STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsThere are n-number of reasons to love Test cricket, and Jonny Bairstow on the fifth day of the second Test was one among those reasons. By virtue of his blazing ton and a spirited partnership with the skipper Ben Stokes, England chased 299 in just over two sessions of the fifth day:
Bairstow goes bonkers
The stage was set for Bairstow to go big. By the time England went to tea on day five, they had lost four wickets, but two of their most destructive batsmen were at the crease.
However, it was Bairstow who took the New Zealand bowlers apart. At the resumption of the third session, Bairstow was batting on 43 off 48 balls. In the first over of the session, his intentions were crystal clear when he hit Matt Henry for two fours. After reaching his half-century in 51 balls, Bairstow scored his other 50 runs in just 26 balls. Hence, registered a century off just 77 balls, the second-fastest by an England batter.
By the time of his dismissal, Bairstow had struck 136 runs at a strike rate of 147.8. Among batters who have scored 100+ runs in the fourth innings, his strike rate is the best (where ball data is available). More to his glory, in the third session of day five, he scored at a strike rate of 211.4. Among batters who have scored 50+ runs in the third session since 2001, no batter has scored at a higher strike rate.
A partnership that set the stage ablaze
With 160 runs required to win in the last session of the fifth day, England couldn’t have asked a better pair to start the proceedings.
In the first 10 overs of the third session, England were in the driver’s seat after they had cut down the deficit by 110 runs. Bairstow was the chief destructor in the 179-run fifth-wicket partnership with Stokes. Their partnership had a run rate of 8.9, which is the second-best in a 100-run partnership in the fourth innings. Overall, this was the third-best run rate for a partnership (where ball-by-ball data is available). Nathan Astle and Chris Cairns in 2002 against England in Christchurch, had forged a 118-run partnership at a run rate of 10.9 for the 10th wicket.
The best chase in terms of run rate
When New Zealand was all-out for 284, England had 60+ overs to chase the target of 299. However, they didn’t require as many overs. Thanks to the fifth-wicket partnership between Stokes and Bairstow, England chased the target in exactly 50 overs.
England struck those runs at a run rate of 5.9, which is the quickest in a chase of 200+ in Tests. Previously, England themselves in 1994 against South Africa at The Oval, had chased 204 with a run rate of 5.8. Irrespective of the innings, their run rate of 5.9 is the fourth-best in an innings of 250+ runs in Tests.
Flurry of boundaries
Combined from all the four innings, 249 boundaries were hit, 225 fours, and 24 sixes. This means that, 1044 runs out of the 1675 runs scored, came from boundaries (62.3%). The 249 boundaries hit in this match were the most hit in a Test. Previously, between Australia and India in 2004 in Sydney, a total of 242 boundaries were hit, 238 fours and four sixes.
The boundaries record doesn’t end there. For the first time, in a Test in England, there were 20+ sixes hit. In a match between England and Australia in 2005 in Birmingham and between England and New Zealand in 2015 in Leeds, there were 18 maximums hit, the most then. To add more, out of the 24 sixes hit in this match, 18 were hit by England batters, which is their most in a Test match.
Runs aplenty at Trent Bridge
There were plenty of runs on offer at Trent Bridge. In the first two innings itself, 1000+ runs were scored in this Test match. New Zealand batting first scored 553 and England in the second innings scored 539 runs. In the third and the fourth innings, both teams scored 280+.
From the four innings, 1675 runs were scored, which is the second most runs witnessed in a single Test on English soil. In 1948, between England and Australia in Leeds, 1723 runs were scored, which is still the highest.
That isn’t all, the 1675 runs came at a run rate of 4.1 in this Test. In a Test match in which 400+ overs have been bowled (2400+ balls), none of the Test has seen a higher run rate than this.
High scores ended up in vain
Even after scoring 550+ runs in the first innings, losing the Test means one thing, plenty of unwanted highs. New Zealand in the second Test suffered this fate.
After losing the toss, New Zealand was up to the task when they scored 553. In Tests on English soil, this was only the second instance of a visiting team scoring 500+ runs in the first innings after losing the toss and being sent to bat. Australia in 1989 in Leeds, scored 607/7 before declaring.
New Zealand then scored a 284 in the third innings, their second innings and set a target of 299 (lead of 14 runs). In total, New Zealand had scored an aggregate of 837 runs from both innings, and still ended up losing. In Tests, only England against Australia in Leeds in 1948, scored more runs to lose (861).
In the first innings, Daryl Mitchell continued to make merry as he scored his second ton in successive innings. Unfortunately, his score of 190 in the first innings, is also the best score in the first innings for a New Zealand batter. Overall, Astle’s 222 against England in 2002 in Christchurch, is the best score in a losing cause for the Kiwis.
Root notches up his 16th ton at home
After his 10k feat in the first Test, Joe Root went on to register yet another record for England. Firstly, when he scored 85, he went past Younis Khan’s tally of 10099. Then, he went past Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 10122 runs. Currently, he is the 12th highest run-scorer in Tests.
With his 27th ton overall, Root is leveled with Virat Kohli and Steve Smith among the fab four. His ton in the second Test against New Zealand was his 16th on home soil. By virtue of it, he now has the most centuries for an English batsman on home turf.
Boult, the best number 11 batsman
Not too long ago, Boult in one of the dressing room videos for Mumbai Indians in 2021 said “please don’t make me bat again, alright? I don’t want it”. That might not be the case now for the highest run-scorer at number 11.
By virtue of his unbeaten 16 in the first innings and 17 off 15 balls in the second innings, Boult has 640 runs as a number 11 batter. With his first run in the second innings, he went past Muttiah Muralitharan’s record of 623 runs at number 11.
