New Zealand vs England, 1st Test, England tour of New Zealand, 2018 - CommentaryNZ vs ENG, 1st Test, England tour of New Zealand, 2018 - Commentary

Sameer SK: "@CB Why do you view every series in the light of Ashes? For me, every bilateral series has its own identity and history." -- Just an observation that neither of the sides involved are having the best of times lately.

Akshay Anand: "NZ really deserve to win this test match! It would be very heart-breaking for them if they don't!"

Sandgate: "It will be interesting to see if Overton and Woakes do Lee and Kasprowicz of Edgbaston to hold NZ for a draw?" -- Wouldn't it be more fun if Anderson was involved? P.S.: Sandgate? Really? *insert eyeroll emoji*

Vaibhav: "Now New Zealand is very near to victory." -- Yep, on the other hand, misery continues for the team that just conceded the Ashes. Mind you, the Ashes winners aren't having the best time either.

Bharath: "Just when we thought how well Stokes was going about his business, a nothing shot from the southpaw and this might just open the flood gates for kiwis." -- My thoughts exactly (Insert Chandler-Rachel GIF).

Ankit Garg: "We can see in his first comeback match what difference Stokes would have made in Ashes."

Airplanes: "This have been a roller-coaster ride for fans !!! Loved it just awesome from n/z."

Rusaf: "Meanwhile England is getting closer to that 369..leading by even 1 run will means NZ have to bat again..(actually cut out 3 overs from total)"

Nithin TS: "Did Williamson miss the trick by taking the new ball when Todd Astle was making batsman uncomfortable in middle. Still NZ has fair chance but Stokes is living up to expectations."

Servos Costa: "Remarkable comeback by England - I think they received a huge moral and morale boost from incidents elsewhere." -- Now, now

Ranjith: "With another 40-45 overs to go, Stokes is the one standing between NZ and victory.."

Cricfan: "Looks like England is just going through the motions of blocking the ball. The ball isn't doing much.."

KP: "I will return to save England's batting if asked by the right people."

SanjayK: "There has been a lot of last day close encounters in tests for some time now, good to see Test matches are still going strong." -- After all this time? Always.

Ashwin: "Is the ball turning consistently or not??" -- Ravi, is that you? The old one was turning quite consistently, for Astle AND for Williamson. They still went for the new ball. It was a trade-off, since Southee and Boult have been terrific and have manufactured wickets on a not-so-helpful 2nd innings wicket (for instance, Root).

Faizan: "NZ can win the game but they have to bowl some yorkers and give one more spell to Southee or Boult." -- They have the new ball too now to help them around

Indranil Paul: "What is the weather forecast for today?" -- As good as it gets for a full day of cricket

Som: "Colin de Grandhomme becoming a much more reliable bowler for KW, good to see."

Ojo: You mean "stayed dogged" not "stayed dodgy" lol XD. Dodgy means questionable, uncertain...dogged means determined. (: -- We just mean he was 'dodging' or 'leaving' the ball well :).

Madhur: "Neil Wagner has bowled 9 overs on a trot. Jeez, doesn't he get tired?" -- That's his role in the side; that of the workhorse.

Nate: "Stoneman gave away the wicket needlessly, shown some immaturity there."

Yash: "Imagine England plays till dinner tomorrow gets a 150 run lead and declare. And then bowls out NZ in 20 overs" -- Ah, the fantasies of a cricket romantic. That really would be an interesting scenario, Yash.

Adi: "Perfect time for some leg-spin, bring on Todd Astle" -- Patience my man, patience.

Mubin Soneji: "Have England batsmen played well or it is poor bowling from New Zealand?" -- England have played quite well, and NZ have played extremely well as well. The conditions have certainly eased out since day 1.

Shyam Prasad: "Is there is any chance of rain today and tomorrow?" -- 0% chances today and 20% tomorrow. However, as my colleague points out, 'life and NZ rain can never be predicted'.

Dr Pankaj: "Are Wagner injured? De grandhome before him? Don't understand." -- You've got your wish.

Ca Sai: "Someone remind Williamson!!! There is Neil Wagner in the team." -- I'm sure a change is around the corner.

Nangal Sahib: Strategic mistake by NZ - they should have gone all out for a close to 400 run lead - just blasted the last few overs - the psychological let off of not having to chase 400 is a relief for England.

zaheer parmar: If England save the match it means that they have won the match.

Yagyansh: @Varun - I don't think there's even the tiniest chance for England to win. England is currently in deficit and they need to score 354 more to start giving NZ a target to chase. So, even if Root miraculously does not let England lose, there is no way this match would end with England winning.

HITESH: @Varun - Seriously England is going to win this match I'm sure you have not read the scoreline yet. They have chance to save the match not to win.

Rohan: Cook is absolutely getting cooked by the bowlers since the Ashes...

Varun: I must say there's something in my gut today, I feel we're gonna see the intent of Root never seen before. England is going to win this match if rain doesn't intervene.

Bipul: Are we seeing the first pink ball test drawn? -- Think 140-odd overs are enough to bowl out England.

Venkatesan: I think NZ looking to declare with a lead of 300 and Henry's 100 -- 350, probably?

sai: "Why is Root not going for Stokes?" - He's got a side-strain. They're trying to avoid bowling him until he is completely fit.

Sachin Aggarwal: After all that BAN-fade moment in Cape Town,it is time to shift focus to Auckland for some cricket. How's the weather today? -- Bright and sunny for most part of the day.

Gupta: Suddenly 58 for a team doesn't look bad when compared to #Aussie.

SmaRaj: "I think NZ need atleast 3 full sessions to make a run for it.1st Session to swell the Lead close to 300 and the other 2 to knock 'em over.So even if play is abandoned today and whole of tomorrow, they could still win it if Day 5 is clear to play." -- Here's one of many possible scenarios.

