Part 2 – 22nd February – 28th February – 2nd Test Match Wellington
22nd February – Wednesday Rotorua
First run of the holiday early in the morning. I was looking forward to it until I started! It was hard work – not sure whether that was due to the weather or early morning start or just not run for some time. But managed to get in just over 5km arriving back in the hotel room in a state that Gillian did not appreciate in terms of physical contact!
After breakfast we travelled around 30 minutes to Waimangu Volcanic Valley. Phew the views were spectacular and the photos are not able to do justice to the panoramas with which we were faced. The area lies on a fault line and a major explosion (Tarawera) took place on 10 June 1886 which tore a 17km rift in the earth. The cap of the volcano disappeared causing a huge crater to be formed. All life was destroyed for a wide area around the eruption. Its scientific importance lies in the fact that the precise date is known of the eruption and since that date detailed records have been maintained not just of the volcanic activity but also the return of life. The walk took us past a series of lakes and rock formations but more impressive than this was the lush vegetation especially the huge fern trees that grew on the slopes. It created a visual impression of what NZ would have looked like to James Cook and indeed the Maoris when they first arrived. The lakes that had been formed were like bubbling cauldrons which is not the water boiling but carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide gas bubbling up. The boiling water is at the vents at the bottom of the lakes. By the time gets to the surface it has cooled.
It took us around 3 hours to walk the trail and we eventually ended up at Lake Rotomahana. A beautiful location of flat calm water surrounded by the volcanic hills of the crater covered in rich vegetation. We caught the bus back up to the top of the hill – the starting point for a quick cup of tea before returning to the hotel.
The afternoon was spend on admin before leaving for Te Puia – a Maori village that is built around the giant geysers that continue to erupt from the ground. The guide gave a positive talk around the role of tourism and its link to Maori culture. The view expressed was that the NZ government saw the tourist potential of promoting the Maori culture to generate more visitors and more revenue. Hence they were very happy to offer financial support for the Maoris to retain and promote their culture. The revenue from the visitors to Te Puia were a major contributor to the running costs of the national college for maintaining Maori arts – carving, weaving and music. Each year they would encourage every iwi to send someone from their tribe for the 3 year course and there was an expectation that the individual would return to continue and evangelise the skills they had gained. Of course there are other political factors that have driven the change in approach of the NZ government to Maoris.
We first walked around the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley. This is the location of the largest natural geyser in the Southern Hemisphere. The site is also part of a conservation programme to protect the Kiwi Bird which is important to Maori culture. We all lined up to walk quietly through the indoor enclosure to see the bird close up. Not at all what we had expected. It is quite a large bird, spiky feathers, no wings of significance and a wholly nocturnal bird with very poor eyesight but equipped with whiskers similar to a cat. The introduction of animals into NZ has been a very large contributor to its demise and it is estimated that only 2% of the original population is left. At the end of the walking tour we visited the NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute followed by a buffet. This was the best food we have had since arriving in the country. Huge piles of oysters and prawns plus salmon. With different meats available as well. Having only had breakfast we both tucked in with some glee!
The cultural show Te Ra and Haka was really impressive. They performed a welcoming ceremony outside the meeting house before entering the building. The sheer power physical and emotionally of the Haka was very evident and with just 8 performers you could begin to imaging the impact of this with hundreds of warriors performing. The dancing was fascinating as it consisted not just of body movements but facial expressions that were an inherent part of the ceremony.
Back at the hotel we had a couple of drinks with Graham and Anne-Marie before going to our room.
A fascinating day with wonderful vistas and views and a small insight into the Maori culture.
23 February 2023 – Thursday – Road Trip to Wellington
Today was a transfer day. Managed an early morning run which was even harder than yesterday! Same route but went a little further across a volcanic stream where the smell of rotten eggs was particularly strong – although it might have just been my sensitivity this early in the morning.
We left around 0900 and had a short stop to view the Huka Falls from a viewing point. A fairly grey day with drizzle or rain throughout. But the view was pretty good. Back on the coach and continued to travel down Taupo which was at the top of Lake Taupo – one of the largest lakes in North island. From Taupo on down Route 1 to Turing where we had a short nature break stop. We then climbed the range of mountains that made up central North island – Tongariro National park. The peaks here rise to 2,797m – impressive 9,000ft. Not sure how high the road was but probably around 6,000ft. The plateau itself was very barren – little grew on the deep volcanic ash. Unsurprisingly this was an Army training ground – no other use could be found for it and as befits a training area it was bleak, wet and trackless! Down the other side to Waioru for lunch break – Flat Hills Cafe. It had the feel of a truck stop but did have a holiday park attached. Around 3-4 coaches arrived at once and they had an amazingly efficient service to get through us all with complete calmness. We had the equivalent of a ‘pukka pie’ – mince meat and a KitKat. It was surprisingly nice.
