The heroics of Matt Prior and Ian Bell on the final day of the third test at Auckland may have salvaged a draw from the jaws of defeat for England, but the abject failure to defeat a New Zealand side ranked a lowly eighth is a cause for concern for followers of English cricket.
After the terrific performance in India over the winter, England expected to cruise past a New Zealand team which had humiliatingly been bowled out for only 45 against South Africa in the first innings of one of their recent test matches. A comfortable victory looked to be on the cards for England, however in the end only a miraculous recovery on the final day of the third test, coupled with a large measure of luck, enabled England to avoid an embarrassing series defeat.
In two of the three tests England were thoroughly outplayed by a side which were expected to simply rollover, whilst only in the second test did England look like a side who deserved to be at the very top of the rankings. Injuries to Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen undoubtedly hindered the tourists, whilst the plethora of cricket seemed to have slightly taken its toll on the likes of the influential James Anderson, who at times looked jaded.
Where as New Zealand had collapsed miserably against South Africa, their batting comfortably withstood any onslaught thrown at them by England. Part of that must be attributed to the appliance and ability of New Zealand’s batsmen who impressed during the series, with Peter Fulton’s two centuries in the final test arguably being the highlight, to go alongside big knocks from Brendan McCullum, Hamish Rutherford and Kane Williamson.
New Zealand’s batsmen knuckled down, played intelligently and generally applied themselves better than their English counterparts who at times were culpable of giving their wicket away. The tame nature of the pitches helped the home side, as the lack of spin, swing or lateral movement of the seam hindered England’s attack and made conditions more pleasant for batting than New Zealand may well experience when they tour England in the summer.
However in general England’s bowlers were not at their best. Graeme Swann was sorely missed, and in his place Monty Panesar struggled to extract the most out of the pitches, as he was unable to find the optimum pace to bowl. The seamers meanwhile showed glimpses such as Stuart Broad’s six-wicket haul in the second test, which England may well have won if the weather had not intervened, yet overall struggled to dislodge the Kiwis. Steven Finn bowled with pace, but at times too short, whilst Andersen did not enjoy as much help from the wickets as expected.
More worryingly England’s batting had a tendency to fail inexplicably on what were not hostile pitches. To score only 167 and 204 in the first innings of the first and third tests respectively is unacceptable. England were immediately put on the back foot as they suffered large first innings deficits, and had to show resilience to escape with a draw on both occasions.
Two centuries by Nick Compton and the gutsy batting of Matt Prior, who was only once out for less than fifty, provided England with some positives on a batting front, but as a team there were too many failures for Andy Flower’s liking. All in all it was not a great series for England, and one which in the end they were fortunate not to lose.
However all is not downbeat. One series does not make this side a poor one, and indeed England showed their spirit and character when they were forced into the toughest of situations. Of course they should have beaten New Zealand, but credit must be given to the hosts who battled hard and showed great desire. A big summer lies ahead for England as they welcome the Australians to the currently snow-covered lands of England. And if we think that we have problems, just take a quick glance at our Ashes rivals, and all of a sudden everything will look much better.