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England set big target but no double ton for Strauss
ENGLAND set New Zealand a
daunting target of 553 to win
after adding 51 quick runs in the
first 35 minutes of play in the deciding
Test.
Resuming the fourth day at
McLean Park already 501 runs
ahead on 416 for five, the tourists
declared on 467 for seven after
Andrew Strauss failed in his bid
to score a double century.
Middlesex left-hander Strauss
had resumed overnight on 173
and England had hoped to give
him enough time to reach 200 but
instead he fell to the 11th ball of
the morning.
Strauss had added just four
runs before attempting to hit offspinner
Jeetan Patel over the top
and allowed Matthew Bell the opportunity
to run back from midoff
to take the catch.
Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose,
who had resumed overnight on
28, added just three runs before
falling in the next over when he
attempted to turn Daniel Vettori
off his legs and gave a return
catch to the bowler.
But Stuart Broad took on the
challenge of scoring quick runs
and added a quickfire 31 off only
26 balls, which included a six off
the final ball of the innings from
Patel, before captain Michael
Vaughan called a halt to the innings.
It gave England a minimum of
168 overs to bowl out New
Zealand and claim a series triumph,
their first in three, and
their first back-to-back overseas
Test triumphs in three years.
Strauss had responded to the
pressure of playing for his Test
future the previous day by delivering
the biggest hundred of his
international career and guiding
England into a commanding lead
in the deciding Test.
Recalled for this tour after
missing the pre-Christmas trip to
Sri Lanka, the Middlesex lefthander
knew he was playing for
his place in his final innings of
the series against New Zealand,
having scored only 97 runs in his
previous five outings.
Strauss's previous highest Test
score was the 147 he scored
against South Africa in Johannesburg
three years ago, and this
was his first century for 31 innings
since scoring 116 against
Pakistan at Headingley in 2006.
That innings meant a lot to
me,'' revealed Strauss, who hit 25
boundaries.
It's been a pretty long time
since I last got a Test hundred so
there was a lot of emotion in it, a
fair amount of relief but more
than anything a lot of joy.
Having got nought in the first
innings, you feel like you need to
contribute to the side and there
was a lot of relief to see that ball
go away through the covers. It
was one of those days you enjoy.''
Also reaching three figures on
day three was Ian Bell.
While Strauss battled through
to his 11th Test ton, Bell looked
assured from the start and
reached his half-century off only
84 balls, nearly overtaking his
partner in the race to three figures.
Strauss just beat him to the
milestone with an extra-cover
drive off Chris Martin just one
over after New Zealand had
taken the new ball.
Andrew has worked as hard
as anyone to get there and for all
the hard times he has been
through, it's great to have him
back in the side and hopefully we
can move forward and develop
these hundreds as we have in the
past,'' said Bell.
The team have definitely rallied
round him. A good thing
about this team is that everyone
is in it together. We've turned up
here at one-all and we want to
win it for each other.
It's nice to prove some of the
critics wrong. Certainly for the
whole squad things hadn't been
going so well, despite all the work
we'd put in.
It's why Straussy and everyone
who got to 50 or 100 pointed
their bat to the dressing room because
we know how much hard
work has been put in by everyone
to get here.
It was also great to repay the
faith in us as a batting unit by the
selectors. Things have been
talked about, but every time I
look at our side I see a top six that
all average over 40 and on paper
that looks quite intimidating to
an opposition.
It's nice that they've stuck
with us and shown the faith in us
that the players have earned over
the years, but it was a big relief
for us all at the same time.''
Bell, who at 25 probably had
more time to prove his case than
Strauss, recorded his last century
13 Tests ago when he hit an unbeaten
109 against West Indies at
Lord's last May.
He played with far more composure
and hit 17 fours and two
sixes in three hours at the crease.
9:21am Tuesday 25th March 2008
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