Back on the coach for the final haul to Wellington. Did not take much notice of the scenery as I was trying to finish off Dune Messiah. Dropping down into Wellington made you realise how hilly – even mountainous the surrounding area was. Having unpacked our bags we headed down to the waterfront in strong winds and rain. Very different weather from Rotorua. A could of drinks at an outrageous price in a waterfront pub before finding a lovely Spanish Tapas bar (Avida Tapas Bar) where we had a couple of glasses of rich red wine, sardines out of a tin and chilli prawns with bread followed by deep fried Agria potatoes (Patatas Bravas) with mayonnaise and chilli based tomato sauce.
We then walked back to the hotel for an early night.
24th February – Friday – Day 1 – 2nd Test
We have been fortunate to have seen some outstanding cricket in NZ. Stuart Broads knocking over the wickets of the top 3 NZ batsman at Tauranga in the night session was special. But today to saw England recover from 21/3 to finish the day at 315/3. The two batsman that achieved this were Joe Root and Harry Brooks – each special in their own way. Harry Brooks has now scored more runs than any cricketer in history in 9 test innings – 804. His score today of 184 came off 169 balls with a test strike rate of 99.38. He hit 24 fours and 5 sixes demolishing and demoralising NZ bowlers. Although much of the chatter was about Harry Brooks, Joe Root got his 29th test 100. He played brilliantly and was an excellent foil to Harry Brook’s style. Joe hustled for his runs between the wickets and was as equally demoralising to the bowlers as whatever they did he just kept the score ticking along. He got his hundred on the very last ball of the day. It had begin to drizzle and we were waiting for play to stop with Joe just reading the one run for his century. There was a feeling that the umpires were also willing him to score and kept play going as long as they could so he could go in with it under his belt.
The warm feeling of the crowd towards Joe when he got his century was overwhelming. Everyone got up with the same shout Roooooooooooot! Both batsman are from Yorkshire but at different points in their careers. On Test Match Special which we were listening to in the hotel room, Harry Brooks talked about bowling to Joe Root in the nets when he was only 14 ……. and got him out!
The bowlers after the first seven overs which is when we lost the wickets were thoroughly beaten:
Neil Wagner 17 overs for 101 (5.94)
Daryl Mitchell 9 overs for 61 (6.77)
Matt Henry 15 overs, 64 runs, 2 wickets
Tim South 17 overs, 48 runs, 1 wick
In the evening we went to Giant Kong – a Chines restaurant down by the Quay. Very busy on a Friday evening. DJ ‘spinning’ in the corner – definitely not our age bracket music. A lot of party people creating a good atmosphere but quite noisy. We had decided to have a no-alcohol day so had water and Peppermint Tea. The food was very good. I had spicy sizzling chicken with rice and Gillian had roast belly of pork with noodles. The portions were pretty large! But the quality of the food was beautiful and not expensive!
An early night listening to TMS summary of todays play and a foretaste of Englands WT20 semi-final against South Africa that takes place at around mid-night in NZ. If they win they will face Australia in the final. The whole of NZ will be rooting for England!
24th February – Saturday – Day 2 – 2nd Test
Saturday morning was a bit grey and a hint of rain in the air. Nevertheless we left the hotel optimistic that play would start on time at 1030. After getting off the coach we went to a corner shop bakery for sandwiches and a couple of cakes. The catering in the stadium is fairly basic and primitive. Yesterday we had a brisket steak sandwich – the individual parts were okay but as a fulfilling meal it did not have much to recommend it!
We ended up sitting to next to the coach of the under 16s Lancashire team who was unsurprisingly very knowledgeable about cricket and the set up in UK. We had an interesting discussion on academy pathways, cricket premiership leagues in UK and minor counties.
England had ended yesterday at 315/4. Harry B only got two more runs before Henry caught and bowled him. Stokes came in and it was clear that England were going to go fast for runs in order to get NZ to the crease early in the day which continued to be overcast. He was out for 27 off 28 balls before Wagner who had had a miserable day 1 got him out with a ball that was caught at mid-on. Foalkes was next and he was out for 0 with a bizarre stumping. He seemed to trip over his own feet and was caught out of the crease with a stumping. Others came and went and Root played on. There was a sense that Ben Stokes would declare once Joe Root got his 150 which he duly did.
