In keeping with their tradition of turning Test cricket’s traditions on their ear, Brendon McCullum’s England side has ditched the nightwatchman for the nighthawk.
Say what? For the uninitiated, instead of sending out a tailender just before stumps to block out the rest of the day’s play, they’re trotting out Stuart Broad to slog from ball one.
It’s a smoke and mirrors ploy that sounds illogical and it is.
But like most Bazball theories, it’s worked. Well, it’s an extremely small sample size of one innings but it threw New Zealand off their game at a critical time in the first Test at Mount Maunganui last week.
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After pumping up the nighthawk idea on social media since late last year, Broad was promoted up the order when opener Zak Crawley fell late on the second night of the pink-ball Test with the tourists ahead by just 87 with two wickets down in the second innings.
The nighthawk has landed: Stuart Broad tormented New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
There was still four of five overs until stumps so if the Black Caps could remove him quickly, they could have a shot at Joe Root or Harry Brook in the tricky little period before stumps with the pink ball swinging under lights.
Little did they know that Jack Leach was also padded up as a safeguard in case another wicket fell – “there’s an entire flock of them,” as the legendary David Gower said in commentary when the spinner was shown in the dressing room in full batting kit.
Broad’s social media spruiking had done the trick because former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was all a twitter about the nighthawk being unleashed after the veteran seamer made his way out to the crease.
He has even changed his Instragram profile to describe himself as “Official NightHawk for @englandcricket”.
Young leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed – dubbed Nighthawk Jnr by Broad – gave the experiment a whirl on the preceding Pakistan tour with 10 from eight but that was more as a pinch hitter trying to wrap up a Test quickly so they didn’t have to come back the next day.
The left-hander charged debutant seamer Scott Kuggeleijn first ball and copped a short ball to the ribs first ball.
Gower was bemused, positing: “what was the traditional role of the nightwatchman – defend the stumps at all costs, defend the man at the other end.”
Fleming added: “I’ve been wanting to see it, understand it. To see exactly what the nighthawk does.”
And the experiment should have ended in abject failure the next delivery when Broad again went on the attack to a short ball, skied the pull shot straight up in the air.
Maybe because of the unusual nighthawk tactics or perhaps it was just one of those stuff-ups that happen on a cricket field, Kuggeleijn and wicketkeeper Tom Blundell each stayed back, thinking the other player would complete the simple catch and the pink ball thudded into the earth a couple of metres from where Broad had launched his slog.
It was the kind of humiliating moment that gives the guilty pleasure that is the That’s So Village account on Twitter endless fodder.
The nighthawk should “have been shot down” as Gower put it as the Barmy Army trumpeter started playing circus music on cue.
Players in the England sheds reacted in animated fashion while McCullum kept his poker face as if it had all been planned. Broad’s long-time fast-bowling partner James Anderson barely looked up from his puzzle book wondering what all the fuss was about.
Nevermind, skipper Tim Southee was up next to bring the nighthawk down to earth with a thud but he also seem flustered, giving up four runs with a misdirected yorker down leg side before striking Broad on the grill of the helmet next ball from a delivery which ricocheted off his bat handle.
Under the modern safety rules, the helmet needed to be replaced and Broad then engaged in a prolonged display of his usual chicanery by rejecting the one that was brought out to soak up a few more precious minutes before the scheduled close of play.
When play finally did resume after nearly 10 minutes, Southee didn’t obey the first rule of bowling to a tailender, nighthawk or otherwise, of bowling at the stumps and Broad, backing away, slogged a four and even took a single rather than keeping the strike to protect the recognised batter up the other end, Ollie Pope.
Kuggeleijn then wasted the final over by bowling six balls short of a length at the nighthawk – nothing that would have hit the stumps – and England survived to stumps with Broad six not out.
Broad, after falling with the addition of just one more run the next day, then ripped through New Zealand with 4-49 to help bowl his side to a 267-run victory.
“It’s a pretty simple game plan,” Broad explained to reporters after play. “Try to hit the ball to the boundary and cause chaos. It’s trying to attack the enemy when they’re tired at the end of a day’s play, except they weren’t that tired and the bowling was a bit quicker than I expected.”
He’s having plenty of fun with it: “I do answer to MorningHawk in normal Test Match hours but AfternoonHawk doesn’t sound right, so I’ll respond to just Hawk until the light drops again,” he wrote on Twitter. “The fact that #NightHawk is trending about sums up how much fun we’re having as an England team right now & how our supporters are smiling along with us!”
The legend of the nighthawk is off to a fantastical start.
McCullum’s innovations have been a proverbial breath of fresh air to Test cricket’s stale ecosystem, particularly for an England team which was in need of resuscitation.
Against clever opposition, this flight of fancy won’t work. The New Zealanders used to have the reputation for being the smartest operators in world cricket but they’re in a state of transition now with several new faces replacing their golden generation which is dwindling.
They have a chance to save face in Wellington when the second Test starts on Friday but England are heavy favourites to chalk up their 11th win from 12 starts under McCullum.
And if there’s another nighthawk unleashed, you would hope the Kiwis will be better prepared this time around.
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