On Tuesday, New Zealand won the second Test against England by one run at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, evening the two-match series at 1-1. The Kiwis’ Neil Wagner stood out, claiming four wickets, including the vital wicket of James Anderson.
Wagner targeted Anderson with short balls as England required just two runs to clinch the series. Wagner’s strategy paid off when New Zealand’s wicketkeeper, Tom Blundell, took a diving catch to make history.
This win marked the first time that a team has won a Test after being asked to follow on, and it was the first time England lost a Test after forcing their opponents to follow on. The Test match saw many ups and downs, with the final two days swinging the momentum back to New Zealand.
England seemed poised for victory after declaring their first innings on 435-8 and bowling out New Zealand for 209. However, former Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson’s brilliant 132 in the second innings helped his team bounce back into the game, ultimately setting England a target of 258 runs to win.
Neil Wagner, who finished with 4-62, praised his team’s fighting spirit, saying, “Amazing achievement, hats off to everyone, everyone kept fighting. That’s the characteristics of this team; they played well, credit where it’s due, but we found a way of contributing.” Meanwhile, Tom Blundell, who played crucial knocks of 38 and 90 in the match, expressed his delight at hanging on to the tumbling catch, saying, “Saw it well, and luckily it went in clean. Pretty happy.”