taken at long leg That's the game. That's 2-0. That's the No. 1 Test ranking for the first time in their Test history. Hagley Oval stands up to applaud a band of players who might be New Zealand's best ever. And a new kid has changed everything completely. For now he's not the focus. For now this ball is the focus. Length. Down leg. Slog. Straight up. Simple catch. And the crowd chants No. 1! Clap! Clap! Clap! No. 1! Clap! Clap! Clap!
New Zealand vs Pakistan, 2nd Test at Christchurch, PAK in NZ, Jan 03 2021 - Match Result
Williamson and Nicholls's 369-run partnership is NZ's highest for the 4th wicket in Tests, breaking the record of 271 between Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder
Williamson has scored 56 fifty-plus scores in Tests, the most for NZ breaking Fleming's record
That's all we have for you. Thank you for joining us throughout this amazing Test summer which ends with New Zealand as the No. 1 team in the world and potentially inching their way towards that World Test championship final. India and Australia are still ahead of them on percentage points. But stranger things have happened. Anyway, this is Al Muthu signing off on behalf of Shashank Kishore, P Ranjith and Thilak Ram. Have fun you lot!
Kane Williamson is Man of the Series: It's an incredible couple of games. Huge amount of effort goes into every Test match and we were up against a quality side in Pakistan and even though the result on paper was very much in favour of us, it was a game of small margins. At times we had a bit of luck go our way and that helped us create partnerships. We are realistic about that. Very proud moment as a team at the end of our Test summer and we know we've achieved something special. Both guys have been involved in a number of formats through the last couple of years, Kyle is a special cricketer, his contributions as soon as he's hit international cricket is immense. And along with Daryl as well, in a role that isn't natural, he bats a little bit higher. The attitude they've had coming in has been very good. The way Daryl came out and batted, increasing the run-rate when we needed, he fully deserved that hundred. It was a real battle for a long time. I didn't know where I was going to get another run. But it was nice that the openers saw off the new ball and gave us a foundation. And Nicholls played a really good innings too, with a pulled calf muscle. It was really nice to be out there and put a few partnerships and put up a really good competitive total. Nice to finish our Test summer on a high.
Mohammad Rizwan: As captain, I take responsibility. Fielding is very important part of the Test match. If you want to win, you have to take 20 wickets. Bowlers created chances, but we didn't back them up. It's an honour to lead Pakistan. I'm disappointed that I couldn't bring a result for Pakistan and PCB. But we tried. We tried our best. We will learn a lot from this tour. We failed in all departments, but we have a series after this against South Africa in a short time and we'll look to do well against them. Congratulations to New Zealand, specially Williamson and Nicholls. But the big difference between us was Jamieson, the way he bowled.
Kyle Jamieson is Man of the Match for his 11 wickets in the match: We had to graft our way for periods at a time and I guess as a bowling unit, we were clinical. I guess, from my point of view, just sitting back and watching these guys going to work, it's a four pronged attack and I'm pretty much the fourth prong and I love learning from these guys. Not too bad. I guess those two guys have been great for New Zealand cricket and to have my name somewhere along those guys is special [Vettori and Hadlee are the only bowlers with better match figures for New Zealand]
That ends the Test summer for New Zealand. Four Test matches. Four wins. All of them showcasing extremely watchable cricket. Kane Williamson's batting has hit another level. Apparently that's possible. He came in on the back of playing T20 cricket at the IPL. He was rested from the T20s earlier so that he could concentrate on getting back his Test match rhythm. Based on 600-plus runs in three matches, he sure got back to it alright. No. 1 batsman in the format leading the No. 1 team in the format. How's that for symmetry?
New Zealand owe a lot though to their bowlers. Neil Wagner didn't let two broken toes stop him from winning a Boxing Day thriller. And now that he's out for five-six weeks, Kyle Jamieson has stepped up to take on the role of tormentor in chief. His bounce continues plays on the back of the batsmen's minds. It always makes them end up in the worst position possible while facing him. They just can't be confident coming forward to him, which makes them sitting ducks because he has such a good fuller ball. He got Mohammad Rizwan with one that was pretty much on the cards. A glorious inswinger that zipped through bat and pad and knocked over leg stump. We'll be seeing a lot more of those as his career progresses.
knuckle ball, turns into a full toss, which he's able to swing away to the midwicket boundary
superb yorker tailing into the left-hander, nearly takes him off his feet
slogs at a length ball on off stump, misses
whoa! They've sneaked a bye even though the ball is safely in Watling's hands. He had no idea of the sneakiness happening. It takes Southee's yell to break his reverie. And by the time he aims at the stumps, the single is taken. Well done Zafar and Naseem! That puts the batsman on strike for the next over. This is excellent from Pakistan.
picks the gap between backward square leg and deep midwicket. Powerful pull shot from Gohar.
very close to a run-out after he hammeres it to deep midwicket. They want two. It is a risky two. Santner's the reason for that, but his throw to the non-strikers' end is a little wide and Southee can't realy it onto the stumps
swing and miss against a full ball outside off
smashes it through cover. Likes it full and with room to free the arms
backs away to try and swing a length ball outside leg stump into the grass banks. Only manages an inside edge
NZ have taken the new ball and here's Tim Southee
Luke: "Williamson has always been a tidy bowler. However, ever since he became captain and had his action investigated he has always been far more reluctant to bowl himself. Maybe he lacks the confidence? In a way, I think this is perhaps a lone example of where his humility is detrimental."
defends a good length ball from around the wicket on off stump
Thanks, Shashank. One more pole to get. New ball due any moment. Four men around the bat.
Al steps in for the final moments
there's the wicket for Kane! He's got a Test wicket after five years. This is a wild slog from Afridi, going against the turn, gets a top-edge and Taylor makes no mistake at slip. That's as simple as they come
struck on the pad but Afridi is saved by an inside edge onto the pad
rocks back and slaps this to sweeper cover
sees the flight and gives it a thrash, bisects cover and mid-off. That was absolutely drilled
eased with the spin to the bowler
dug in short on the body, Afridi gets out of the way
mistimes the pull, falls wide of mid-on, no timing, no power and the bat face turned in his hand as he went through with this
angled in from around the stumps, Zafar gets out of the way
fends this into the gully with soft hands
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Hagley Oval, Christchurch | |
Toss | New Zealand, elected to field first |
Series | |
Season | 2020/21 |
Player Of The Match | |
Player Of The Series | |
Series result | New Zealand won the 2-match series 2-0 |
Match number | Test no. 2400 |
Hours of play (local time) | 11:00 start, Lunch 13.00-13.40, Tea 15.40-16.00, Close 18.00 |
Match days | 3,4,5,6 January 2021 - day (5-day match) |
Test debut | |
Umpires | |
TV Umpire | |
Reserve Umpire | |
Match Referee | |
Points | New Zealand 60, Pakistan 0 |