Kevin: "Things like Williamson's record or Kohli's possible county stint are what bring the sunlight in the otherwise regular gloomy days." -- very poetic, sir.

Sandeep Saha: "Will we get a result here? It would be unfair to NZ if they don't get a result here in favour of them given how beautifully they bowled in the first day."

Harsh: "Can we have more information on Virat Kohli's county stint? Which team and how many matches will he play before the tour?" -- Not much info on that yet. He's likely to get about a month of exposure. No news on which team he'll be playing for yet.

Shivaji M: "Hey, we have forgotten that India have been bowled out for 76 against South Africa before lunch on Day 1 in 2008" -- Close to 10 years since that morning in Ahmedabad, but difficult to forget.

Akash Jain: "I am watching Cricket since 20+ years but don't remember a TEST match when team Bowled out on Day 1 before Lunch, What a quality bowling by Blackcaps, Watched that highlights already 20 times." -- I concur. Brilliant stuff.

tajinder: "Cricket has to be the ridiculous game ever can't play in rain, bad light can the cricketers not use the spikes as footballers?" -- They do, Tajinder. But I don't think slipping is the problem. It's the pitch and the leather on the ball that get affected by the rain, which can prove to be hazardous for the batsman.

Gaurav: "I am about 8-10 kms west of Eden Park and it doesnt look good... just saying." -- Oh no!

Krishnanunni: "Did it ever happen before when 2 bowlers wrapped up the entire 10 wickets of opposition with out any other bowler bowling even a single ball?" -- There have been 9 such instances, says Deepu, our stats guy. This was only the third in the last 105 years, the other ones being Fazal Mahmood/Khan Mohammad vs Australia, Karachi, 1956 and Wasim/Waqar vs SL, Kandy, 1994.

Sri: Does Cricbuzz team know where is Haseeb Hameed? Suddenly disappeared after an impressive test Debut against India. 'Bad form and Injury concerns - but should be back in the scheme of things sooner or later'

Shyam Prasad: How many overs can still be bowled today? 'Inspection in 25 minutes and play can go on until 10 PM local (2:30 PM IST). It means around 15 overs at the maximum.

Kanoon: How is the the pitch playing? Can the lead of 250-270 be enough for NZ for the Innings win? 'It's still playing decently well. New Zealand would ideally like a minimum of 100 more runs to be firmly on top'

Vaibhav: What are the chances for further rain today and tomorrow? 'The forecast is for some thundery showers today and rain for tomorrow'

Akash Ambade: In the list that was provided by Deepu about Most hundreds for a team, why isn't Steven Smith in the list with 23 hundreds for Australia? 'It's basically a list of the highest century maker from each of the Test playing nations'

Praful: "Considering how New Zealand is batting, the only thing that could save England the match is rain. They will be mighty pleased with it."

Jack: "One over to go for new ball and there will be added moisture due to rain. A blessing in disguise for England." -- And they'd do with any sort of blessing, especially with the lead over twice of what they made in their first outing

Niranjan: How do you rate the conditions here as compared to the one which India had in SA? If India were to play here, would have made 180-220 in the first inning, I guess. 'It's difficult to compare two venues from two different continents, but it's fair enough to say that conditions weren't as difficult as they were in Cape Town and Johannesburg'

Aditya: I hope this is the last chance for Broad. He has been poor for some time now and even in this test Vince over Broad was a better choice. 'That would have left them with only three bowlers and Moeen Ali'

Shubham: Was Overton preferred for his better batting skills to Wood? 'Yes' and it turned out to be a decent decision in the end

Karthik: "Why Ben Stokes not bowling today??" -- He's coming back off an injury and is being protected

Shahnil Tukdi: Williamson looking well set now....danger signs for England. 'They are already behind the eight-ball game'

ZubZ: If Moeen Ali is as ineffective as he was in Australia, England will really need to play a spinner and use Moeen as the second option, at least away from home.

Shrijesh Mistry: This is why India don't want to play day-night test. Almost every test playing nation has played Day-Night test except India! 'Don't think so, they are planning a D/N Test when West Indies tour later this year'

Ayush: "But this is a perfect Test wicket. Tough for about 18 overs, then all good. Just some poor batting from England. A lot of focus these days is on mental side of things, but technically the game is going downhill."

Ragul: "May this is why India didn't want to tour NZ!"

Ilyaz: "What goes around eventually comes back to haunt you! Remember England doing the same thing with the Aussies side couple of years back at Trent Bridge! Well this does put a smile on my face ! Although i am not Thanos! *wink*"

Kevin: "Come to think of it, some of my dates have lasted longer than England's innings, and I'm single for 14 months now." -- Now, now .. 93 minutes isn't something to be proud of

Alomoy: "This looks like the pitches of 2003 India tour of New Zealand." -- The batting looks Indian too

WicketNepal: "I thought opening the bowling with Anderson and Woakes and Using Broad as first change option would have been fruitful. England surely lack that scary bowling option middle."

Anirudh: "We might have a one day international test match. Who knows what records are out there that need to be broken." -- Well let the Day-Night get into the night at least

Bala Ramana: "Now I'm eagerly waiting for what Anderson and Woakes can do. Remember either green-top or dust-bowl, it is always going to be a double-edged sword." -- Can't argue with that.

Rishi Donald S: "Not even Rabada's lawyer can save England here."

Sai: "Craig Overton!!! Record Spoiler"

Nirav: "I think weather is not good for next 4 days so all batsmen are trying to finish their both their innings today itself." -- The ICC would be proud

Umakanth Kalshetty: "Trent Boult is removing England's trending Nut and Bolt ..!"

Amankadyan: "Surprising that England are playing just four proper batters!"

Commentary not available for this match