Torrential rain keeps England hopes alive of salvaging draw in first Test against Black Caps

England’s hopes of salvaging a draw from the first Test against New Zealand were raised when torrential rain saw just 17 balls bowled on day three.

Play did begin at the earlier time of 1.30pm local time but it was stopped nine minutes later when the heavens opened, the hosts adding four runs to their overnight total of 229 for four to extend their first-innings lead to 175. In the process, Henry Nicholls managed the single he needed to reach a sixth Test half-century.

With a clear forecast for the final two days, England will still have to bat well to have any chance of escaping from Eden Park at 0-0 in the series ahead of next week’s second and final Test in Christchurch.

Under any other circumstances, a draw would be a certainty given days two and three have seen the grand total of 26 overs bowled.

England, though, are still heavy favourites to lose after they were bowled out for 58 inside the first session of the match.

That collapse was their sixth-lowest total in 141 years of Test cricket.

Graham Thorpe, England’s batting coach here in New Zealand, was part of the team that were dismissed for just 46 against West Indies in Trinidad in 1994.

And the former Surrey batsman is hopeful the current crop of players can redeem themselves over the remainder of this match.

“It is very rare that things like that happen,” said Thorpe. “I’ve been involved with one or two of them as a player and I’ve seen a couple from a coaching point of view.

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“You have to be pretty good at clearing your head and maybe with a bit of the weather around, it has given the guys a bit of a glimmer in the match itself and that refocuses where we’re at in the game.

“If New Zealand had batted for a really long time then we might not have a glimmer, but with two days to go we still have a chance and that is the thing to focus on.

“We’ve still got quite a lot of work to do in this Test match but they can redeem themselves by putting a top-class performance in for the second innings. That is what it will have to be to get out of this Test match.”

Having been through a similar experience himself 24 years ago in Port of Spain, Thorpe is at least in a position where he can tell England’s batsmen he knows what they’re going through.

He is also clear there is no place to hide after the humiliation of day one.

“I know how you feel lads, don’t worry about it!” he said. “The mind is the most important thing so my life experience can come into play a bit, but they have to go back out there and they are the ones with another innings to play.

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“You’ve got to get back out there and get back in the fight, that is important. Technique is one thing but actually the most important thing is getting your head back into the battle of the match.

“Things like this shake up the dressing-room and they shake up the individuals as well and hopefully we get a response second innings.

“You’re playing for your country and you get rocked over like that, it dents your pride, but you can’t feel sorry for yourself for too long in this game because the next day is coming.

“That is what you learn as a professional sportsman, especially in cricket, you can’t just run into the hills or hide under the bed. You’ve got to get up and go again the next day.

“There is enough character in that dressing-room and you have to dust yourself down and get on with the next day.

“The rain has helped us a little bit and it can give us something to focus on, but we have to bat a damn sight better than we did.”