Following four days of cricket, Hamilton Test is moving in the direction of a draw, excepting for some strange turn of events. England could have been in difficulty, but for the knocks of Joe Root and Rory Burns’ who took the hosts to a safe position.
Root Takes Command
Root scored a century on the third day and the Three Lions were still 106 runs behind with not much-remaining batting. He had Ollie Pope’s company and the game was even. The duo played the opening session putting the Brits ahead with a four-run lead. During the post-Lunch session, Root scored a double century off 412 balls. The stand between Pope and Root was of 193 runs.
Mitchell Santner got rid of Root, who scored 226 with 22 fours and a six. Pope supported his skipper, scoring a patient 75 off 202 deliveries. Neil Wagner got rid of him to separate the duo. After his dismissal, Wagner ran through the tail as the visiting team slipped from 455 to 5 to 476 all out. Wagner took an impressive five-wicket haul, but England got a lead of 101 runs.
Williamson And Taylor Steady The Ship
Kiwis had a very nervous start. Sam Curran dismissed Jeet Raval for a two-ball duck to strike first blood. After a few overs, Chris Woakes found Tom Latham’s outside-edge and decreased the hosts to 28/2. Latham’s performance was looking attractive after he scored 18 off 29 with a couple of fours. Having lost the early wickets, the Black Caps required someone to stop the damage and get their side back to a strong position.
Kane Williamson (37*) and Ross Taylor (31*) have protected their team several times. This time too it was not any different. The duo kept their heads down and saw New Zealand through to the end of the day. They resisted the English attack with grace. Both hit 4 fours each to keep the score ticking. Their task on the fifth day will be to not allow England to come back into the game.
Here Is How Twitter praised the performances of Root and Burns:-
ROOOOOOOOOOT!!
150 up for @root66, keep going skipper 🏴🙌#NZvENGpic.twitter.com/LZodY5oqCf
— England's Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) December 1, 2019
Kane Williamson must be relieved!
England all out for 476 as Neil Wagner gets another five-wicket haul. The visitors lost their last five wickets for 21 runs. They lead by 101.#NZvENG SCORECARD 👇https://t.co/eBrKe7xmfM pic.twitter.com/dvVpS2Cr34
— ICC (@ICC) December 2, 2019
England to Win anyone … !!! #NZvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) December 1, 2019
All the fab 4 players have scored double hundred in tests in 2019. Kohli vs South Africa, Smith vs England, Williamson vs Bangladesh and Root vs New Zealand.#NZvENG
— Johns (@CricCrazyJohns) December 2, 2019
After a long break, @root66 finally managed to get some piece of the wood into the ball. Brilliant display of batting indeed. @MichaelVaughan would be a happy man now😉 He was craving to see the stylish englishman delivering. #NZvENG #Hamilton 🏏
— Jonak Deka (@imJonak14) December 2, 2019
England strike early after 101-run lead #NZvENG #2ndTest #SeddonPark #Hamilton
— Muhammad Qasim (@Qasimiftikh) December 2, 2019
Looks like we are heading towards a rare draw in Test cricket after a long time #NZvENG
Day 4 ends with the New Zealand score of 96/2, trailing by 5 runs.#NZLvENG
— CricIndeed (@CricIndeed) December 2, 2019
Last week @root66 said he “felt a big score was around the corner” after two failures and today he got 226. When I talk about the ‘big one’ I get 18 #NZvENG
— Chris Maguire (@ifthecap) December 2, 2019
Where did Roots double century come from? That is some seriously impressive work from him. Fair play 👏. #NZvENG
— Kay (@kaybhafc90) December 2, 2019
Joe Root will probably be back to the top ten rankings after this double century.#NZvENG
— – (@FourOverthrows) December 2, 2019
Back-to-back five-wicket hauls for Neil Wagner! 👏🔥#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/fLYmBmd62S
— Cricduel (@cricduel) December 2, 2019
Brilliant last session of cricket 🌟
Top Test team @BLACKCAPS and it showed in the batting mindset☀️#sharethetrophy #NZvENG https://t.co/JYwkb7DOds
— No Boundaries (@CWC19Winner) December 2, 2019
Nice work #RossandNoss !
Same again tomorrow please! 😉😁 #NZvENG @BLACKCAPS #backtheBlackCaps— Jess (@BlackCapsNo1Fan) December 2, 2019
Funk ahoy! Joe Root brings on Joe Denly for some leg-spin filth in the 11th over of the innings, presumably to ensure England get the extra over in.#NZvENG🏏🇳🇿🏴
— Guerilla Cricket (@guerillacricket) December 2, 2019
