da esport bet： The plays of the first day between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge
Will Luke at Trent Bridge05-Jun-2008
Gareth Hopkins was behind the stumps on debut, but New Zealand did not drop Brendon McCullum © Getty Images
Jaffa of the day
There were plenty of unplayable outswingers to choose from in thefirst hour of the day, none more so than Kyle Mills’ first delivery toMichael Vaughan in the sixth over. Angling into middle-and-off stump,it bent and cut away – bouncing a touch, too – to beat Vaughan’s meekforward push. Most of the assembled press half-leapt out of theirseats, as did some of the crowd. Sixteen glitzy runs later, Vaughan wasbowled through the gate by one of the few deliveries which didn’tswing.Second slip of the day
England can only dream of having a wicketkeeper of Brendon McCullum’sstature. For all Tim Ambrose’s great promise – digging England out ofa hole today, much like he did in Wellington a few months ago – he hasyet to reach the bar that McCullum has set for himself and others. Sodangerous is his batting that there was no thought from the NewZealand camp his stiff back would keep him out of the game. Thesolution? Let him bat, plonk him at second slip and put Gareth Hopkinsbehind the stumps.Trousers and underwear of the day
Performance-enhancing underwear is the type of false hope promised bya foreign spammer, under the alias BigMan69, but some of New Zealand’scricketers have donned pairs of high-tech Baselayer IonX underpants inbid to give them the edge. Apparently, they deliver “ionic energy tothe body through a negatively charged electromagnetic field,” whichsounds rather more painful than our friendly spammers’ promises. Inaddition, some select players (presumably by the team’s designatedshiners) are trialling trousers which help buff the ball to aid theswing bowlers. Spit-and-polish probably breaches EU health and safetyregulations these days.Stand of the day
Trent Bridge has long been a firm favourite of the fan. Amiablegroundstaff, excellent transport links, some covered seating and -more often than not – a ground which produces a result. It creates abuzzing atmosphere while retaining all the traditional features thatmake it so attractive. Like Lord’s, Nottinghamshire haven’t beenafraid to introduce contemporary architecture to sit alongsideageing red brickwork, and roofs that would look at home in one ofNottingham’s plusher suburbs. Their latest incarnation is the £8.2mstand on the Bridgford Road side, replacing the old West wing; animposing structure whose semi roof arcs upwards, sheltering the lastquarter of seats at the top. Huw Evans, the architect, also designedthe striking new floodlights which resemble giant luminous tennisracquets. To steal a cliché, the ground looks a picture.Shot of the day
England were limping on 93 for 5, with Tim Ambrose joining KevinPietersen, who had lacked fluency in his 17. Until, that is, heunleashed the flamingo-flick off Iain O’Brien – a shot of his that hasbeen in enforced hibernation for too long. The mini-collapse fromwhich England were suffering (3 for 2 in 13 balls) poked Pieterseninto life – almost, but not quite, into playing with the natural,aggressive freedom that characterised his game two years ago.Chant of the day
greeted both teams as they strode out this morning, but thecrowd took until 4.20pm to rise, as one, into a football chant to mockthe green stewards. “Stand up, if you’re a green steward” rang outfrom the Radcliffe Road Stand as the stewards, who had confiscatedsome of the fans’ toys, sheepishly but stubbornly remained seated.