England v New Zealand: Caution from England could cost them win

The Don scored 173 not out and Arthur Morris 182 as Australia made 404-3 on a turning pitch.

With all due respect to Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand, they are not normally capable of scoring 400 between them.

It was why England’s decision to bat on and set them 468 – despite a poor weather forecast for today’s final day – smacked of timidity bordering on paranoia.

There have only been four totals of 400-plus to win a Test match full stop, the highest of them 
418-7 by the West Indies against Australia at Antigua in 2003.

Not only did New Zealand need 50 more than that when Alastair Cook pulled the plug 25 minutes after lunch, his side having moved from 116-1 overnight to 287-5, and the captain himself to a 25th Test hundred, they also needed 19 more than they had managed in the whole series combined after scores of 207, 68 and 174.

Why England did not declare by lunchtime at the latest, when they led by 429, was difficult to fathom, as was why they did not push on more positively towards the end of day three.

Come to think of it, some of us found it hard to fathom why they did not enforce the follow-on period; after all, this is New Zealand we are talking about, not Bradman’s Invincibles.

Whatever the whys and wherefores of England’s thinking, you can bet your bottom dollar that their tactics will be scrutinised with the sharpest of scalpels if they fail to claim the win that would give them a 2-0 victory.

If making this match safe and, by definition, the series was their No 1 priority, they are destined to remain a good team rather than a great one.

When bad light ended play yesterday with 6.2 overs remaining, New Zealand were 158-6, 309 behind, and still with a theoretical chance of getting out of jail.

However, Jonathan Trott, who scored just 11 from 69 balls on the third evening, defended England’s safety-first strategy.

“It won’t be a missed opportunity,” said Trott, when asked whether England would be kicking themselves if New Zealand escape.

“You don’t want to be taking the weather into account; you just want to play the game and see what happens.

“We made absolutely the correct decision (not to enforce the follow-on).

“We didn’t want to be chasing 150 on day five.”

England were more positive with the bat yesterday, but could hardly have been more pedestrian than they were on day three.

Cook, who resumed on 88, was soon cover-driving Tim Southee to the boundary to reach his hundred from 152 balls with 14 fours – and that out of 140-1.

Even Trott broke out into something more evocative of a gallop.

He progressed to his half-century from 126 balls with six fours, suggesting someone might have had a quiet word in his shell-like.

Cook’s innings ended with the total on 206 when he miscued the off-spin of Kane Williamson to Southee at deep mid-off.

His 130 arrived from 190 balls and included 18 fours; at times he had looked so comfortable he could have been clutching a cigar instead of a cricket bat.

Ian Bell came and went when he skied Williamson to mid-wicket, where Martin Guptill grabbed the catch at the second attempt.

Bell was trying to get on with it, something that could hardly have been said of the nervy Nick Compton, unable to field because of a chest injury.

Bell’s departure heralded the arrival of Joe Root, who was once again afforded a splendid ovation.

The cheers grew louder when he reverse-paddled pace bowler Neil Wagner to the boundary, the product of an outstanding eye and the one-day era.

After Trott fell to the second delivery after lunch, caught behind off Wagner for 76, Root romped on to 28 before driving Wagner to Guptill at cover.

It gave Root a grand total of 889 first-class runs before the end of May.

Jonny Bairstow provided 26 quick runs of his own, including a straight six off Guptill towards the Carnegie Pavilion and two rasping fours off the same bowler.

The Yorkshireman has enhanced his reputation in this game, scoring 90 runs for once out and fielding well.

Left to make exactly 400 more than they managed in their second innings at Lord’s, New Zealand were quickly in trouble at 65-3.

Peter Fulton got a fine delivery from Stuart Broad that he fended to gully, and Williamson went lbw to Graeme Swann.

Hamish Rutherford played one or two handsome drives en route to 42 from 51 balls, but would have been disappointed with his tame dismissal; pushing forward to Swann, he inside-edged to Root at short-leg.

Ross Taylor and Dean Brownlie added 79 in 23 overs before Brownlie, looking to take evasive action, gloved Steven Finn to gully.

Guptill edged Swann to slip before Taylor was bowled by the off-spinner after scoring a stylish 70.

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England’s top centurions

Centuries Matches

ALASTAIR COOK 25 92

WALLY HAMMOND 22 85

KEVIN PIETERSEN 22 94

GEOFFREY BOYCOTT 22 108

COLIN COWDREY22 114

ANDREW STRAUSS21 100

KEN BARRINGTON20 82

GRAHAM GOOCH20 118

LEN HUTTON19 79

MICHAEL VAUGHAN18 82