Black Caps’ Black Spot – The 2005 tri-series final between England and Australia at Lord’s. The match ended in a draw, Nasser Hussain on air quipped – it was almost like a victory for England because Australia had not lost in the final! Yes, those were the days. Speaking of relativity, let’s joke about the New Zealanders – they don’t drop the ball! Especially after such a great performance in previous tests. But that’s why we say in cricket – nine times out of ten, he/she will catch the ball. Friday was one of those ten times. In the third run of the inning, Ben Duckett beat Nathan Smith by one straight into third slip, only to see Henry Nicholls strike out the sitter. He was 8/1 at the time and England were 8/1, having just lost to Emilio Gueye in their previous game. Then, in the 21st inning, Duckett took the lead again by one goal. This time it was off the bowling of Mitchell Santner. For some reason, Daryl Mitchell stands in an unconventional position. Under normal circumstances, when the ball is passed directly to his regular position on the right, he will swallow the ball directly. Being on the sideline, he couldn’t even put a finger on the ball. Duckett was on 74 at this stage, in fine form and dangerous – England were 120/1. Given the state of the pitch, as England found out on Thursday, chances here are like Halley’s Comet – rare. If the opportunity does come and you miss it, you have to wait for the next opportunity. Furthermore, very un-New Zealand, they just couldn’t find a way to stop the home team’s scoring rate, which was surprising considering the way they stifled the hosts at the Oval. Is Matt Henry the eldest? None of the bowlers looked impressive and if the scores fell in the final hour, it was more because England pulled the curtain on the over. Additionally, earlier in the day, Blair Tickner was ruled out of the match after suffering concussion symptoms after being hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer. New Zealand did find Zakary Foulkes as a concussion replacement, but only time will tell how good that replacement is.
