New Zealand claimed victory in the World Test Championship final as they chased down a fourth-innings target of 139 with eight wickets to spare at the Ageas Bowl.
Captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined in an unbroken 96-run stand as the Black Caps, so often the bridesmaids through the years, became the inaugural winners of the tournament in the final hour of play.
Rain had threatened to spoil the showpiece fixture in Southampton, but the addition by the International Cricket Council of a reserve day allowed for an absorbing conclusion to proceedings.
India had resumed in the morning on 64-2, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli at the crease looking to build on a precarious 32-run lead.
However, both overnight batsmen fell early in proceedings to the impressive Kyle Jamieson, Kohli caught behind for 13 before Pujara (15) fell soon after, leaving the score at 72-4 as New Zealand struck two huge blows.
It would have been even better had Tim Southee held onto a chance from Rishabh Pant when he was on just five, Jamieson the unfortunate bowler. The left-hander went on to top score with 41, a crucial knock in the circumstances.
Trent Boult dismissed Pant – caught superbly by Henry Nicholls having skied the ball high into the air – as he finished with figures of 3-39, also seeing off Ajinkya Rahane (15) and Ravindra Jadeja (16).
There were also two late wickets for Southee – who ended up with 4-48 in the innings – as India slipped from 142-5 to 170 all out.
Ravichandran Ashwin gave India a glimmer of hope when he removed both New Zealand openers, Tom Latham the first to go when stumped for nine before Devon Conway was trapped lbw having contributed 19.
Yet Williamson and Taylor, who finished 52 and 47 not out respectively, did not panic when coming together at 44-2, slowly building a partnership that would blossom with the finishing line in sight.
Standing tall on the biggest stage
Jamieson has been a revelation for the Black Caps in Test cricket. He finished with stunning match figures of 7-61 from 46 overs, of which 22 were maidens.
In total, 83 per cent of his deliveries were pitched outside off stump, the highest rate of any bowler for New Zealand. The plan worked too, as six of his seven wickets came from balls landing in that area.
Middling returns from big names
No Indian player managed to post a half-century. Pujara, Kohli and Rahane were crucial in helping their team qualify for the final, but their low returns in the game continued a recent trend.
Since the beginning of 2019, the trio have registered a combined total of six Test centuries. In the two years prior to that, however, they had 18 hundreds between them in the longest format.
James Anderson and Ollie Robinson should be fit for Ashes – Brendon McCullum
England head coach Brendon McCullum is confident James Anderson and Ollie Robinson will be fit for the first Ashes Test but has confirmed they will play no part against Ireland this week.
The five-match series against Australia begins on June 16 but England have fitness concerns over a number of their bowlers.
Robinson suffered an ankle issue for Sussex earlier this month and Anderson strained his groin while on Lancashire duty while injury-hit pair Jofra Archer and Olly Stone have experienced elbow and hamstring problems respectively already this summer.
England begin their eagerly anticipated summer with a four-day Test against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday and while two of their key bowlers will miss out, they should be fine for the Ashes opener at Edgbaston.
“Yeah we’ve got a couple of niggles so we’re just monitoring those at the moment. I guess every team that goes into a series has got a couple of little things that you need to work through, but pretty confident we’ll have a good squad to be able to pick from,” McCullum insisted.
On Robinson and Anderson, he added: “For the first Ashes Test, I think they should be fit.
“They won’t be fit for this one against Ireland. We’ll just have to monitor it over this next sort of while, but we’ve got some great options right throughout the squad.
“When I first took over this job, people said there wasn’t much depth in English cricket and I disagree with that completely.
“I think there is an immense amount of depth and we’ve got plenty of good options throughout the squad.”
ICC chief Wasim Khan accepts Tests and franchise leagues must learn to coexist
Wasim Khan, the International Cricket Council general manager, accepts the landscape of the sport has changed as he urged countries and franchise leagues to find a way to “coexist”.
Jason Roy last week became the first England player to cancel his national contract, an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year, to pursue an opportunity in Major League Cricket in the United States, where he has reportedly been offered around £300,000 for two seasons.
