Friday 16 March 2018 12:47, UK
England return to the scene of one of their greatest escapes when they meet New Zealand in the first Test at Auckland, on Thursday.
The tourists are primed for another epic encounter after a nerve-jangling ODI series but, for tension, it will be tough to beat the absorbing clash between the sides at Eden Park in 2013.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior mixed stoicism with flair in an innings that saved England from likely defeat in the Test and also the series.
Click on the video above to relive the tension of the final over, then read on for the fuller picture and what some of the key players said…
SERIES SNAPSHOT…
The teams couldn't be separated as they headed to Auckland following two drawn Tests, at Dunedin and Wellington. The tourists appeared to have the momentum after asking New Zealand to follow on in the second Test, only for Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor to drop anchor before England's victory hopes were blown away by the arrival of Cyclone Sandra, which wiped out practically all of the final five sessions of the contest.
THRILLING FINALE…
However, it was England on the ropes going into the final day of the third Test as New Zealand's attack jabbed away relentlessly to add further damage after Peter Fulton's second century of the Test.
His combined contribution of 246 allowed the Black Caps to set a highly improbable victory target of 481, or more realistically force England to bat for four-and-a-half sessions to draw. At stumps on day four England were wilting on 90-4 with Alastair Cook, Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott, as well as nightwatchman Steven Finn, all back in the hutch.
Step up Prior, who led an epic rear-guard action to thwart the Kiwis. Vice-captain Prior followed up his stout first innings 73 with an unbeaten 110 off 182 balls to steer the tourists to 315-9 and safety, sharing defiant stands of 78 with Ian Bell, whose 75 spanned 352 minutes, and 67 with Stuart Broad who scored six off 77 balls to take valuable overs and time out of the game.
The Sussex stopper did enjoy some good fortune during his 182-ball stay at the crease - most noticeably when a short ball from Neil Wagner, who had dismissed Bell prior to tea, deflected on to the stumps as Prior took evasive action but failed to dislodge the bails.
When Broad and James Anderson fell in the space of three balls, stoic Prior and last-man Monty Panesar batted out the final three overs in as tense a finale as you could wish for.
WHAT THEY SAID…
PRIOR: "I'm not one to celebrate draws but to escape with that is phenomenal. When Monty first walked out, I mentioned Cardiff 2009. Your role as the in batter is to help out with game-plans and so on - so we had a long chat about how I thought he was going to try to get him out. And how he thought he should counter it. But to be honest he thrives on that sort of situation. I said a couple of days ago that the one thing this team will do is fight. We haven't played our best cricket, we know that, but we'll never give up."
IAN BOTHAM: "It was a magnificent effort. No-one gave their wicket away all the way through the day and you could see how disappointed numbers nine [Broad] and 10 [Anderson] were when they got out.
"What more can you say about Matt Prior? He is an exceptional cricketer now. He was absolutely magnificent and Stuart Broad, after a very shaky start, settled in and hung around. It was a top, top effort."
MARK BUTCHER: "That hundred was absolutely stunning. The irony is that you've got 140-odd overs to bat to save a Test match and the guy that is most successful is the guy who goes out there and plays exactly the same as he would do in any other situation - i.e. he takes the bowlers on, goes for his shots and pretty much plays with a freedom that nobody was able to match.
"Matt had a few close escapes - it was extraordinary how the bails didn't even move after that delivery from Wagner. That was totally baffling and at that point we all thought that it was going to be England's day. But nobody can tell me that he didn't deserve it because it was a stunning innings, a real bull-dog performance, and he is a very, special cricketer."
Watch New Zealand and England go head to head in the first of two Tests, live on Sky Sports Cricket from midnight on Wednesday.
