England ‘broken open by pretty special, really hostile spell of Test bowling’
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England arrived in Hamilton hoping to whitewash New Zealand’s Black Caps but found themselves “broken open” by a pace bowling clinic from Will O’Rourke. Ben Stokes’ side were scattered for 143 all out on the second afternoon at Seddon Park, losing all 10 wickets inside 36 chaotic overs and ending a difficult 340 behind with seven wickets still to take.
![[Will O’Rourke celebrates the wicket of England’s Jacob Bethell (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/15/07/15-6ead295e12044bf08e30f2982adc0d68.jpg)
Batting collapses are hardly an alien concept in the all-or-nothing world of Bazball but England’s lowest scores of 2024 – 112 in Rawalpindi and 122 at Rajkot – have come on sub-continental pitches where the spinning ball has scrambled heads. Conditions in New Zealand are less dramatic and it took a combination of careless strokeplay and high-class work from O’Rourke to rip their batting lineup to shreds.
![[Matt Henry takes a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Zak Crawley (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport/AP)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/15/07/15-54c30d7f7e164ee1946eb1bbed8ac74b.jpg)
The 6ft 4in quick, born in Kingston-upon-Thames but raised in Auckland, played the role of antagonist with aplomb as he knocked over Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook and Joe Root in the space of only eight deliveries after lunch. England never recovered from that triple setback, which included the first golden duck of Brook’s career – a matter of days after he became the world’s number one batter.
Assistant coach Paul Collingwood admitted the tourists were floored by high-class cricket. “I think we’ve been outperformed here, simple as that,” he said. “Of course the lads were disappointed, it wasn’t our best day, but one thing I would say is we witnessed something pretty special out there, a really hostile spell of Test bowling.
