NZ vs ENG | By no stretch have England got away from us, shares Neil Wagner
Neil Wagner has admitted that it's frustrating to see catches being dropped but also pointed out that the situation isn't really out of their hands thanks to their disciplined bowling attack. Wagner has also gone on to praise the English batting effort who played the ball according to its merit.
The first day of the first Test match between England and New Zealand was a very frustrating 90 overs for the visitors as they lost as many as three golden opportunities to take on the reigns of the match. England were able to muster 241 for 4 on the first day with three of their batters scoring half-centuries.
The Kiwis put on a spectacular bowling performance at the Bay Oval as they restricted the English batsmen under three runs per over on day one. But some missed opportunities meant the hosts failed to put the icing on the cake. They dropped opener Rory Burns twice, first when he was on 10 while the second time was when he was lingering at 37.
Pacer Neil Wagner acknowledged that it's quite frustrating to see catches being dropped but also shared that the team is “fairly happy” as of where they stand in the match. He also commented that the reviews are always a fifty-fifty call and they were looking to save it for the future.
"By no stretch have they got away from us so I think we're still fairly happy with where we are at. It is frustrating when catches go down and those things happen, but we're a close group and no-one drops a catch on purpose. It can happen. Ben Stokes is a special talent and he is a bit of a freak at times. Everyone wants to get him out because you know how important a wicket he is," Wagner said, reported Times of India.
"When it's windy it's quite hard to hear those things . There was a little bit of a noise but it was a bob each way, you have to take that risk with reviews but also you want to keep hold of them for when you do need them. I thought we bowled well today and stuck at it. I know that our bowlers have bowled way worse than that and had more luck."
Wagner was all praises for England’s batting effort as he pointed out they played the swinging ball well and played every ball on its merit. The visitors coped well with the slow Oval pitch while the limited use of Mitchel Santner, only for five overs, was a surprising move by the Kiwi skipper.
"They batted really well," he said. "They showed lots of patience and left well. There was swing on offer throughout the day and everything we threw at them they played quite well. At times they had a bit of luck but you need a bit of luck sometimes in cricket. The toss was always going to be crucial. It tends to be nice to bat on day one."
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