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In 1978, England were in New Zealand for a three-match Test series. Having played 47 matches in 48 years, the Kiwis had not tasted victory in any of the matches.
Coming into the series, England looked the stronger side, having won the Ashes 3-0. The visitors were expected to beat the hosts, as it had always been the case.
The first Test was scheduled to be played on February 10-15, taking Feb 13 as a rest day. England skipper Geoff Boycott won the toss and elected to bowl first. New Zealand played way too cautiously in their first innings and managed to get the scoreboard tickling to 228. Chris Old dismantled six Kiwi batters in the process.
John Wright, a New Zealand opener who was handed his Test debut in the match, was the side’s top scorer with 55 runs to his name. What made his innings so special was his stay in the middle for about six hours!
He batted for six long hours but managed to score just 55 runs.
The opener survived on the pitch for 348 minutes to his cautious 55, which were embellished with just three boundaries. Another noticeable thing was his strike rate. He scored the runs with a strike rate of 22.54.
In reply to New Zealand’s 228, the English batters could score a competitive total of 215. Boycott’s 77 runs was a stand-out performance for England while New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee claimed the figures of 4/74.
The hosts came in to bat again and Wright batted long for them once more. He scored 19 runs in 105 deliveries. Meanwhile, New Zealand managed to score just 123 runs in their second innings. Another opener Robert Anderson was the highest scorer for New Zealand this time with 26 runs.
England came out to bat with a target of 137 runs in front of them. What was waiting for the visitors was a sudden collapse. New Zealand were exceptionally well with the bowl to celebrate their first win over England. England were bowled out for a mere 64 in their second innings. Richard claimed a ten-wicket haul in the match by adding six wickets in the second innings to his tally of four in the first.
This was the tale of New Zealand’s first victory over England in the 48th match played between them in 48 years.
