NEW ELHI: On day two of the first Test match on Friday in Christchurch, England defeated an error-plagued New Zealand thanks to an undefeated century from a courageous Harry Brook.
Brook was 132 not out at stumps as the visitors rallied from 71-4 to 319-5, 29 runs behind the hosts and with five wickets remaining.
After being dropped by Tom Latham on 30 – New Zealand’s sixth missed catch and their captain’s third – England captain Ben Stokes was undefeated on 37.
Together with Ollie Pope, the 25-year-old Brook launched an offensive following England’s dismal start.
With the help of bad fielding and a number of edges that went over slips or slightly wide, the partnership scored 151 off 171 deliveries for the fifth wicket.
The umpire declared the ball fumbled by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell to be byes, and television replays revealed that Brook had been dropped four times: on 18, 41, 70, and 106.
As blue skies replaced the cloud cover that had helped the New Zealand seamers in the first session, England launched their batting assault.
England were down to 45-3 by lunchtime after New Zealand, who had been 319-8 overnight, were all out for 348.
England were 71-4 when Ben Duckett departed for 46 after lunch, but it would take 30 overs before New Zealand took their next wicket.
Glenn Phillips made a spectacular one-handed catch after Pope, who was on 77 and had hit eight fours, sliced at a wide ball from Tim Southee.
Unlike when he placed his head in his hands when Devon Conway dropped Brook from his bowling earlier, he threw his arms in the air in celebration.
The New Zealand seamers had plenty of movement and were in their element in the early overcast circumstances.
Zak Crawley was trapped lbw without scoring after a nibbled delivery from Matt Henry.
England’s debutant was out for ten after Nathan Smith followed up with an angled ball to Jacob Bethell that was edged to Blundell.
A similar angled delivery cramped Joe Root’s space in his 150th Test match, and after four balls, two of which were no balls, it bounced off his pads and onto the stumps for naught.
Duckett refused to be subdued and chanced his arm at anything loose.
After surviving two inside-edges after being dropped by Latham on 23, he delivered a rising Will O’Rourke delivery to Conway, who was waiting on the boundary.
When Brook was dropped for the first time in the next over, the tide started to turn in England’s favor.
Brook scored his sixth Test century by guiding a Tim Southee delivery past backward point to the boundary as the partnership with Pope sped along at five runs per over.
The majority of the 29 runs that New Zealand added to their overnight total of 319-8 came from Phillips.
With his sixth half-century and the second-highest New Zealand score (after Kane Williamson‘s 93), he finished undefeated at 58.
Brydon Carse took both wickets to fall on the second morning, finishing with the best figures for England, 4-64.
He bowled O’Rourke for a duck to end the hosts’ innings after having Southee caught on the boundary for 15 with his first ball of the day.
