During the fifth day of the first Test of ongoing England’s tour of New Zealand at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner showcased his outstanding fielding prowess to dismiss England batsman Ollie Pope.
It all happened during the second delivery of the 77th over when Pope’s attempt to guide Neil Wagner’s full-toss saw him walk back to the pavilion. When a loose delivery was bowled outside the off-stump, Pope hit it towards the right of Santner at short cover, who took a stunner.
Santner, always an agile fielder, stood tall on his reputation as he timed his dive to perfection to grab a one-handed stunner. Coming in to bat at No. 7 in the 69th over, Pope ended up scoring 6 (24) with the help of one four.
As far as the 27-year-old Kiwi all-rounder is concerned, he has had a stupendous couple of days. Coming on the back of his maiden Test century in a match-winning 261-run partnership alongside wicket-keeper batsman Watling (205), Santner made early inroads into the English batting lineup by dismissing three batsmen on Sunday.
Trailing by 262 runs in the second innings, the opponent got bundled out for 197 in 96.2 overs. With bowling figures of 19.2-6-44-5, Wagner was the pick of Kiwi bowlers.
