Bowling greats James Anderson and Stuart Broad reached another cricket milestone on Friday to strengthen England’s grip on day two of the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. Broad dismissed Neil Wagner for a belligerent 27 before Ollie Robinson trapped Daryl Mitchell without scoring as the Black Caps laboured to 138-5 at tea in the day-night Test at the Bay Oval.
Opener Devon Conway was unbeaten on 72 and Tom Blundell was 21 not out as the home side tried to establish a foothold, having resumed at 37-3 after England dominated day one with their rapid-fire 325-9 declared.
Broad’s dismissal of Wagner ended a compelling duel between the pair and created another notable entry in the cricket archives for the veteran England seamer and his long-time new-ball partner Anderson. The pair have now taken 1,000 Test wickets in the 133 Tests they have played together, dating back 16 years.
Beginning the Test with 997 between them, Broad and Anderson need just two more scalps to surpass the world-record 1,001 wickets claimed by Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, achieved in 104 Tests played together.
The 1,000 mark was only reached when Wagner was fooled by a slower ball, having heaved Broad (1-48) for successive sixes off the two previous deliveries.
Mitchell’s dismissal, when he shouldered arms to a Robinson (2-27) in-ducker, preceded an unbroken 55-run stand between Conway and wicketkeeper Blundell which offered the tourists few opportunities.
New Zealand will hope left-hander Conway can reproduce the form that carried him to a double-century in his Test debut against England at Lord’s 18 months ago.
Source: eNCA
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With hours to go before family and friends gather for Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes‘s memorial on Friday, damning reports have surfaced alleging that the multi-award-winning rapper shoved Anele Tembe off a balcony.
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