NZ VS ENG - 1st Test, England tour of New Zealand, 2018

It's all we've got for you in our coverage from Auckland. Now switch off the lights, colour the ball red and attrition your way to Christchurch. I was Vineet Anantharaman bringing you all the pink action in the company of Rishi Roy and our scorer Naga. Yea, some moments just can't be handled singlehandedly. Until next time, ta ta!!

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Stats corner:
- The 50th Test between England and New Zealand, and the Blackcaps have snaffled their 10th victory against England, and their first win with the pink marshmallow.
- Moeen Ali didn't have the best 50th Test, being one of the 5 Englishmen to be dismissed for a duck in the first innings, and getting out for 28 in the second. No wickets or catches for him either.
- Williamson topped the list of NZ's century-makers with a balanced and chanceless 18th hundred, going past the late Martin Crowe.
- Boult's five-for before drinks on Day 1 wasn't a first, but certainly worth a mention. Mind-boggling!
- 6 for 32 - Career best innings figures for Trent Boult
- 58 all-out - Sixth lowest score for England in Tests, their lowest score against New Zealand, and 2nd lowest ever at Eden Park, right after NZ themselves capitulated against England at this ground 63 years ago. Some payback huh?
- 93 minutes:The total duration of England's first innings :O. Approximately a football match + injury-time.
- Special mention: And then, there are things that stats can't quite measure. Something beyond numbers. Two supercalifragilisticexpialidocious catches from Kane Williamson, the first one of Broad in the first innings, and the second (less athletic but more crucial) one of Bairstow this morning to break his partnership with Stokes.

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(2/2): We knew that the new ball was coming and wanted to build up pressure from both ends. When we got wickets it was after periods of pressure. It was great to come out in the final session, under a great crowd and the guys were brilliant throughout, but we need to ensure that we back it up in the next game. Todd (Astle) got a bit of turn, he had to bide his time because with the pink ball you are bound to get some seam movement and he showed a lot of patience. Wagner kept telling me 'just one more' after every over and he showed tremendous energy. But it's important we recover well from this game and adapt to different conditions, especially with the red ball in the next match.

Kane Williamson, New Zealand skipper (1/2): It was a fantastic performance from us. If we go back to that first innings we were very good in the lengths we bowled. But we were also lucky to find the edges on all those occasions. Trent was fantastic with the lengths he bowled and so was Tim. We knew we had to work hard against a quality English attack and that showed in the second innings. They fought very hard and they showed how tough an opponent they are when they batted in the second innings. You try and make the best call you can at the toss but you need to make the most out of the opportunity. We were very good in executing things in that department. To see their determination with the bat, despite it be slow moving was a superb effort because the bowling was really good. To get the score we wanted on the board was a just what we were asking for. Henry Nicholls was just outstanding. His commitment to his plan, the way he thought through and executed it was world class. We knew we had to come out and play the long game; didn't want to get too ahead of ourselves.

Joe Root, England skipper: We weren't good enough on day one, as simple as that. It's never easy getting back into Test matches after a start like that; we have to learn some lessons quickly. It is difficult to single anything out, more than anything it is just that we have to adapt quicker. The character of the dressing room and the efforts today was a great example of the guys' determination and their desire to play for the country. [On his finger] It is good and should be fine for Christchurch. We need to make sure that we are better, we have a couple of days of practice as we go into it and need to make the most of it.

Trent Boult, MoM: Obviously a great finish to the match. I guess you feel great when we got the ball moving around like the way we did. We know how important it is to get twenty wickets, and the way the guys stuck around and got those wickets is what makes it all the more significant. The wicket was definitely slower today than I thought and the ball didn't do as much. At different times the ball moves around differently and if can see it consistently moving around from a bowling point of view it surely helps. To see a couple bounce more than expected definitely got my tail up. To get the job done with a bit of time surely feels good.

Neil Wagner, the Kiwi workhorse: Trying to not think too much about it. Very special feeling. Had to take it deep. Tried to get the game into the night under lights. The ball wasn't doing too much. But the boys did well. The catches were brilliant today. Catches win matches, I suppose. We've done a lot of practice catching pink balls under lights. I'd love to thank the crowd. There are a lot of variables with the pink ball, but we are accustomed to it by now. I summon my strength for the team and the country, and I'm happy that we have come out victorious today. We'd like to summon our energy with a good night's rest and get back to business (practice) tomorrow.

If it was Boult in the first innings, today was Neil Wagner. There are somethings that make you fear for your life, his bouncers are one such thing. In a tireless spell, he started off with Stokes, right at the stroke of dinner and then went on to get Woakes with the stuff of dreams. Not to forget his brute to Joe Root yesterday that triggered everything. But all said and done, take that 58-run collapse out of the equation and we could have been staring at a dull drag. Stay on, the presentations coming up.

19:55 local: Raw emotional scenes .. so not Kiwi-like. They exhult, jump around in the huddle and celebrate their moment of history - the first ever D-N Test match on New Zealand soil. Thank England though for almost dragging it into the final hour. Who'd have imagined the fightback, from batsmen with reputations of aggression to nearly three sessions, against the old ball, against the new one, against practically everyone. They eventually ended up ninety minutes short. If only a rain break had been longer ..

Todd Astle to Anderson, out Caught by Boult!! Nail the coffin. Anderson's survival doesn't last long. Gets a flighter from Astle, wide outside off and gets on a knee to slice it uppishly, checking it in the process. Mid-off's there, waiting for history. And who better that Boult to close things off. Start the huddle. Anderson c Boult b Todd Astle 1(5)

Todd Astle to Anderson, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Wagner to Anderson, 1 run, 136.1kph, flat feet, typically number eleven as he inside-edges a defence to fine leg

Wagner to Anderson, no run, goes back, Wagner goes fuller. Dabbed away to point

Wagner to Anderson, no run, on the jump, rides the bounce and keeps his drop down soft

Wagner to Anderson, no run, peppers him in welcome. Anderson gets inside the line, perhaps with a sleeve on it's way to the keeper

James Anderson, left handed bat, comes to the crease

Two slips, gully, leg-gully, silly point, short leg

Wagner to Woakes, out Caught by Henry Nicholls!! Roar you Wagner. Roar louder. He's bowled his heart out, banging in a bouncer after another. Over after over. Session after session. Woakes loses focus, gets caught up in the line of fire for a change. Can't duck. Can't sway out. Fends desperately, feet off gravity, eyes hiding, and balloons the glove to short leg running behind. Oh the emotion, so damn raw. Woakes c Henry Nicholls b Wagner 52(118) [4s-8]