NZ went in to bat and England went after them straight away. Rain stopped play at the end of the day and they were 138/7. Henry Nicholls dismissal by Jack Leach was particularly memorable resulting in a fantastic catch at short leg by Ollie Pope.
I spent an hour walking around the ground which was not huge. The Basin Reserve scoreboard was an engineering marvel. The score board has 5 levels and a unique display that conveys a considerable amount of information. The exterior of the scoreboard has a number of panels, each fitted with letters and numbers, and they are spun around when changes are needed – which, for some of them, is every over. The ground floor is occupied by a console operator, who updates the electronic score on the top left of the scoreboard, as well as the batsmen’s scores on the top right. Close by is an avid “runner”, who scampers up to the first floor at the end of each over to update the “overs left” and “last wicket at” figures. The two teams are listed in batting order from top to bottom above that, with the top floor containing one name (as well as the in batsmen and the overall score) and the second and third floors each containing five names. For big matches two attendants are stationed on the second and third floors.
In the middle panel are the players’ corresponding bowling figures. Much of the action at the beginning of a match is on the second floor, as bowlers’ figures are readily updated.
A small light to the right of a player’s name signals who is bowling, and a batsman’s score is slotted in beside their name once they are out.
After the match we went down to a local Italian on the waterfront for a bottle of house red, shrimps, fresh catch of the day and pasta and chicken.
26th February – Sunday – Day 3 – 2nd Test
Forecast was for a little rain this morning and around mid-day – but the naysayers were proved wrong and we had our warmest and least windy day in Wellington. We spoke with Mary-Anne and Alan to see if their luggage had yet arrived. One case had but not the other. The one that had arrived had come via Auckland, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Heathrow, Home and back out to Wellington. Given that Alan is an ex vicar the joke going around the bus was that his case had opted for a tour of the Holy Land before being returned to him!
We got to the ground in good time to queue for a coffee before taking our seats. We were excited to see a great days play from England who would swiftly bowl out NZ, force the follow on and have them all out again by the end of the day. It did not quite work out that way. Southee (Captain) came in as the night watchman the previous evening and came out this morning determined to make an impression. His stubborn 73 took NZ up to just before lunch before they were all out for 209. Ben Stokes decided to enforce the follow on which was a questionable decision. It meant the bowlers had no time to recover from NZ 1st innings on a pitch that was not doing much for the bowlers. Probably a bot of over-confidence. Tom Latham and Devon Conway came in and racked up 149 runs (TL – 83 and DC – 61) before Leach made the breakthrough with a turning ball that was caught by Pope and off trudged Devon Conway. 6 runs alter Root lbw Tom Latham and we looked as if we were on a roll. End of play NZ were 202 for 3 – trailing England by 24 runs. An exciting Day 4.
The Barmy Army Trumpet player – Tom Finch – was in good form today around the ground. The day always commences with a rousing chorus of edition of Jerusalem. At the end of which all in the ground cheer and the England players on the pitch applaud Tom. Throughout the day he manages to find just the right tune to either lift the crowd or the players or both! even the NZ have taken to him!
The ground was again at full capacity. The kids are often found playing cricket behind the stands trying to emulate their favourite player on the pitch!
Coming back on the bus, Des our tour guide owned up to being hit on the head by the cricket ball off a 6 from one of the batsman. He was just nipping out of the ground for cigarette when the ball landed on the rook of the tent he was walking through and then dropped down onto his head. St John’s Ambulance was quick to offer aid but Des was more keen to have a smoke and brushed off their attempts at first aid! The only casualty was his cigarette light which was well and truly broken.
We ended the day at the Italian restaurant down by the harbour front. It made a nice change to walk down and back in dry weather and without clutching our hats.
27th February – Monday – Day 4 – 2nd Test
Day 4. It is difficult to convey the tension in a Test Match. To many it seems a long and tedious amount of time to watch a man with a wooden stick hit a red ball thrown at him by another man in white six times before somebody else has a go at throwing a ball at a man with a stick. But the beauty of the game is that the potential outcomes can change very quickly. At the start of Day 3 there was the possibility that the game would be over. At the sart of Day 4 we thought England would bowl NZ out and we could be home for tea. In the middle of Day 4 afternoon there was the potential for a NZ draw or even win and by the end of the day it had gone back in England’s favour. A day of twists and turns – not all of which we saw.
