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Lord's was not the first time in recent memory that New Zealand's
batting line-up has crumbled but it was the toughest to take because
they had pushed England to their limits for more than three days. The
morning after it was still raw, as the coach Mike Hesson reflected on the fourth-innings collapse which had left him in shock.
He and Brendon McCullum have four days to pick up the pieces and repair
fragile confidence but Hesson does not believe the rapid demise, which
evoked memories of the South Africa tour at the beginning of the year, will undo the improvement New Zealand have shown over the last couple of months.
"Absolute disappointment, stunned is another word," Hesson said when
asked to sum up his feelings. "Having played so well for three of the
days and had parity, to perform the way did was very much out of
character so it's frustrating.
"South Africa was different, it was the first innings of a series and
dictated the way that game went, during this game we had three days of
parity, if not being ahead. We are a developing side, we haven't nailed
everything, and occasionally we will have a performance which lets us
down."
He also suggested that the enormity of what had been possible for New
Zealand, just their second Test victory at Lord's, overwhelmed the
batting line-up although he was also quick to praise England's
performances.
"There could be a number of factors - the location, the occasion, the
chance to win a Test at Lord's," he said. "Throughout the second innings
and the fourth innings we got a bid timid with the bat and I think the
occasion, and probably the quality of the England bowlers, got to us."
However, Hesson remained determined to ensure that a "shocking" hour
would not have to define the rest of the tour after the side had gone
toe-to-toe with England, most notably through Tim Southee's 10-wicket
match haul.
"We've got a lot of good memories to draw on. We played very poorly for
that hour before lunch, which determined the outcome of the game, and
it's frustrating that a short period of time could dictate the game.
"We are all thoroughly disappointed by that hour, but there were some
amazing performances. We caught very well throughout the Test and the
bowling was outstanding. Put Tim to one side, who grew another leg in
that spell on the third evening, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Bruce
Martin in the first innings set the tone.
"It's an experience we need to grow from. But like I said we've strung
together lots of good days of cricket, we can't just dwell on the fact
we had a shocking hour."
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: Andrew McGlashan
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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