ENG vs NZ: Bethell delivers late twist after Blundell's fifty in tight Day 1 battle at Oval

Jacob Bethell's late strikes ensured that England finished Day 1 of the second Test on a high, as New Zealand ended the day on 291/7 at stumps on Wednesday, June 17, at the Oval with Glenn Phillips and Kyle Jamieson (6* off 13) at the crease. Tom Blundell (51 off 84), Daryl Mitchell (44 off 74) and Phillips (49* off 74) made valuable contributions for the Kiwis during the day, while debutant Sonny Baker (2/63) and Jacob Bethell (2/8) chipped in with two wickets each for England.

Earlier, England’s stand-in captain Joe Root won the toss and invited New Zealand to bat first to make the “best use of the surface”. His decision was vindicated as Matthew Fisher made Devon Conway (9 off 15) chase a short delivery down the leg side, only to edge it to wicketkeeper James Rew.

After the early blow, captain Tom Latham (27 off 75) and Henry Nicholls (24 off 57) tried to stabilise the innings with a 44-run stand for the second wicket. However, just when Latham looked set, a spectacular diving catch from Jacob Bethell at gully brought a premature end to his innings, giving the second blow to New Zealand on 58. 

New Zealand went into Lunch on 75/2, but England once again struck early in the second session with Josh Tongue destroying Henry Nicholls’ stumps. Following his departure, Rachin Ravindra (33 off 51) tried to up the scoring rate with a flurry of boundaries.

However, even he failed to convert his start, hitting Sonny Baker straight to gully at Jacob Bethell as the speedster registered his maiden Test wicket on debut, leaving New Zealand on 107/4.

Mitchell and Blundell rebuild NZ's innings

Tom Blundell walked in at number six and stitched a crucial 81-run partnership off just 105 balls alongside Daryl Mitchell as New Zealand began to breathe again in the third session. Just when everything looked alright for the Kiwis, out of nowhere, Mitchell tried to pull Sonny Baker and gave a simple catch to Emilio Gay at mid-wicket to leave his team on 188/5. 

Meanwhile, Blundell continued his innings and found good support from Glenn Phillips, who came out playing his shots to get the scoreboard moving. The duo stitched a 75-run stand off 89 deliveries for the sixth wicket as Blundell brought up his 12^th Test half-century. 

The joy was again short-lived as Blundell ended up hitting Jacob Bethell straight to Joe Root at mid-wicket, losing his wicket at a crucial juncture of the game. Bethell also accounted for Nathan Smith (4 off 21), who swept a full toss towards short fine leg as New Zealand lost their seventh wicket on 280. In the end, Phillips and Kyle Jamieson saw off the remaining overs to ensure no more casualties took place before stumps.