At the start of the day Nicholls and Kayne Williamson looked to be in and steady. Nicholls was out and replaced by Daryl Mitchell who hit 50 off 52 balls, whilst Kayne made steady progress. Blundell came in and made 90. It was now mid-afternoon and the talk was around when NZ would declare and at what total to create an incentive for England to chase but with a high probability that they would not make it.
Our trusty trumpeter, during this period when England were not getting any wickets despite good bowling , motivating the crowd and the players.
Jack Leach took on most of the bowling – 63 overs and for most of the day with little reward.
Then it all happened. Brooks the golden boy batter was given the ball to bowl and get out Kayne Williamson after an appeal by Root for a catch off glove or bat. The crowd went wild with delight. There was then a bizarre run out of Bracewell who sauntered back to the crease unaware that that ball had been thrown to his end of the wicket and he was stumped by Foakes – after an appeal by Root.
Jack Leach then took Blundell, Tim Southee, Matt Henry to add to his two wickets of Conway and Young. He bowled 61 overs for 5 wickets – an outstanding endurance achievement.
This latter part of the game we did not see! Michael Leach with whom I had worked in the Ministry of Justice in London in my early days at Gartner had moved back out to NZ. He reached out to me and invited us to dinner with the only night he could make being tonight. So we had to leave the ground early just before the flurry of wickets occurred. We cursed ourselves as we listened on the radio in the hotel bedroom.
Michael picked us up from the hotel and we drove up to Victoria Peak that over-looked Wellington and Cook’s Straight which separates North from South Island. The views were tremendous. The peak overlooked the cricket ground on one side and the airport on the other side. We then went down to the beach area for supper on a casual restaurant before returning to the hotel for a drink in the bar. Quite a few of the tour were there and we had a good chat on the days play and who was going t be the guest speaker at the dinner the following evening.
28th February – Tuesday 5th and Final Day of 2nd Test Match
We both got up feeling a little jaded as we went down to breakfast. We popped into the ‘corner shop’ across the street from the hotel for sandwiches and KitKat for our lunch time break. There was a general feeling that the match would be over by the middle of the second session in the afternoon – with of course an easy England win. We could not have been so wrong – what a cricketing day it turned out to be. Even the commentators we unanimous that this was one of the greatest endings to a test match in recent history.
We had finished Day 4 at 48/1 requiring 258 to win (a further 210 runs). We had lost Zac Crawley for 24 and the night watchman Ollie Robinson was in to bat with Duckett on 23.
The morning session opened with great hope. We expected to lose the night watchman early and we did. In came Pope. Duckett was next out for 33. So a little nervous with 3 wickets down. But with Pope and Root – we surely would be okay. Nope – Pope out for 14. Now the dream team was in – Root and Brook. Phew nerves calmed – just play sensible cricket. Bloody hell, Root ran out Brook without Brook even facing a ball. It was rumoured that Brook was so made he wrecked the dressing room in anger. So now we had Root and Stokes.
Stokes had serious knee problems and was essentially playing on one leg. He mad sensible shots and tried to keep Root on bat. But he too went for 27 unable to resist hitting the ball.
Now Root and Foalkes. But Root went for 95. Then Stuart Broad went for 11. It was now down to Foalkes and Leach. A brilliant tension filled partnership with Foalkes defencing Leach from the bowlers. He would mainain the strike till after the 4th ball and then hit a single to take strike for the next over. He would get the occasional 2 but would not run a single before the 4th ball. Then Foalkes hooked at a ball from Tim Sothee and we were now down to Anderson and Leach – neither of whom had scored a run.
We had 7 runs to make with Leach and Anderson at the crease. Anderson miracleously hit a 4 and we managed a single from somewhere. Two runs to win and 1 run to draw. Anderson now had ot face a full over as Leach had grabbed a single. The tension was unbeleiveable. Wagner was bowling and we were convinced that he had b0wled a wide but was not given. Then Wanger struck and Anderson was out and we had lost the match by one run. Only the second team in test histlry to win by one run!
We got back to the hotel and changes for dinner – a final night out before the party split up – some going hoem and some going to the South Island extenion. We had tow guest speakers John Bracewell a former NZ cricketer and coach of NI and Neil Manthorp a cricketing jounalist who works for Talk Sport. Both very entertaining speakers and spoke at length of the importance of the relationship between Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. As well as the transformational impact Stokes has on the England team as a whole.
Purrfect Tale 