Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2026

bowled poorly and was launched out of the ground several times. England batted second time around and in the half hour before close, lost 2 wickets: Duckett attempting to slog Southee and being bowled - a village green shot - and Crawley ‘Henry-ed’ for the sixth time in the series. The next day, Root and Bethell stood strong but once they were out, NZ wrapped up the innings and won by 423 runs. Undoubtedly it was a disappointing match for the visiting supporters. England were very poor and put in a similarly casual performance to when they had lost by one run in Wellington on the previous visit. I wasn’t too impressed by Stokes’ post match comments on their display either, as he seemed to offer poor excuses. Some fans I spoke to said the performance in the last Test was because, “The players wanted to go home.” My reply to that is not printable. This was England’s style of play and it reminded me of the poem about the little girl.. “When she was good, she was very good indeed, but when she was bad she was horrid”. Summing Up On the whole, it had been an enjoyable six weeks there and I wholeheartedly recommend a visit. The people are very friendly, go out of their way to support visitors and, although I did it on the cheap, it didn’t dilute my enjoyment. Next time, hopefully, the trip will be longer and I will definitely do more sightseeing. Funniest Moment On the first day of the Christchurch Test I forgot my hat and caught the sun - on one of the hottest days of the year. As a result I went into Hagley Park, laid on the grass and fell asleep. I was later awoken by a group of young lads who thought I was dead and had come over to investigate. After assuring them I was still breathing I returned for the afternoon session. The moral of the story is… don’t forget your hat. And, by the way, no alcohol was involved! An Unholy Row The Barmy Army was in attendance, albeit not in great numbers. I was told by some of them that others hadn’t travelled as they were saving up for the Ashes trip in 2025. The Kiwis appreciated the Army’s singing and enthusiastic support, particularly by clapping and cheering after every rendition of ‘Jerusalem’. 37