THE OVAL — England made five changes for this second Test against New Zealand amidst the fallout from the Ben Stokes affair.
Yet the fact Rehan Ahmed was not one of them was shown to be the monumental blunder it always was as the contest slipped away from them on this blisteringly-hot third day in south-east London.
Things have been hard enough for Joe Root this week having been thrust back into the captaincy on an interim basis in the wake of Stokes’ and Gus Atkinson’s curfew-busting night out that followed the opening Test victory at Lord’s.
But the sight of Root opting to turn over his arm before tea as New Zealand’s batters piled on the runs confirmed what we all knew – if any day in England was suited for spin-bowling this was it.
Those thoughts were solidified after tea when Jacob Bethell’s part-time left-arm spin split the 161-run third-wicket stand between Rachin Ravindra and Henry Nicholls, the former trapped lbw.
