England.
Tykes doing not bad in their return to the County Championship top flight, while their players are away helping England get back on the winning track.
Should one of them have got the man of the match award?
In a low scoring competition where a total of 702 runs were scored over the four innings one man scored 111 of them. One man who looks the part and looks like he should be moving up the order as the summer – summer? ha! – goes on. Joe Root.
Yes I’ll admit that was a devastating spell by Broad in the New Zealanders’ second innings but people were getting wickets left right and centre throughout. Well, throughout after a certain period of comfort. The first three innings went along a similar pattern of the batting side going along untroubled – during England’s first they hardly troubled the scorers either – then a stream of wickets fell. From a place of comfort to losing half the side for 40 runs or so.
Root stood out. Along with a bit of Bairstow in the first innings.
Root looks the part, especially when compared to Compton, who looks like a deer in the headlights. Didn’t see much of the winter tours but he looks so slow and ponderous at the crease. Stood straight up, head off at an angle, all a bit Goochy, which isn’t bad. But the bat seems to take an age to get moving, as do the feet. As someone said he’s knocking on 30 and just come into the international scene where things, bowlers, even New Zealand ones tend to bit a bit quicker than county trundlers. Though he did score a couple of centuries against them on the tour there.
Broad, had a bad trot of it of late, number of reasons including he has been injured with his heel trouble. But I said after the first inning he bowled that what he needs is a good knock with the bat. Because his batting has hit the skids more than his bowling and he’s got it all to be a class all-rounder. Always reminded of Simon Jones’ first test, came out and swung the bat, knocked up some runs then ran in and bowled a cracking spell. Runs, always seems to have a positive effect on bowlers when they’ve scored them.
Anderson took more wickets, again with some shockingly awful deliveries, mixed in with the great ones. Wonder what his wicket total would be without those taken from long hops and those wide down leg.
Champagne moment apart from Broad ripping out the middle stump and all it’s camera and sound recording accoutrements out of the ground was Joe Root’s little brother Billy on as a substitute fielder running in and high fiving Broad who is somewhat taller, resulting in Root junior having to jump up.
Shame that Bell has been passed fit for the second test, would have been an ideal opportunity to end his presence in the squad.