There has been speculation about the Indian Premier League offering annual contracts while the relevance of bilateral cricket keeps cropping up as internationals are crammed into an already busy programme.
Khan admitted there is no putting the genie back in the bottle as the proliferation of domestic T20 competitions continues but he feels international cricket can live alongside these leagues.
“Obviously the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to coexist,” said Khan, the former chief executive of Leicestershire and Pakistan.
“Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to coexist moving forward.”
The growing unease about the possibility of elite talent putting club before country in future hangs over cricket ahead of the final of the World Test Championship happening next week at the Kia Oval.
Khan, who expects “full crowds” for at least the first four days of the contest between India and Australia, thinks the format still holds some relevance and revealed the 12 full member nations have elected to keep hold of the World Test Championship for the next eight-year cycle.
“The members have signed up for the next eight years,” said Khan. “We’ve heard some of the top stars from around the world continually talking about the importance of Test cricket.
“We know that the emergence of these leagues does put pressure on the schedule but we’re confident that at least for the next eight years that continual context will be provided for red-ball cricket.
“It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to coexist, to ensure our schedules moving forward provides something for everybody.”
Ricky Ponting suggested earlier this month the ICC has a role to play in making sure players from smaller nations are well-remunerated in Test cricket so they do not go down the franchise route.
Khan confirmed the former Australia captain’s assertion the issue had been brought up in a Cricket Committee meeting but was taken no further.
“It was perhaps a misquote,” said Khan. “It was raised initially within the ICC Cricket Committee as a discussion point but there was certainly nothing taken forward around payments to players.”
Khan, though, believes it is up to the boards of individual countries how much they pay players, pointing out all full member nations will receive a substantial increase on previous earnings during the new rights cycle from 2024-27.
“The distributions the members will be receiving in the next cycle will be greater than what they received previously,” added Khan. “The payments they pay players is purely down to the members.
“If there are player associations there, they will certainly be negotiating with those, but where there’s not, it’s down to the boards – and particularly with the key players within those boards – to decide what the payment structure looks like moving forward.”
Tom Banton inspires Somerset to third win from three at start of Blast campaign
Somerset made it three wins from three at the start of the Vitality Blast after Tom Banton’s belligerent fifty helped them see off Glamorgan by four wickets at Taunton.
Glamorgan lost regular wickets and were all out for 153 in 19.4 overs, with slow left-armer Roelof Van Der Merwe taking three for 24, while Lewis Gregory and Peter Siddle each collected a couple of scalps.
Banton helped Somerset off to a flyer by putting on 69 in 5.3 overs alongside Will Smeed, who was out for 28 off 14 balls, while there were also cameos from Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19) and Tom Abell (22).
Banton’s 54 from just 28 balls contained nine fours and one six to break the back of the chase, with Ben Green and Craig Overton sealing a win with 5.1 overs to spare in front of a near full-house crowd.
Alex Lees’ brilliant career-best 90 from 53 balls helped secure back-to-back wins for Durham and extended Yorkshire’s winless start to the season with a 28-run victory at Headingley.
Captain Lees blended timing with power against his former club to lead Durham to a commanding total of 217 for three, with Ollie Robinson also thumping an unbeaten 64 from 30 deliveries.
Adam Lyth bristled with intent at the outset of the chase with 24 off eight balls but Yorkshire’s pursuit fizzled out and they finished on 189 for seven, with Ben Raine taking three for 27.
Tom Alsop’s unbeaten 51 off 42 deliveries and a classy 28-ball 48 from Michael Burgess swept Sussex to a five-wicket victory over Surrey off the penultimate ball at the Kia Oval.
Sussex veteran Ravi Bopara rolled back the years with three for 18 as Surrey were skittled for 148 after 19.3 overs, where Sunil Narine top-scored for the hosts with 29 off 18 deliveries.
Sussex slipped to 56 for four in the 11th over before a 77-run stand in 47 balls between Alsop and Burgess put them in the driving seat. They still needed 10 from the final over but Alsop got them home.
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