Taha Hashim on another day in the dirt for England in New Zealand.

It wasn’t a demolition job from New Zealand. Nor were England’s bowlers really that poor. To put it quite simply, it was a day of confusion.

The first peculiar sight was seeing Ollie Pope take the gloves for just the sixth time in first-class cricket, a by-product of Jos Buttler’s back injury. He did what is asked of a wicketkeeper: to appear innocuous by getting the basics correct. But it seems wrong that it has come to this. Here lies England’s most talented young batsman, still looking to find a spot in this side and out come the gloves to burden him. At Surrey he can go out and just bat, and that first-class average says he does that pretty well. Even for the minimal demands of a two-match Test series, a more experienced wicketkeeping option should have made the cut, mainly for Pope’s sake.

A fine century from Tom Latham, the 11th of his Test career ??#NZvENG pic.twitter.com/v3B2ZWHiNV

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) November 29, 2019

Joe Root opted to bowl first – Kane Williamson admitted that he would have done the same – but from the off, there was cause for concern. While some movement accounted for Jeet Raval and Williamson, Tom Latham and Ross Taylor showed there was little danger in the surface. The ball pinged off Latham’s bat as he made midwicket his home. He has entered the territory of the world-class with his form in recent years. At the age of 27 – usually a stage of adolescence for Test batsmen – he has racked up 11 Test centuries, with five coming in his last 10 innings. Bowl first in a Test match and you’re looking for hints of a collapse. Taylor and Latham rubbished such notions. 

Confusion isn’t always a bad thing. England’s best bowler on display was Chris Woakes, the man they omitted from their line-up for the first Test. To fit in with the order of the day, he came in for the left-arm spin of Jack Leach as England opted for an all-seam frontline attack for the first time in seven years. Life away from home has been tough for Woakes in Test cricket, but in Hamilton – with his beard looking ever more luxurious – he nagged away for impressive opening day figures of 2-41 from 14 overs. Sam Curran, who took his spot in the first Test, bowled nine expensive overs to once more force the question that will persist for years to come: what is he? 

Bruce Oxenford added to the mysterious forces at work by reversing his own view of what he had seen on Hot Spot and Ben Stokes’ misfortunes compounded England’s misery. First there was the diving dropped catch in the slip cordon off Watling: difficult for others but a regulation chance for Stokes. Two overs were all he could manage with the ball in his hand, with his knee causing him obvious discomfort. Throughout 2019 he has been a man seemingly infallible, but today, for once, England’s all-action hero couldn’t shift the tide. 

Going forward in this match, Zak Crawley will bat in at No.6, having found success at Kent after moving away from the middle order. It’s a decision that is very much on brand. After day one of the first Test, when England were 241-4, the possibility of an innings defeat was out of the question. International cricket is finally emerging as a bit of a challenge for Archer – he went wicketless today – and this long winter, which was supposed to herald a re-energised, more traditional era for England, has already taken a turn for the weird.