If at first you don't succeed. For 52 years various cricketers from New Zealand had tried and failed to win a Test match in England, and as the 1983 series between the two countries commenced it looked a case of same old same old. With England winning the first match of the series at the Oval, the chances of Geoff Howarth's tourists ending the drought looked slim.
Played 28, lost 17, drawn 11. This was New Zealand's unenviable record in England as the two teams prepared for the second Test at Headingley. The bookies certainly did not expect an immediate change in fortunes, with England priced at 4/6 with the visitors the outsiders at 6/1. Come the end of day three, these odds would be significantly different.
Despite losing the first Test, it would be Richard Hadlee that claimed the man of the match award, his eight wickets and first innings 84 highlighting his key all-rounder role in the team. Yet it would be another man who would be the hero in Leeds, as amazingly Hadlee failed to take a wicket, although he would make a contribution with the bat.
The man who inspired New Zealand to their first Test win in England had been feeling the pressure. Taking just six wickets on tour, Lance Cairns knew his place in the team was under scrutiny as New Zealand played Warwickshire prior to the second Test. "Before the match the captain came up to me and said I had not been bowling all that well and that my place was under pressure," Cairns admitted.
In hot and humid conditions, Cairns ripped through Warwickshire's batting in their second innings, taking 7/46 as the tourists gained a morale-boosting win. "This was a good time to get back in the groove because Headingley will suit my style of bowling." England skipper Bob Willis, who made 37 in Warwickshire's 126, had witnessed Cairns' abilities first-hand.
England made just one change from the Oval, bringing in Graham Dilley for Vic Marks on a wicket that was expected to favour the seamers. New Zealand replaced wicketkeeper Warren Lees with Ian Smith, yet it was expected that England would have too much for New Zealand, even with Hadlee in prime form.
"Assuming decent weather and that Hadlee can be kept down to ordinarily superhuman proportions, England ought to have enough depth of batting and bowling to win again," Matthew Engel previewed in the Guardian. England did at least manage to blunt Hadlee at Headingley; the sharp end would be provided by the so-called lesser lights.
Howarth won the toss and inserted England on a slightly damp wicket, and openers Graeme Fowler and Chris Tavare struggled through the first hour, scoring just 15 runs. Ewan Chatfield removed Fowler, and Cairns dismissed David Gower to leave England 35/2. But Tavare dug in for 69 in just under five hours, and with contributions from Allan Lamb and Ian Botham, England looked reasonably comfortable.
It would take a great catch from Martin Crowe to turn the tide. Lamb's classy innings of 58 ended with Cairns taking his second wicket "just when the New Zealand attack looked to be approaching disintegration", in the words of Henry Blofeld, and when Cairns dismissed Botham for 38 from just 33 balls, the collapse was on.
Soon 175/3 became 225 all out as Cairns decimated England's batting line-up. Taking Test best figures of 7/74, Cairns' medium pace was ideal for the conditions at Headingley. Bowling unchanged for three hours, Cairns' first five-wicket haul for two years had swung the match in favour of the tourists.
Ending day one on 11/0, New Zealand looked to ram home their advantage on the Friday. They would do so, but not without a few bumps along the way. Opener Bruce Edgar was forced to retire hurt on 19 after being struck on the hip by a Botham delivery, and partner John Wright would have an eventful day.
Wright's 93 was the backbone of the innings, although he undid some of his good work by running out both Howarth and Jeff Crowe, before being caught at mid-off with a loose shot. These three wickets saw New Zealand slump from 168/1 to 169/4, but this aside, England struggled to get the same out of the pitch as Cairns.
"There had been talk of a ridge on a full length from the pavilion end, where the wickets fell yesterday," Engel stated. "But if Mount Cairns exists, no Englishman has discovered it." Martin Crowe and Jeremy Coney steadied the innings before the latter departed just before close of play. With Edgar returning to the crease, New Zealand ended on 252/5, a lead of 27.
It was just the fourth time in England that New Zealand had taken a first innings lead in England, and Edgar and Hadlee guaranteed by the close of play on Saturday that the visitors were well placed for their first Test win in England. Edgar (84), Hadlee (75) and an unbeaten 24 from Cairns saw New Zealand reach 377, with Engel scathing towards Willis' captaincy in the morning session.
"It was the most listless, leaderless session that England have drifted through for many years," Engel complained, and although the last four wickets fell quickly after lunch, New Zealand's lead of 152 looked daunting. This time it would be Chatfield who wreaked havoc.
Both openers had been dropped before Chatfield claimed their wickets, yet with England reaching 116/2 as the final hour approached, there was hope amongst the majority of the 12,500 spectators present. But English cricket fans know what usually follows hope.
Coney removed Lamb and Botham, with Chatfield dismissing Randall and Edmonds, to leave England on 154/6 - effectively 2/6 - prior to the rest day on Sunday. Whereas Cairns had enjoyed success from the Pavilion End in the first innings, all six England wickets had fallen at the Kirkstall Lane End. The miracle was that Hadlee had remained quiet.
With Gower and Graham Dilley at the crease, there were English dreams of a miracle at Headingley, just like 1981, albeit this time England's odds were 100/1 rather than 500/1. The last four wickets did manage to add 98 runs, and Gower scored his first home Test century since 1978. Chatfield took 5/95 and it was fitting that Cairns claimed the last three wickets to end with match figures of 10/144.
New Zealand required just 101 runs for an historic victory. Briefly Willis threatened to roll back the years, taking four wickets to leave the visitors on 61/4, as the nerves jangled. "We were all very tense," Howarth admitted. "In the dressing room everyone was counting down the score. Anyone who moved got a rollicking for fear it would bring bad luck."
Willis removed Jeff Crowe as New Zealand limped to 83/5, his fifth wicket of the innings seeing him become the fourth bowler to pass 300 Test match wickets. Maybe his captaincy had been shaky, but his best Test match figures of 9/92 suggested that Willis was doing his best to lead by example.
It would be left to Coney to hit the winning boundary off Botham shortly after tea on day four - Willis had insisted that the interval should still be taken with New Zealand four runs shy of victory - as the celebrations could begin in earnest in the New Zealand dressing room and for those watching in the early hours of the morning at home.
According to some reports, the extra time taken to conclude the match forced the New Zealand broadcaster to pay a further £3,000 in satellite costs. But it would have been worth every penny for cricket fans in the country. New Zealand's first Test match win in England was also their first away victory since beating Pakistan in Lahore in 1969.
"Yet another of our fledglings has grown up big and strong, come home, and kicked us in the teeth," Engel noted in his match report. Yet through it all Willis remained calm, rejecting calls for Botham to be dropped, and stating with confidence that England would win the series.
England's skipper would be proved correct, as victories at Lord's and Trent Bridge gave the home team a 3-1 series win. But for now the glory was New Zealand's. Prime Minister Robert Muldoon sent his congratulations to the history making men, as at the 29th time of asking New Zealand had triumphed in England.
Cairns was inevitably named man of the match, the 33-year-old who just a week before had been unsure of his place in the team was now a key figure in New Zealand's second Test win over England. They may not have gone on to win the series, but the foundations for New Zealand's future success were being built. The next two series involving these countries would prove this.
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