Paul Collingwood Admits Things Won’t Change Overnight But The 1st Test Not Out Of England’s Reach
England found out the hard way as Kiwi batters Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell put together an unbeaten 180-run stand in such a fashion that the hosts’ England’s new start went the same old way very, very quickly.
“We know that things aren’t going to change overnight,” Paul Collingwood, England’s Assistant Coach, said after the second day’s play in London on Friday (June 3). “It’s going to take some time for us to get the team playing the way that we want them to play. Obviously, that’s a work in progress.”
“Brendon’s a glass-half-full kind of man. He’ll stay calm, he won’t change his values and beliefs just because of one inning, that’s for sure, and neither will Ben,” Paul Collingwood said.
It surely is a difficult time for England. Just a solo win in their last 17 Tests means that they need to conjure up something special to get over the line. They almost did in the first innings until the batting had another meltdown, the kind one has become so used to in recent times. England, as a result, could manage just a narrow nine-run lead, and blowing New Zealand away for 132 meant little.
“We came out of that first day all evens, both teams got pretty much exactly the same score. It’s disappointing that we haven’t gone ahead and created a big lead, but if you dwell on it for the rest of the game that’s no good. This game’s not out of our reach yet,” Paul Collingwood said.
“From our point of view we tried everything, and you can see in Ben that we’ve got a proactive captain who is willing to try different things,” Paul Collingwood added.
Paul Collingwood said that head coach Brendon McCullum and newly-appointed skipper Ben Stokes are people who won’t lose their calm in adverse situations.
Tom Blundell Knows He And Daryl Mitchell Have A Big Job To Build Lead
It’s quite a different story for New Zealand, the reigning World Test Champions who are looking for their second series win on the bounce in England. For now, they seem comfortable in the opening Test, with Tom Blundell (90) and Daryl Mitchell (97), also eying mentions on the Lord’s honours board.
“Obviously it would mean a lot but there is a long way to go in this game,” Blundell said. “Daryl and I have a big job tomorrow to build that lead. Those milestones will take care of themselves but first and foremost we got our job to do.
“(Today) I was just doing my things and playing the way I like to play. I was being positive… I thought Daryl batted especially well and to build a partnership with him was pretty pleasing.”
“The pitch is a little bit slow, quite hard to get a rhythm at times, but if you get through that and keep on bringing the bowlers back…I thought we did that really well.”
Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell were the overnight batters at the end of the second day’s play. Both players are unbeaten in their 90s and are on the verge of their centuries. On the third morning, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson can perhaps afford to smile a bit more.