On this day in 2018: Trent Boult and Tim Southee bowl England out for 58 runs
The first Test between England and New Zealand in 2018 at Eden Park, Auckland, became an iconic game. It was New Zealand’s first-ever day-night Test. The fact that the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bowl first was a little surprising for a lot of people. But, no one in international cricket reads a pitch better than Williamson. 94 minutes into the Test match, his call seemed like a masterstroke. 94 minutes because that’s how long it took the hosts to bowl out England.
It was almost like Williamson handed the ball to his new-ball seamers and told them to prove his decision right at any cost. Trent Boult and Tim Southee ran in hard and just bowled in good areas. Rest was up to the England batters, who looked stiff and not ready for the challenge. There was swing, there was pace, there was the action which every fan of quality fast bowling would love and admire. For any young bowler, watching the two have a go at the England batsmen was a great lesson.
It was Boult who drew first blood, dismissing England’s two best batters. He first got rid of Alastair Cook with a peach of a delivery. Then he knocked off the stumps of Root. After this, between the ninth over of the innings and the 14th over, six English wickets fell. The two bowlers made us witness one of the best bowling partnerships that one would ever see.
Boult picked the wicket of Malan in the ninth over. Southee struck for the first time in the 10th over by dismissing Stoneman. Then, Boult picked up another in the 11th over. Southee struck another blow in the 12th over. Boult came back and picked up another in the 13th over. Southee equalled his effort by picking up another in the 14th over. It was almost like the two were competing for wickets.
By the time this ended, England were at 23 for 8, which soon became 27 for 9. At this point, the visitors were on the verge of getting dismissed for the lowest-ever Test score. The last wicket partnership of 31 runs helped England dodge that and reach 58. Boult ended with 6 for 32 while Southee got 4 for 25. Williamson didn’t get another bowler on as the duo bowled England out in just 20.4 overs.
Needless to say, England lost the match by an innings and 49 runs. Williamson and Henry Nicholls scored centuries in the only innings in which their team batted. However, the first and only (until now) day-night Test in New Zealand will always be remembered for how on this day in 2018, Boult and Southee wreaked havoc on the England batsmen
