NZ VS ENG - 1st Test, England tour of New Zealand, 2019

That's a wrap to our coverage for this game. A Test match that nearly goes the full five days is a rarity these days. But the Bay Oval in its red-ball debut had a surface that was good enough to last the distance (almost) and produce a result. The pace of the game wasn't great but the conditions dictated that and the Kiwis eventually came out on top in this battle of attrition. It's been a weary five days for us here in the comm box. Hope you enjoyed the coverage. Until next time, this is Hari Sadanandan signing off on behalf of my mates Varun Dixit and Vinod. Cheers!

Williamson: It feels great to win a Test match. England are an outstanding side and it took us a great amount of work to get past their total on a wicket that was wearing. Certainly a good Test wicket, given that it's the first one prepared here. It did age nicely and a huge amount of heart from our middle order batting unit to get us past the 600-run mark which was enough to get us a win. To keep making good decisions for longer periods and bat over 200 overs was great. (On Santner) The talent has always been there but in his own mind, to spend so much time at the crease and work his way against an outstanding bowling unit, to come up with his maiden Test ton, along with Watling's double ton, was great. (On Watling's crisis-handling skills) His application at the crease, his focus is just amazing. His patience to make good decisions for longer periods is incredible. He often comes out in such situations to contribute in a strong way. I guess the odd delivery reacted badly as you would expect on a day five track but otherwise, it was a good track. There were a few niggles in our camp but when you're bowling for a Test win, there is always some fuel in the tank. (On his own fitness) Just a little niggle, should be okay.

Root: I think we missed an opportunity if we are being brutally honest. Two of their guys really made big contributions. We had some guys getting in but a score of 450 would have been nice. I think we did a lot of good stuff but we need to do it for longer. Won't happen overnight. It's a contrast to the style we have played in the past and so, it will take some time. Ended up being a good pitch. Over the course of five days, it's got a result. Looking back at the toss, it was a good one to win but not capitalizing on that cost us. Need to be honest with ourselves, need to work hard and trust ourselves.

BJ Watling: It felt really good. The key was to get the partnership and get close to their total. And hope that pitch will do the trick on day 5. Your job is to play the situation, it might be 4/100 or 4/400. I take a little break every now and then and keep myself fresh. I play a lot of domestic cricket. It was great playing here at Mount. It's good fun when the pitch keeps up and down, you get the feeling that you are always in the game. 

England would feel disappointed for a lot of reasons. For starters, they were 20-odd overs away from salvaging a draw and if some of their key batsmen hadn't perished to atrocious shots, they might well have secured a draw. They also had New Zealand struggling at 127/4 at one stage before Watling dug in. He got able support from Nicholls and de Grandhomme but it was his association with Santner that took out an England win from the equation. The duo were truly exceptional in their respective knocks. After that, it was a matter of survival and New Zealand's bowlers did the rest. Wagner with eight scalps was the unsung hero for the hosts. The pitch stayed good for batting through the game and it was only late on day five that it started to misbehave considerably.

16:49 Local Time, 03:49 GMT, 09:19 IST: The Kiwis are jubilant and all over each other in happiness. Must say that they deserved every bit of this win. England only have themselves to blame though. Starting the day with seven wickets in the tank and 90 overs to negotiate, they had begun well with just one wicket lost upto lunch even if that was a crucial one of Root. Denly continued to be resilient and found an able ally in the ever-dogged Stokes, as the duo batted into the afternoon session. With Boult being ruled out of the day, it did seem like the Kiwis would struggle to force a win. That's when their veteran bowler stepped up. In a probing spell post-lunch, he eventually induced a false stroke from Stokes and that opening was enough for Wagner who struck thrice in the span of 15 minutes to all but seal the deal. Curran and Archer did stitch a handy stand to extent things beyond tea but Wagner returned to finish the formalities and register another 5-fer in Tests.

Wagner to Broad, out Lbw!! Wagner wraps it up! Excellent thinking from the fiery pacer. Knew that Broad is expecting a short ball and so, went for the bluff. Attempted a searing yorker and even though it ends up as a full toss, it's too quick for Broad who is late to get his bat down in time. Looked stone dead in real time and the only doubt was whether it was pitching outside leg. HawkEye shows it isn't and the rest is history. Crashing into the sticks. NZ go 1-0 up with a brilliant win. It's been an excellent performance from the Black Caps. Broad lbw b Wagner 0(1)

Wagner to Broad, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Stuart Broad, left handed bat, comes to the crease

England review for LBW! Looked plumb to me. It's hit Broad's pads on the full. Seems a goner for sure. HawkEye shows Three Reds.

Will it be short? I'm sensing a bluff from Wagner.

Wagner to Jofra Archer, out Caught by (sub)Matt Henry!! It had to be Wagner! You just felt that he would be the man to break this partnership. Goes for the short ball and Archer was never going to back down from playing a shot. Tries the pull but can only top edge it straight down fine leg's throat. Wagner is roaring in delight and letting out a fist pump to celebrate his fourth scalp. Boy, isn't it a sight to see this man on fire! Right, so NZ just a wicket away now. Jofra Archer c (sub)Matt Henry b Wagner 30(50) [4s-5]

Wagner to Jofra Archer, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, excitement from the Kiwis as first slip dives forward to take this but there isn't an edge there. Santner hits the right length and this doesn't turn much, Curran pushes at it with hard hands and it flies off the pad towards first slip. A really probing over from Santner

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, tossed up on off stump, Curran goes for the sweep and drags it off the inside half to backward square leg

A backward short leg is in place now.

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, aerial but wide of short leg! Flatter and spinning in, Curran lunges forward to block and gets an inside edge onto the pad. Flies well to the left of the close-in fielder towards backward square leg

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, flatter and on a good length, Curran hangs back to block it out

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, keeps really low! Probably landed one of the foot marks and spun in sharply with hardly any bounce. No chance for Curran and he is lucky that this isn't in line of the sticks. Good take from Watling

Santner to Sam Curran, no run, fuller and on off stump, worked gently by Curran and Santner gets across to make the stop