Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey

Cricket News: Wake up call for New Zealand after loss in tour game | New Zealand lost tour game to First Class Counties XI

New Zealand fell to a seven-wicket defeat in their warmup game against the County Select XI at Chelmsford. Ben Compton and Nick Gubbins top-scored with 119 and 67 respectively to lead the side to a comfortable chase of 264 runs in the fourth innings.

In the process, Compton also completed his 1000 runs in the English summer before the end of May. But this feat would not be recognised officially given that this particular tour game against the Kiwis did not have the first-class status. Skipper Dominic Sibley offered great support upfront with a solid 34 as Hubbins remained unbeaten till the end to take his side home.

New Zealand were rolled for 148 in their second innings, with six of the top seven registering single-digit scores. Will Young, Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell scored ducks before the lower order fought back to get New Zealand to 148 after crumbling to 19/6. Jamie Porter did most of the damage, with the seamer taking 5/18 off his five overs.

Most New Zealand bowlers draw blank in tour game defeat

Most of the Kiwi bowlers drew blank with the likes of Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner failing to record a single dismissal in the fourth innings. Ajaz Patel struck twice but it wasn’t enough to stop the Select XI from cruising towards the total on the final day.

“They played really well and I think that’s exactly what you want in games like this. You want to be playing against some guys that are really in form and Ben Compton is one of those guys. It was good for us bowlers to get out there and work on a few plans and get that time in the legs which has been really crucial,” New Zealand pacer Matt Henry was quoted in a report by ESPNCricinfo.

He added, “It’s been great to have a couple of weeks here playing but I think everyone has had their eye on that first Test for a while now and I think everyone is looking forward to getting to London and getting the preparation underway.”

New Zealand had initially opted for a 20-player touring crew for the warmup games. But the management will trim that down upon the final squad on Monday.

The Kiwis tested nine different bowlers in the fourth innings. With Trent Boult just having completed his appearance in Rajasthan’s defeat to Gujarat in the IPL 2022 Final, the Black Caps are likely to go with a quartet of Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner and Matt Henry for the Lord’s Test starting Thursday.

The County Select XI is comprised of the best first-class cricketers not required by their counties for the ongoing Vitality T20 Blast.

FCCXI vs New Zealand Tour Game Score Summary

County Select XI 247 (James 52, Haines 42, Patel 3-32) and 264 for 3 (Compton 119, Gubbins 67*) defeated New Zealand 362 for 9 (Henry 65, Mitchell 58, Patterson-White 3-60) and 148 (Wagner 36, Jamieson 36, Porter 5-31, Gibbon 3-36) by seven wickets.