England wrap up Headingley victory
Tuesday, June 8 2004
With Daniel Vettori on crutches, England required less than an hour and a half to wrap up victory in the second test match against a desperately depleted New Zealand at Leeds this morning.
New Zealand started the final day of the second test at 102-5 with Scott Styris not out 7 and Jacob Oram undefeated on 4, still requiring a further 15 to avoid the ignominy of an innings defeat. The reputation of this Kiwi side as being packed with character meant that comparisons with events of bygone days at Headingley were inevitable.
Steve Harmison started an extremely shoddy first over with two leg-side deliveries to Scott Styris, both of which were summarily despatched to the boundary at backward square leg. A couple of half-decent balls were blocked before the final ball, another leg-side half-volley, was flicked past fine leg for four more.
Jacob Oram opened his own account for the morning with a neat stroke off Matthew Hoggard through midwicket to adequately demonstrate the Kiwi approach to the day's play and in the process took the overall total into credit. Then, the catch of the match - and arguably of the summer - which in an instant allayed any lingering fears about Geraint Jones's credentials with the gloves.
Hoggard bowled to Styris, that 'in-between' length which has proved so devastating at Headingley during this game on the rare occasion the bowlers have found it. The ball lifted, jagged, found the edge and Jones, diving in front of first slip, took a simply wonderful catch one handed, although if he had missed it, Trescothick might well have had words.
Another quite awful Harmison over, ragged, wayward, the Steve Harmison of old gave Cairns plenty of sighters and the New Zealand total four byes to boot, then Oram cut loose against Hoggard, one to third man and the next straight past the bowler as the New Zealand lead increased at a rapid rate, then Cairns got off the mark with a single to point.
Cairns struck his 87th six of his test match career when Hoggard gave him a ball with a fraction of width as the New Zealanders continued with their refreshing shot-a-ball approach, but Hoggard had the last laugh two deliveries later, a little fuller, possibly held back a fraction. The ball rapped Cairns (10) on the pad in front of middle stump to leave New Zealand on 144-7.
The injured Papps could easily have gone first ball, edging to Thorpe at third slip, but for once in this second inning the chance was spurned. Oram was struck a fearful blow on the right hand by Harmison but responded well the next ball, clipping the big Durham paceman through square leg for yet another boundary.
Vaughan's clever field placement saw him move himself to a square silly point position when Papps faced Harmison. The expected unsympathetic ball into the solar plexus region was nervously fended off by the clearly hampered New Zealand opener, straight to the England captain for an unhappy duck. With Daniel Vettori unable to take the field, Chris Martin came in at the unexpectedly lofty position of number 10 - and this was just the signal Jacob Oram needed to cut loose.
Hoggard twice pitched the ball in Oram's half, and twice the ball was simply smeared over long on for mammoth Cairns-like sixes. On the final ball of the over came the cat-and-mouse scenario. Hoggard produced the expected bouncer, Oram flailed and missed, the batsmen tried to steal a bye and Martin was comprehensively defeated by the run-out throw from Geraint Jones without having faced a ball.
It had been a quite hectic mini-session, with four wickets falling for 59 runs in under three quarters of an hour which reduced the visitors to 161 all out.
The equation for England was simple - a paltry 45 runs required to win, a total which would have been only within England's wildest dreams when New Zealand were fighting their way to 409 in their first innings.
Chris Martin opened with a steady maiden to Marcus Trescothick, then Andrew Strauss greeted Daryl Tuffey's short loosener with disdain, smashing the ball through the covers for four. Martin too felt the power of the Middlesex opener's off drive as he too allowed too much width and paid the consequences.
Trescothick found the fence with consummate ease when Martin bowled one of fuller length, then Andrew Strauss (10) suffered his first-ever failure in test match cricket with the England total on 18 when he pushed at a ball from Tuffey and presented Nathan Astle with a low, tumbling catch at wide third slip.
Mark Butcher opened his account with a fortunate inside edge to fine leg for a couple, then Trescothick flicked a short one from Martin over square leg for four. The Somerset man was fortunate to avoid being bowled by a shooter, then a firm push for three reduced the England target to below 20.
New Zealand, to their credit, maintained reasonably attacking fields as they sought to score further moral victories with the Trent Bridge test match just three days away. A wide one was flashed over slip by Trescothink for another boundary, then a glorious walking extra cover drive by the same batsman left just 10 required for victory.
The coup-de-grace was administered by Trescothick off the final ball of Tuffey's fourth over, a poor one costing 18, with a full-blooded hook for four. England had won the second test by a margin of nine wickets, first containing then out-playing New Zealand with a mixture of fine batting and hostile bowling.
The series now in the bag, England's confident band and New Zealand's walking wounded now re-assemble at Trent Bridge in three days time. For England, the chance of a rare whitewash against quality opposition looms large. For New Zealand, there is a chance to lick their many wounds and come out fighting - if they can find eleven semi-fit players, that is.
New Zealand 409
Fleming 97, Papps 86, McCullum 54, Harmison 4-74
and 161
Hoggard 4-75, Harmison 3-57
England 526
Trescothick 132, Jones 100, Flintoff 94, Strauss 62, Styris 3-88
and 45-1
England won by 9 wickets and lead the series 2-0.
Posted by Eddie
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