New Zealand Story

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New Zealand looked too attack as the final session started on day 1 of the first test and Southee beat the bat a number of times, Prior looked to be counter attack and hit 5 fours and a 6 in his 43 before being out to Vettori and once Prior was out it was only a matter of time before the England innings ended, they managed to claw there way to 242 with Bell and Shah top scoring. All New Zealands bowlers chipped in with Mills (3-57) and Gillespie (3-46) being the best of them. New Zealand faced a tough hour against the new ball though and they need How and Fulton to bat out to the end of the day.
England gave Hoggard and Sidebottom the new ball looking to take advantage of the cloud cover and they troubled the New Zealand openers and Sidebottom eventually got th breakthrough with Fulton being bowled for 8 yet New Zealand were able to battle through to the close of play without losing any more wickets and they finished the day on 34-1

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How was dropped early on day 2 when he only had 18 to his name but he was out later bowled by Hoggard for 28 New Zealand were in a bit of trouble at this point and when Panesar got Ryder for 25 and Taylor was out for 31 England would have been looking to wrap up the innings for around 200 but McCullum and Broom stayed in till Lunch and New Zealand were still in a strong position at 152-4 with plenty of batting still to come.

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England started the session well with Sidebottom getting a ball to swing away from McCullum and Prior took a simple catch he soon had Oram on his way as well as he edged a delivery too Cook at slip with New Zealand still 77 runs behing England Broom and Vettori put on 30 for the 7th Wicket but Panesar had Vettori caught behind and New Zealand were now relying on Broom to bring themselves level with England, Broom reached his 50 off 96 balls, it was a hugely important knock for New Zealand who had gotten a lot of starts but then seen them thrown away. Flintoff had Mills caught behind with New Zealand still 20 short but Broom and Southee were still unbeaten at tea and Nez Zealand were 231-8

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Southee was out soon after the break caught spectacularly at second slip by Pietersen but Gillespie and Broom were able too see New Zealand past Englands target before Broom was caught in the deep off Hoggard for 61 and New Zealand had a 5 run lead after being all out for 247.
Strauss was again removed early in Englands reply as Gillespie got one to swing back and trap him LBW but Cook and Pietersen saw England too the close of play on 48-1

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New Zealand made the perfect start to day 3 with Mills removing Cook in the first over for 25 but Ian Bell again looked in superb form as he socred freely though he survided a difficult chance on 24 off Mark Gillespie. Bell's aggression seemed to enable Pietersen to unfurl his more expansive shots and the two batsmen had soon put on a 50 partnership in only 40 minutes of play. Both batsmen played well and made 50's before lunch and they survived a few close shouts to make it through to lunch with England now in control with a lead of 162 and 8 wickets in hand.

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Both batsmen looked to play there shots after lunch Pietersen brough up his hundred off 165 balls but Mills had him LBW soon after for 127. Bell was undeterred by the loss of Pietersen and brought up his own century off 168 balls and had put England in total control of the match. Southee had Shah caught behind with the new ball to bring New Zealands spirits up but England went into tea with a lead of 305.

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New Zealand began brightly after tea with Prior goling out to Gillespie in the first over and Southee getting Bell caught at slip for 118 and when Flintoff was out too Gillespie for 9 they were confident of knocking the tail over quickly but Panesar and Hoggard resisted them and put on 29 for th last wicket too leave New Zealand needing 355 to win. New Zealand had a tricky 15 minutes to face in the evening and lost Fulton in only the second over but Ryder and How survived to the close with New Zealand on 8-1

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New Zealand made a poor start too the fourth day with Jesse Ryder falling for 4 but Jamie How and Ross Taylor fought well to resist the England attack who were getting a lot of movement through the air but Monty Panesar was able to get rid of Taylor for 20 and New Zealand were almost out of the game but Jamie How continued to impress and brought up his 50 but Broom fell just before lunch as How struggled to find any support from his fellow batsmen.

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Brendan McCullum looked to counter attack the England bowlers but Jamie how was out to Sidebottom and when McCullum followed soon after and New Zealand looked to be all but beaten with 203 still needed to pull off a miraculous victory. Oram and Vettori fought hard and chipped steadily away at the total and at tea New Zealand needed only 130 to win with both batsmen unbeaten.

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The final session of day 4 was to be the crucial one.in deciding what had been a truly superb match the partnership between Vettori and Oram was to prove crucial and both men batted superbly both passing 50 and bringing up the 100 partnership but Panesar made the vital breakthrough with Vettori falling for 57, he also got Oram out in his next over to swing the game back in Englands favour. England then took the new ball but it did not help them as Mills and Southee were unbeaten at the end of the day and with a truly exciting finish guaranteed on the 5th day New Zealand needed 43 runs to win and England only needed 2 wickets.

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The final day dawned with a win being certain for one of the teams but New Zealand had the momentum after their amazing fightback yesterday afternoon. The batsmen started cautiously and steadily played themselves back in while England searched for the wicket bringing Panesar back on a 5th day pitch that was really offering him some purchase. Southee had a very lucky escape as he was dropped at second slip by Flintoff though it was a very difficult chance and Southee looked to capitalise on it as he continued to dominate the partnership but with only 15 runs needed Southee was trapped LBW by hoggard and the game moved into its final stage. Mills took over responsibilities and brought New Zealand home to End an absolutely captivating test match which won thanks to a brilliant lower order batting performance though creditt must go to Jamie How who battled hard to make a vital 74 at the top of the order.
Ian Bell was deservedly given the Man of the Match award for his two high quality innings.

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Scorecard
England 242 all Out
Bell 80 Gillespie 3-46
Shah 48 Mills 3-57

2nd Innings 360 all out
Pietersen 127 Gillespie 4-107
Bell 118 Southee 3-73

New Zealand 247 all out
Broom 61 Hoggard 3-48
Taylor 31 Sidebottom 3-59

2nd Innings 356-9
How 74 Panesar 3-90
Oram 62 Hoggard 3-90

MoM Ian Bell

I am absolutely extatic with the way this game turned out, not only was it a fantastic game of cricket but we were able to keep a very good batting lineup relatively quiet wit hGillespie again being the pick of my bowlers, he has been outstanding on this tour. There are some worries for me with the lack of any hundreds being the main one, I appreciate that it was a difficult batting pitch but we will need to do better next time, also Vettori was fairly ineffective with the ball taking only one wicket and not really threatening the batsmen but I'm not worried about him as he will be rusty having just returned from injury.