In the enchanting realm of Test cricket, where battles often span five grueling days, every once in a rare while, the cricketing gods conspire to script a finale so thrilling, so improbable, that it’s permanently seared into the minds of all who witnessed it. The 2023 Wellington Test between New Zealand and England was one such encounter, and for Neil Wagner, the Kiwi pace spearhead who delivered the coup de grâce, the tingles of that one-run triumph refuse to subside.
Speaking to us nearly a year after that pulsating contest at the historic Basin Reserve, Wagner’s voice still brims with emotion as he recounts those final moments. “It was just a sense of massive relief and jubilation at the end,” he says, reliving the instant when, with England needing just two runs to win with their last pair at the crease, he induced a tickle down the leg side from Jimmy Anderson, brilliantly pouched by keeper Tom Blundell.
“Winning the World Test Championship in 2021 was the pinnacle, but that Test match, just one run in it, will also stay with me forever,” Wagner reflects. The fierce competitor in him, though, is quick to laud the sportsmanship that followed, even in the face of a gut-wrenching defeat for England.
“I’ll never forget the aftermath – the two teams out in the middle together until it was pitch black, playing ‘pig’ with a soccer ball and sharing a few cold beers. That’s the beauty of Test cricket.”
– Neil Wagner
Setting the Stage for a Classic
Rewind to the start of that fateful final day, and few would have scripted a close finish, let alone a one-run humdinger. Enforcing the follow-on after gaining a sizable first-innings lead, England captain Ben Stokes had backed his bowlers to seal an emphatic series win. Wagner admits being surprised by the decision, but also sensed an opportunity.
“I remember running off to strap on my bowling boots at the end of our first innings, and I think it was Ben Duckett and Joe Root who said: ‘Relax mate, you guys are batting’. I was like, ‘What? You guys are muling me.’ But I thought, ‘Yeah, glorious, this is the best thing for us’."
Turning the Tide
Kane Williamson’s defiant 132 off 282 balls laid the platform for an improbable fightback, but it was the final day pyrotechnics that truly set pulses racing. England’s chase of 258 swung wildly, with Wagner himself playing a starring role.
The left-arm quick’s barrage of short-pitched missiles proved decisive, snaring both Joe Root and Ben Stokes to turn the match on its head. “They were playing a pretty brutal partnership,” Wagner recalls of the duo’s 121-run stand. “Tim Southee, our captain, said to me, ‘Stokes is tiring, his knee is hurting, let’s go short and hard’. We got him, then Joe, and we felt right back in it.”
Down to the Wire
But even with England seven down, the drama was far from over. Ben Foakes and Jack Leach whittled the equation down to just seven runs required, before Wagner intervened once again with a stunning catch in the deep to remove Foakes.
With No. 11 Anderson joining Leach and two runs to get, what followed were moments of sheer, gut-churning tension. Wagner paints a vivid picture:
“Leachy pinched a single, and then I remember Jimmy charging me from nowhere and absolutely crunching it through Kane’s legs for four. I thought we were done again.”
– Neil Wagner
But cricket’s fickle hand wasn’t done just yet. Wagner zeroed in on his plan – “bowl into Jimmy’s chest, bring leg gully and short leg into play” – and with the field tightening, he unleashed a rising delivery down the leg side.
“It was one hell of a catch down leg from our keeper, Tom Blundell. He had been amazing all day, standing up to the quicks for a lot of it. We’re not ‘express’, but we hit the gloves hard and he didn’t concede a single bye.”
– Neil Wagner
A Triumph for the Ages
As Blundell pouched the faint tickle and the umpire’s finger went up, the New Zealanders erupted in unbridled joy, while England’s valiant effort dissolved into heartache. Test cricket had once again underscored its unparalleled capacity for drama, and Wagner & Co. had etched their names into its hallowed annals.
Nearly 12 months on, as the sides renew acquaintances at the very same venue, Wagner concedes that a repeat of that nerve-shredding denouement might be a bit much to ask for. But the fire in his eyes confirms that, even in the twilight of a stellar career, he’ll be straining every sinew to script another glorious chapter.
For that is the essence of Test cricket – an unrelenting examination of skill, willpower, and character, where the thinnest of margins can be the difference between agony and ecstasy. And on that unforgettable Wellington day in 2023, Neil Wagner and his band of Kiwi brothers stood tall on the right side of that razor-thin line, forging a memory that will endure long after the sweat and tears have dried.
