The eve of this series opener witnessed a nostalgic reunion for the New Zealand team that triumphed over England in 1978, with David Gower, though not part of that historic tour, offering an English perspective on the panel. When Geoffrey Boycott’s laborious 70 off seven hours surfaced, Gower quipped that it was “seriously fucking rapid” by his old friend’s standards—before promptly apologizing for his choice of words. The opening day at Hagley Oval did not exactly showcase breakneck cricket either; Ben Stokes won the toss, opted to bowl, and his team managed just 83 overs. Nonetheless, the cricket remained intensely engaging for the 8,000 fortunate spectators who filled the grass banks of this picturesque venue. By the close of play, with Kane Williamson scoring an unbeaten 93 and demonstrating that his hands remain as soft as ever despite missing the 3-0 series win in India, the hosts concluded with 319 for eight, leaving the honours evenly balanced.

Brendon McCullum had attributed New Zealand’s historic victory to their resourcefulness, and while his England counterparts were somewhat erratic—failing to review key moments, committing numerous no-balls, and dropping a crucial catch off Glenn Phillips who went on to score an unbeaten 41—they persisted in their efforts. McCullum would have particularly relished off-spinner Shoaib Bashir’s performance, claiming four for 69 on a pitch that both captains had hoped to exploit on the first day. Although the pitch played fairly consistently overall, Bashir, at 21, is still refining his length under the intense scrutiny of international cricket, but here, with some assistance, he found his rhythm. Rachin Ravindra, another promising talent, managed to turn a full ball into a full toss after lunch and was caught at mid-wicket for 34, while Tom Blundell and Nathan Smith fell to slightly soft dismissals in the evening session. Matt Henry also departed for 18, with the dangerous Phillips still at the crease. Had these players been English, they might have sparked an online uproar about their sloppiness.

These evening wickets pulled England back into the game after they had been staring at 193 for three on the scoreboard at tea, with Williamson ominously poised on 73 not out. Gus Atkinson had a promising start in the morning, enticing a return catch from Devon Conway in his first over with the new ball. However, after struggling with some uneven footmarks at the City End and overstepping seven times, it wasn’t until he switched to the Botanic Garden End that he found his true rhythm and a bit of extra bounce to see Williamson edge to backward point. With Stokes a bit erratic across his 13 overs and Chris Woakes quiet, the standout seamer was Brydon Carse, who, after impressing on less-than-ideal surfaces in Pakistan, provided his captain with some extra bite. Carse had ended a particularly fluent 47 by Tom Latham in the morning session, nipping one away from the left-hander to give Ollie Pope an early catch on his return to wicketkeeping, and later executed a bumper ploy that saw Daryl Mitchell top edge to Harry Brook at pretty much long stop. Pope was tidy behind the stumps; a reminder that England’s vice-captain rose through the Surrey ranks as a wicketkeeper and the error in selection was not his back-up status, but rather the lack of top-order cover. The 26-year-old’s main lapse here was not realizing Ravindra had edged a catch behind on 20 before lunch—no one appealed, in fairness—and as the consigliere during two burned reviews later on. These go against Stokes, of course, the captain having also been the one to put Phillips down in the final hour with a diving effort at mid-off. Phillips, one of the world’s best, would probably have held it, and having dodged a duck his late salvo drove the hosts past 300; the final stanza of a day that was slow by way of over-rate yet packed with incident.

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