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It was the very definition of a routine for the Black Caps on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at Bay Oval as play resumed after the third rain break of the day, they were well on top.
The visitors resumed Monday morning after advancing to 30-1 in 20 overs on the second night, and couldn’t score more freely.
Kyle Jamieson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee claimed land in the first session to reduce Pakistan to 62-5 at lunch, while Neil Wagner, bowling with a fractured toe, intervened during the second session affected by the rain to leave them 112-6 in the tea.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Black Caps closer Neil Wagner celebrates Fawad Alam’s wicket, which he claimed while bowling with a fractured toe.
A lengthened final session began at 4.25pm, but only 13 balls were possible before rain sent the players off the field for the third time with Pakistan 115-6, with 319 runs behind.
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The game restarted again at 5:00 PM. M. And it was to continue until 7:30 p.m. M., With lights available for use if needed at Mount Maunganui and 38 overs still to be played.
Wagner was only cleared to bowl after completing his pregame warm-ups, after an X-ray confirmed he had broken the fourth toe of his right foot while hitting on the second day.
He was struck on the foot by the left arm of Pakistan Shaheen Shah Afridi and received treatment from the Black Caps physio, Tommy Simsek at the time, but moved on and was the last man out, contributing 19 to his 431 total team.
When they took to the field, Wagner was initially absent, but returned after sending some deliveries and made it through three changes before the undisplaced fracture was confirmed overnight.
A spokesman for the team said that “a doctor had authorized him to play as long as he can tolerate the pain.”
It’s unclear how much pain Wagner really was in the middle, but by tea he sent 13 more overs and claimed the wicket from Fawad Alam, who was caught behind by BJ Watling while hooking nine.
That layoff left Pakistan at 80-6, a ball at 60, but Faheem Ashraf made a shining star and teamed up with backup captain Mohammad Rizwan to add 45 more for the seventh wicket.
Southee came two wickets closer to joining the 300-wicket club earlier Monday, firing Azhar Ali for five and Haris Sohail for three in the same finish.
You need two more terrains to join Sir Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori as the only New Zealanders with 300 proving grounds, a milestone reached by just 33 players in the game’s history.
Jamieson got things rolling for the Black Caps, opening Abid Ali bowls for 25, while Boult eliminated night watchman Mohammad Abbas, who took 37 balls to go off the mark with a single, then added a four-point lead to finish with five.
