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Henry Nicholls’ hot streak of fortune this summer continued on the second day of Test 2 between the Black Caps and Pakistan, when he was caught behind a ball off the ball, then fell as he approached his seventh century of testing, albeit a injury may however negate that milestone.
Shaheen Shah Afridi thought he had caught the left-hander for three in the 33rd inning for the Black Caps to reduce the hosts to 74-4 in response to the visitors’ total of 297 first innings at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
But the referee’s third check for a no-ball showed that Pakistan’s left arm had overshot, for which Nicholls received a reprieve, one that he made the most of.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Black Caps hitter Henry Nicholls was given a life when Pakistani closer Shaheen Shah Afridi overshot and caught him from behind.
At the stumps, he and Kane Williamson had moved the Black Caps to 286-3 of 85 overs, forming an unbroken partnership of 215 for the fourth wicket to leave them just 11 runs behind.
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Nicholls scored his 2000 test run when he reached five and was not out 89 of 186 balls at the end of the day, while Williamson was 112 of 175 balls after scoring his third century in as many tests.
In a tweet midway through the second session, The CricViz analyst noted that so far this summer, Nicholls “has fallen five times, gone off the ball, posted a false throw percentage of 16% (the highest in a summer at home), but only Kane Williamson has scored more runs than he”.
Black Caps hitting coach Luke Ronchi said Nicholl’s fluke was one of the game’s quirks.
“That is part of cricket, you have to take advantage of your luck.
“Henry has had a couple of innings now where he has had a couple of chances, but that’s the nature of the game.
“If you work during those periods and control them as much as you can, as time goes on, you can make the most of them later.”
Nicholls was dumped by Rizwan at the end of Shaheen’s bowling day off, adding to his lucky moments tally, then received treatment from Black Caps physio, Tommy Simsek, after he apparently injured his calf while running. between the grounds.
While it continued to creep up to the stumps, it was clearly concerned, and it remains to be seen if it will resume when the third day begins at 11am on Tuesday.
Nicholls had entered Test 2 against the West Indies in mid-December on a moderate streak, never going past 50 in 13 innings, but despite offering numerous opportunities, he struggled to reach his highest Test score, 174, to establish a ticket win for the Black Caps in the Basin Reserve.
Having secured his spot on the team, he then made 56 in the Black Caps’ early innings when they defeated Pakistan in the first test of this series at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, where he could have continued longer if he had revised the decision. to get him trapped as he didn’t get the bat against the ball.
Williamson scored his highest test score, 251, to set up the Black Caps’ first Test victory against the West Indies in early December, then returned after missing Test Two while welcoming his daughter and he got 129 in the first. test against Pakistan, so it came as no surprise that he and Nicholls were leading the way once again in the final test of the summer at home.
During their booth Monday, the pair scored their 1000th race together in tryouts, with Nicholls following Tom Latham, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor and BJ Watling to become the fifth Black Cap with whom Williamson has reached that milestone.
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