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NEW DELHI: In a thrilling five-wicket final session, England took the crucial wicket of Kane Williamson for 93 on Thursday, leaving New Zealand 319-8 at the end of the first Test match in Christchurch.
Before Glenn Phillips (41 not out) and Matt Henry (18) put an end to the slide with a valiant 46-run partnership for the eighth wicket, the hosts got to lunch at a healthy 193-3 and fell to 252-7.
With a score of 4-69, England’s main destroyer was Shoaib Bashir, the lone specialist spinner in the Test.
After losing opener Devon Conway in the second over, former captain Williamson joined Tom Latham in the middle and appeared poised to put New Zealand in a commanding position.
Before establishing himself, he had to face 14 deliveries. He then went on to form 50-run partnerships with Latham, Rachin Ravindra, and Daryl Mitchell.
Before he was undone trying a cut shot that went to Zac Crawley at point to give Gus Atkinson his second wicket, Williamson, New Zealand’s best Test run-scorer, helped lead them to 227-4.
After winning the toss and bowling on a green top, England’s explosive start to the Test saw Atkinson dismiss Conway nearly right away.
However, the calm Williamson turned the tide back to New Zealand for the remainder of the opening two sessions.
Despite being hit in the helmet twice by Brydon Carse, he remained unaffected and managed to withstand a loud plea for caught behind on 51 when replays revealed the ball had impacted the thigh pad rather than the bat.
Before getting dismissed in the 90s for the first time in six years, Williamson, who hit ten fours, faced 197 deliveries in 274 minutes with temperatures near 30 degrees Celsius.
The prolific batsman had amassed eight hundreds and five double hundreds in his previous 13 innings with a score of at least 90.
Latham punished every loose ball that came up because the England bowlers were having some early issues with their delivery stride due to the dampness in the pitch.
However, following the morning drinks break, he lost focus in the first over and was caught behind off Carse for 47.
Before he was dismissed for 34 after clumsily mis-hitting a loose full toss from Bashir, Ravindra assumed the role of the aggressor and he and Williamson added 68 for the third wicket.
After play began, Mitchell went for 19 in the second over despite accompanying Williamson to through tea.
New Zealand swiftly fell to 252-7 after losing wickets to Williamson, Tom Blundell (17), and debutant Nathan Smith (3).
Tim Southee (10) and Phillips (10) had to finish the day after Henry added a brisk 18.
Jacob Bethell, a 21-year-old England debutant, bowled one over of left-arm spin before Williamson hit his maiden Test delivery to the boundary.
In lieu of the injured Jordan Cox, Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson, who has not yet been capped, was added to England’s team on Thursday and is anticipated to arrive on Saturday.
A reshuffle was necessary after Cox broke his right thumb during a net session last week.
Ollie Pope will take the gloves in this Test and move down the batting order to number six, while Bethell will bat at number three.
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