1 day Ago
New Zealand National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Match Scorecard: Joe Root's recent form in Test cricket has taken an unusual dip, raising eyebrows given his typically consistent performances across conditions and countries. In his last five innings since his stunning 262 against Pakistan in the Multan Test, Root has managed only 90 runs, with his latest dismissal for a duck occurring on the second day of the opening Test between England and New Zealand in Christchurch. Root fell victim to debutant Nathan Smith, who produced a game-changing over by removing both Jacob Bethell and Root in quick succession.
England crumbled from 43/1 to 45/3, leaving their innings in jeopardy. This marked the 13th duck of Root's Test career and his eighth in the World Test Championship (WTC). Notably, Root now holds an unfortunate record, surpassing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith for the most ducks by a batter in the WTC era; both Kohli and Smith have been dismissed without scoring seven times each.
England staged a fightback on the second day of the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, with Harry Brook and Ollie Pope hitting crucial half-centuries to take the visitors to 174 for four at tea, after a shaky start to their innings. Earlier in the day, England bowled out New Zealand for 348, wrapping up the hosts' innings during the morning session. However, England's response got off to a disastrous start.
Zak Crawley fell for a duck, and the team suffered further setbacks as Jacob Bethell and star batter Joe Root were dismissed cheaply in the last over before lunch. Ben Duckett, the other opener, attempted to steady the innings and push the scoring rate but fell short of a half-century. His ambitious pull shot off Will O'Rourke ended in a catch in the deep, leaving England precariously placed at 71-4.
Brook and Pope then combined to rebuild the innings with measured yet confident batting, steering England to a more respectable position by the tea break at Hagley Oval. All-rounder Nathan Smith was the standout bowler for New Zealand, removing fellow test debutant Bethell for 10 before Joe Root, playing his 150th test, chopped on for a duck four balls later. Earlier, seamer Brydon Carse took 4-64 and spinner Shoaib Bashir 4-69 for England but an unbeaten 58 from Glenn Phillips helped the home side extend their overnight tally by 29 runs at the cost of their last two wickets.
Inputs from Reuters.
