Harry Brook claimed Chris Woakes delivered a “dagger to the heart” of New Zealand as England prepared to wrap up victory in the first Test at Christchurch.
Brook top-scored with 171 as the tourists ran up 499 on day three at Hagley Oval but was more than happy to split the credit with the bowlers.
Presented with a 151-run first-innings lead, the English attack left the Black Caps hanging by a thread at 155 for six – a wafer-thin lead of four with only four wickets in hand.
🔥 Scoring 171😱 Being dropped FIVE times🇳🇿 Averaging 100 in New Zealand
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— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 30, 2024
Brydon Carse continued a highly accomplished start to his Test career with three more scalps taking his match haul to nine – but the killer blow was delivered by Woakes.
New Zealand were looking steady at 133 for three when he struck twice in as many balls, prising out star batter Kane Williamson for 61, then taking Tom Blundell’s outside edge with the next delivery.
Losing Williamson, who made 93 on day one and had just become the first Kiwi to pass 9,000 career runs, looked like the point of no return for the hosts, with Blundell’s nick the icing on the cake for England.
“What we saw from Woakesy at the back end was unbelievable. With that ball, on that pitch, to get two big wickets back to back was a dagger to their heart,” said Brook.
“Williamson always looks so secure when he’s batting, he’s such a high-class performer. He always looks impossible to get out so to see the back of him gives everyone a lot of energy and then to get Blundell with the next ball got everybody firing.
“We’re in an amazing position to go and win this game.”
Woakes’ uneven away record and 20 wicketless overs in the first innings left him in need of a contribution and he delivered fully, dismissing captain Tom Latham with the new ball before returning for his one-two punch.
“Woakesy is always niggling away at the top of off stump and trying to hunt your front pad. With the swing he gets and the skills he has, he’s so tough to face,” said Brook.
If, as expected, England finish off New Zealand to establish a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, it will not be hard to pinpoint the main reason.
The hosts torched their reputation for reliability by dropping a whopping eight chances in the field, sparing Brook on five different occasions.
England showed no such carelessness as they took everything on offer, Brook himself setting the tone by showing safe hands to snaffle a low catch from Latham.
“There’s a famous saying, ‘catches win matches’ and we’ve taken a few good ones in this game,” he said.
“I had a lot of luck didn’t I? I’m just glad I cashed in on the opportunities I was given and made a big score. I really wanted to get a big one so I just kept on going and going. I got quite a bit of luck but thankfully I cashed in.”
Brook was not alone in banking some useful runs. Ben Stokes looked in good touch for 80, his highest score in almost 18 months, while Gus Atkinson (48 from 36 balls) and Carse (33no from 24) rained down some powerful blows at the tail end.
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