"I got a bit of rhythm, something ticked which is nice" Neil Wagner's aggressive approach made difference in final hour
Feb 28, 2023
Basin Reserve (Wellington) [New Zealand], February 28 : New Zealand's veteran fast bowler Neil Wagner turned the tides on Day-5 as New Zealand managed to make a historic comeback against the Three Lions. Wagner blew the game wide open when he took the wicket of the England skipper to break the partnership between Joe Root and Ben Stokes.
Wagner expressed his joy as the moment of victory overcame the entire New Zealand team and management. "I got a bit of rhythm, something ticked which is nice. I guess it happens in cricket. But credit to Harry Brook, he's a serious talent. The way he's played it and came after me, he was pretty awesome to watch but not to receive. He's a serious player but to finally get some reward from it was quite pleasing." as quoted by Espn Cricinfo
"Test cricket at its finest" this one sentence is enough, to sum up, the entire story of the second test match between New Zealand and England. After struggling for the first two days New Zealand finally laid the foundation of their comeback as Tom Latham and Devon Conway played a crucial partnership of 149 to rekindle New Zealand's hope of levelling the series. The former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson's 132(282) injected a new belief in finishing the game with a victory.
After executing one of the most remarkable comebacks in cricket's golden history. Neil Wagner had some special remarks stored for his teammates. "That's the characteristics of this team, we keep having to fight for each other, find a way of doing the hard yards out there, and we did," Wagner said. "It's a special one, this, and we'll celebrate it well. It's an amazing achievement, and obviously, everybody contributed, so hats off to everyone. That's what this team is about, to keep fighting and it's just something that we're extremely proud of." quoted by Espn Cricinfo
New Zealand's innings bear a similar resemblance to what they achieved against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2018-19. This victory does not impose a big change in the grand calculus of the World Test Championship 2023. But this still marks a new beginning for the hosts. The Kiwis will begin their new adventure in the Test format against Sri Lanka on 9th March at Hagley Oval.
