2010 Game 5: Taupo

New Zealand is gripped by fear and panic after the touring Reds won their second game in a tense battle at Taupo.

There was no early indication of the crisis that has now transfixed the country.  Reds skipper Hobbs won the toss, and in what seemed a reckless gamble, sent the Taupo XI in under grey skies in the hope of early swing. Openers Bradley and How appeared unconcerned for the first six overs, until  troubled speedster Palin suddenly overcame his inner demons and grabbed his first three wickets of the tour. When Taupo  skipper and star bat Davey miscued mystery legspinner Boyes to Lovett at mid-off, the Taupo XI – mainly drawn from the  Taukelo and Taupo Wanderers clubs – had crashed to 5-45 and emergency vehicles began to pour into the adjacent fire station. Young local batsman Zank Desai (40) led a tail-end recovery that temporarily eased local concerns, lofting fours and nudging singles to cleverly  farm the strike. But when off-spinners Gill and Thomas ran through the tail with two wickets apiece, a major disaster was imminent and the NZ Cabinet went into emergency session.       

Local hopes were again raised when AJ How produced a searing first over to blast out Hobbs and Gill for ducks. But the crisis again deepened  as Kahn and Whittock blunted the Taupo barrage with an hour-long blockade of pushes, nudges,  cuts and glances. When the two departed after drinks, Reds were 4-49 with the game in the balance.  The promotion of Thomas and Lovett up the order unsettled  the Taupo attack, and Thomas’ sudden forays into the cover-drive combined with Lovett’s well-controlled dabbles produced a 30-run stand,. When Clark in free-scoring net mode joined Lovett to advance the score to 5-92, a Reds win and national humiliation seemed imminent.

As the spectacular mountain backdrop disappeared in the deepening gloom, opening bowler Mitchell returned to have Lovett and Croft caught at point, while Rogerson became the seventh LBW of the game --  none particularly controversial. At 8-99, a nation now glued to radio and TV news reports dared to hope that all would be well. But wily old stagers Clark and Boyes had full measure of the local bowlers. They made short work of the remaining 24 runs, punching them out in six of the final 12 overs, and  reaching  the target in solid drizzle just as six hours of rain set in.

At this point, the New Zealand police moved in and placed the entire Reds touring party under house arrest. Charges of match-fixing, drug abuse and backing up too far have now been laid against the entire team.  There were further sensations when tour co-captain Kahn tearfully announced he was standing down. Kahn cited his own win-loss record (0-2) as inferior to Hobbs (1-1) and Thomas (1-0) , and stated that it would be far more enjoyable to carp from the backbench at others’ decisions than to make any himself.