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A terrible toss to win
Wisden CricInfo staff - March 18, 2002
Basin Reserve all matches
There have been 38 previous Tests at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. New Zealand have won ten, lost 12 and drawn 16 of the matches they have played there.
New Zealand first played a Test on the ground in
1929-30, when Stewie Dempster and Jack Mills put on 276 for their first wicket – scoring New Zealand's first Test centuries in the process.
New Zealand didn't win a Test at the Basin Reserve until
1968-69 when they defeated West Indies. Since then their form has improved, winning 10 and losing only five of their 28 matches.
The toss at the Basin Reserve is an awful one to win. The toss-winning side has emerged victorious only 7 times in 38 matches.
There have been some extraordinary individual performances on this ground. In 1990-91 Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones added a world record 467 for the third wicket – the second highest of all Test partnerships. Crowe's share of the spoils was 299, the highest individual score on the ground. Crowe rather enjoyed batting at the Basin Reserve: scoring 1123 runs at 70.19 in his ten Tests there.
Other batting bonanzas came from Aravinda De Silva, who scored 267 in the same match as Crowe's 299 and Greg Chappell whose innings of 247* and 133 in 1974 gave him a (then) record match aggregate of 380.
The most spectacular bowling performance at the Basin Reserve came when Courtney Walsh took 13 for 55 to decimate the New Zealanders in 1994-95. Walsh's performance helped secure a West Indian victory by an innings and 322 runs, the fourth largest defeat ever. Walsh's are by far the best match bowling figures taken at The Basin Reserve.
Almost inevitably, Richard Hadlee is the top wicket-taker at the Basin Reserve, with 53 wickets at an average of 20.28.
England v New Zealand at the Basin Reserve
England and New Zealand have played eight Test matches at the Basin reserve. England have won three, New Zealand one and there have been four draws.
New Zealand's only victory came in 1977-78 during
Geoff Boycott's ill-fated captaincy stint. Fatally undermined by Richard Hadlee, England were bowled out for only 64 in their second innings as New Zealand surged to their their first ever Test victory over them.
England's win in their most recent match at the ground in 1996-97 brought an end to a series of high-scoring draws between the sides stretching back to 1977-78. In 1996-97, a century by
Graham Thorpe and career-best match figures of 9 for 92 by
Darren Gough ensured that England strolled to victory by an innings.
An unremarkable match in 1992 will always be remembered for the horrific injury suffered by David "Syd" Lawrence. Lawrence's knee-cap shattered during his delivery stride and he was carried in agony from the field. Despite various comeback attempts, his career was effectively ended by the injury.
Derek Randall's 164 in 1983-84 is the highest score between the sides on this ground, while Frank Wooley's 7 for 76 in 1929-30 remain the best individual bowling figures. Nobody has bettered Richard Hadlee's match figures of 10 for 100 in 1977-78.
© Wisden CricInfo Ltd
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