New Zealand vs England 2nd Test: Mitchell and Blundell's unbeaten innings make NZ dominate day 1
A day ruled by New Zealand and a lot to ponder for England to make a solid comeback on Day 2 as Kiwis scored 318 at a loss of just four wickets at stumps of the first day
Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand celebrates with Tom Blundell of New Zealand149-run stand by Mitchell-Blundell
England won the toss and chose to bowl first. Tom Latham and Will Young opened for New Zealand and gave a stable start by scoring 84 off 129 in partnership as they looked untroubled with the new ball. However, both the opener got out in two successive balls as skipper Ben Stokes got the first breakthrough of Will Young (47), followed by James Anderson dismissing Tom Latham (26). Devon Conway got into a 77-run partnership with Henry Nicholls. And yet again, Ben Stokes and James Anderson dismissed the duo of set batters as Conway and Nicholls departed for 46 and 30, respectively. What followed this was England bowlers being thwarted by a 149-run stand. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell scored unbeaten 81 and 67, respectively, as the duo transferred pressure built by hosts back on them. Stokes brought Leach, but the pair remained unaffected. Mitchell went more attacking against spinners.
Speaking on the combined effort of the NZ team, Devon Conway said, "Putting on 300 on a pitch like that was a very good effort. It didn't do heaps, and played a lot better than it looked. A bit of swing but a good surface. A bit of bounce for the bowlers. I was excited to bat first, just to get in there. Have to forget what it looks like and just experience what each ball does. We spoke about playing with good intent, and Will Young and Tommy did that from the first over."
In desperation to take wickets, there were a couple of close calls just before the second new ball, but England wasted both their reviews as nothing could break the duo. While Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell were clinical with their performances, England will regret the four dropped chances, including one late when Bairstow and Crawley did not go for the catch in the slips. New Zealand will be highly delighted with the total fetched on Day 1 despite losing the toss and missing their skipper Kane Williamson. At the same time, England will be rueing over their decision to bowl first. They will need early wickets on Day 2 to be in a better place in the game.