on bringing the bowlers back … I thought we did that really well.”
Blundell also had praise for New Zealand’s quick bowlers as Tim Southee (4-55) and Trent Boult (3-21) cleaned up the home team’s tail relatively quickly in the first session on day two.
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New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell combined aggression with stubborn defence in his unbeaten 97.
“They bowled really well – when they [England] were 60 for none it wasn’t looking good.
“But our bowlers came back and showed their class – they’re a world-class attack and hopefully we can replicate that in the next innings.”
Blundell felt the initial session of day three, when England take the second new ball, could be pivotal.
“It could be a fully new ball wicket, when the ball was harder we found it swung a lot … it definitely nibbled off the wicket.
“But when that ball gets soft, it can be easier to bat. It’s still tough – it’s not easy to bat out there, I think there’s enough in it for the bowlers.
“I thought England bowled really well. They bowled quite tight, but there were periods for us where we were able to score.”
