Black Caps vs England Cricket Test: UK Media Reactions

One described it as one of the “greatest Tests ever played”. Another said no one could regret New Zealand’s famous victory. And a third described spectators leaving the ground with “eyes like saucers, jaws long since dropped”.

British cricket writers have heaped praise on the Black Caps – and England – after New Zealand won the second cricket Test by the slimmest of margins – just one run – at the Basin Reserve. It was only the second time a men’s international Test match had been decided by one run and only the fourth time a team had won after being forced to follow on.

NZ Herald cricket writer Kris Shannon wrote of an unimaginable victory, while his colleagues from Great Britain described an “electric” final.

“It was not a triumphant ending [for England] to the big winter, but it was unforgettable, one of the greatest tests of all time. Telegraph cricket writer Nick Hoult wrote.

“To be only the second team ever to lose a Test by one run can leave a bitter taste in the mouth, but this was delicious entertainment, perhaps a mistake for England, but further proof that they are hell-bent on trying to save this form.”

Typing in The Times, Mike Atherton said the final day “was the most dramatic of days to end a brilliant, engrossing Test match”.

“A gassy crowd sat enthralled by the many twists and turns as both teams edged each other out, New Zealand to maintain a proud home record, England completing a flawless winter.”

The former England captain noted that his team’s current manager has a huge history on the pitch. “Brendon McCullum, the England coach who once scored a triple hundred in this great country for New Zealand, may have had mixed feelings about it all.

“One run was the margin, just one run in the end – only the second time in Test history. It seems such a cruel division after a match like this, but it was the difference in the end between conflicting stats.

He also noted the recent string of tight results between the two sides. “New Zealand have lost so many tight games to England recently, most notably in the World Cup final in 2019 in a Super Over, that many in the country would not have regretted their success.

– In the second half of this game, they showed heart, courage and tenacity and had made their countrymen proud. It was [Neil] Wagner, the cricketer who defines the characteristics of New Zealand cricket and had the last word. With the minimum margin again.”

In the year Email Online by Paul Newman said it was one of the “most incredible tests of all time”.

He noted as a “controversy” that the penultimate ball of the match was “dangerously close to being called a wide”.

“But referees Chris Gaffaney and Rod Tucker gave him the slightest doubt.

“With two needed, Anderson, who had smashed a four off Neil Wagner from the previous over, got the faintest of tickles down the leg side of the left arm into the safe hands of Tom Blundell to give New Zealand the victory. margins.

“It is bitterly disappointing for England, but when the dust settles they will know they have played their full part in a remarkable game, following their stated aim of trying to make Test cricket as entertaining as possible. This was certainly that. After five compelling days, England’s last pair had to make seven runs to give England a 2-0 series win and a seventh Test win in a row, their best run in almost 20 years.

For writing The Guardian, Ali Martin said after the match to the spectators “eyes … like saucers, jaws long since dropped”.

“It was an electric day in Test cricket and, by definition, one that offered the rarest of margins. A one-run victory over this marauding England team had made New Zealand only the second team in the 146-year history of Test cricket to win by that score – and only the fourth team to won after being asked to continue.

“For Tim Southee’s men had inflicted a second defeat on England’s stunning comeback led by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum and extended their proud unbeaten record at home to 11 series.”

Martin acknowledged the contribution of the senior players. “Kane Williamson was man of the match at the end of this memorable 1-1 draw, his seven-hour 132 in the third innings helping to set England up the 258-run target they so nearly abandoned.

“Where better to start than the end? When Jimmy Anderson, 40 years young with 179 Tests on the clock, walked out to join Jack Leach in the middle after Ben Foakes was bowled for a defiant 35, the country was shocked. Seven runs needed, nine down, was Anderson’s recent claim , that he had no interest in ever hitting wins – “I don’t like hitting, simple as that”.

He commented on the camaraderie between the two sides and the efforts of Black Caps gloveman Tom Blundell and warhorse Wagner.

“These two teams get along famously, as England have been so heavily influenced by their hosts of late, and both teams knew how lucky they were when the line of handshakes snaked across the pitch.

“It was fitting that Blundell took the catch as he had spent much of the day standing in front of the stumps as a constant flea in England’s ears. Ditto for Wagner, who produced a coup, 10 overs in one of those lion-hearted spells that forged his reputation. Covering all the series leading up to the final day and knowing that at 37 his future was being questioned by many in New Zealand, Wagner had produced valuable breakthroughs – Stokes for 33 and Joe Root for 94 – that had blown the door wide open. open.”

Alan Gardner for Cricinfo said that England “was ultimately the victim of its own positive purpose”

“But New Zealand deserved winners after dredging up a reply with the bat, led by Kane Williamson’s century in the third innings, then finding a way to take 10 wickets on a surface that had a few fifth-day demons.

“There was more than revenge for baseball’s original victims when New Zealand were swept aside in three consecutive chases during the English summer. Victory in Wellington not only maintained their unbeaten record at home throughout 2016-17, but meant they became the first team in seven in an attempt to stump Stokes’ team in the fourth innings.

The game – and the remarkable result – was reflected in the social media posts of prominent cricket figures.