On a day in Hamilton that was already foreboding by way of leaden skies, England’s troubles deepened well beyond their bleak position at stumps. Ben Stokes, seemingly rejuvenated on this tour of New Zealand, walked off clutching his left hamstring, and as the hosts piled on a mountain of runs, questions about his viability as an all-rounder swirled.
Stokes busted a gut to get fit after tearing the same hamstring during the Hundred in the summer; an injury serious enough to miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka and then make a belated, subdued return in Pakistan. But back in the country of his birth, where a restorative series victory has been secured, the 33-year-old has been operating as a fully fledged fourth seamer and smiling widely with it.
Indeed, on the eve of this dead-rubber third Test, Stokes said he was “good as gold” regarding the rigours of performing the dual role. And as if to back up the point, he sent down 23 overs across just three long spells on day one; his heaviest workload in a single day of Test cricket and one where the speeds were up and the bouncers were abundant.
But as Kane Williamson marched to a 204-ball 156 that compounded England’s sorry collapse to 143 all out 24 hours earlier, Stokes pulled up lame only two balls into his third over of the day. Thrashed for a straight four by Rachin Ravindra (44) and grimacing in his follow-through, Stokes instinctively reached for his upper left leg. He hobbled off the field with an angry look of “here we go again” on his face and did not reappear thereafter.
In his absence, New Zealand turned an already commanding overnight lead of 340 into 657 with a pretty merciless push to 453 all out. As well as serving up a degree of retribution for the improbable 583 England set them in Wellington, it left the visiting openers six overs to survive against the new ball. What followed, on a third day stretched out to 7.30pm local time by morning rain, was little short of a howler.
First went Ben Duckett, bowled fourth ball attempting to charge and hack Tim Southee wildly. Then came a slightly more predictable occurrence that left England 18 for two at the close. Zak Crawley fell to Matt Henry for the sixth time in the series and though a tight one – an lbw shown to be grazing leg stump – the look back at umpire Adrian Holdstock as he mooched off, plus a couple of words, betrayed a frazzled mind. His average of 8.66 is the lowest by an England opener in a series of at least six innings.
The contrast with Williamson’s gimlet-eyed innings could scarcely have been greater, with the master resuming on 50, patiently picking off 20 fours, and launching a sweetly-struck straight six off Jacob Bethell to seal his 33rd Test century. Other than a reviewed lbw on 73 that went his way on umpire’s call, plus a diving chance down leg on 87 that Ollie Pope could not quite make stick, this was a typically frictionless Williamson special.
Even after he eventually holed out to make it 327 for five – the lead already up to a monstrous 531 by this stage – New Zealand ploughed on. Bethell did claim his maiden Test wicket amid figures of three for 72 but every dismissal during the pummelling was essentially bought. Daryl Mitchell struck 60, Tom Blundell an unbeaten 44, while Mitch Santner continued his fine return to the side by carting five sixes into the grass banks.
The game took on the air of a testimonial here, with the only question being whether Southee, on 98 career sixes ahead of his final Test innings, might get a crack at three figures. It was not to be, Southee striding out to his latest ovation but picking out Crawley in the deep. Still, a parting gift came his way from Duckett; one of two wickets that, along with Stokes being slated for a scan after the match, added up to a grim old day for England.
This being their final outing of a bumper 2024, and with a five-month gap before the visit of Zimbabwe for a one-off Test Lord’s in May, the injury to Stokes could on one level be viewed as trivial. He may well have to sit out his reported £800,000 deal to play in the SA20 in January – players tend to be insured these days – and amid much obfuscation on the subject, it is unclear whether the Champions Trophy in February was the plan or not.
But there are clearly greater concerns long term, with the hamstring issue one that has developed since knee surgery 12 months ago. Stokes’ ability to play as an all-rounder is so key to balancing the side, with India visiting for a five-Test series in the summer and – and get ready to roll eyes here – the entire project building toward next winter’s Ashes.
Another growing question mark about that moonshot is whether Shoaib Bashir will be ready in time. Somerset’s stripling of an off-spinner has claimed 49 wickets in his first year of Test cricket, with only Gus Atkinson (52) and Jasprit Bumrah (59) ahead of him. But while blessed by way of attributes, he remains incredibly raw with it and this winter, even with two turners in Multan and Rawalpindi, has been one of fleeting control.
The desperate match situation needs factoring into figures of two for 170 from 36 overs. But equally, with the seamers spared too much of a flogging, this was a chance to lock into a groove from one end with the Kookaburra ball. Instead, there was at least one release ball every over, with Bashir’s solitary maiden sent down on day two. England will need more, and not least with the future of Stokes the bowler so uncertain.
