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Neil Wagner was bowling with two broken toes on his right foot.
Kyle Jamieson was bowling on the fifth day of a test for the first time.
And at the beginning of the final session of the Black Caps’ first test against Pakistan, they played together for 18 overs as the visitors collapsed from 232-4 to 260-8, having gone for tea and needed to score 158 runs to win or bat 36 overs for a draw.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Black Caps closer Neil Wagner threw 49 overs in Test 1 against Pakistan, with two broken fingers.
Left arm spinner Mitchell Santner grabbed the final two wickets to complete a thrilling victory with 27 balls to spare, the second ending with an annoying 10th-place bleacher that threatened to spill, but it was the efforts of the two tireless closers. Those who turned the tide at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.
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Wagner’s spell lasted 11 overs and he took 2-28.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Black Caps closing Kyle Jamieson made two vital breakthroughs on the final day, which was also his 26th birthday.
Jamieson lasted nine and took a barely credible 2-6, on his 26th birthday to boot.
Together they helped send the Black Caps on their way to a fifth straight victory in a record-setting event.
He provisionally moved them to No. 1 in the ICC world rankings, though they will need a win or draw in Test 2 in Christchurch, starting Sunday, for that to become official.
And he also kept alive their hopes of reaching the World Trials Championship final at Lord’s in England next June, giving them three wins out of three this summer, where four out of four are needed, as well as friendly results elsewhere.
How did Wagner survive the last three days, after a Shaheen Shah Afridi Yorker on the second day left him with undisplaced fractures to the fourth and fifth toes of his right foot?
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan first couldn’t find the words for it, then he could only describe it as “crazy”, but Black Caps captain Kane Williamson couldn’t speak highly enough of his player’s efforts from bowling.
“People talk about the size of your heart, maybe, in terms of what you do on the cricket field, but having a couple of broken fingers …” he said.
“He was in a lot of pain and he was going off and getting injections and numbing his foot and we were trying to use it when the injection was taking effect; it was something unique to all of us.
“His appetite and motivation to be there and try to make a difference for the team is enormous and we have not seen him greater than the effort he put into this test match.
“It had an impact on his ability to operate 100%, but still he came in and made the breakthrough as he does with us so often when he’s in top form.
“It was a very, very special effort from Wags, one that the team appreciated. We needed him there and he delivered. “
Wagner ended up throwing 21 overs in the first inning for Pakistan, winning 2-50, and 28 in the second, winning 2-55, for a total of 49 and 4-105. That was a lot of overs when Tim Southee bowled, two balls fewer than Jamieson and two overs fewer than Trent Boult, all of whom had no broken bones to worry about.
He made a vital breakthrough in the first inning when he eliminated Fawad Alam in the second session on day three, the only ground that fell in that period, and got Fawad again on day five, this time once he had 102 to his name and He was the man who led the Pakistani resistance.
Jamieson had eliminated Rizwan by 60 by then, causing the collapse that ended to the delight of New Zealanders and those in the crowd who stayed until nearly 7pm, an hour after the game’s scheduled close.
The 26-year-old served 3-35 in the first inning and 2-35 in the second for a total of 5-70 from 49.2 overs to round out a year in which he played his first five tests and left his mark in each of the them, collecting 25 wickets with an average of 14.44 and scoring 196 runs with an average of 49.
His notebook got a bit erased on this one as he coughed up 25 percent of his match fee for a violation of the ICC code of conduct on day three, but since he celebrated Wednesday night, he wouldn’t have cared about that. a little.
