Five England batsmen fall for ducks as Joe Root’s side collapse for 58 vs NZ

Five England batsmen, including skipper Joe Root, were out for ducks as the visitors collapsed for 58 in the first innings of their opening Test against New Zealand in Auckland

England were off to a horrid start in their two-match Test series against New Zealand as they posted their lowest-ever total in the longest format of the game against the Kiwis after being bundled for just 58 in their first innings.

Joe Root was one of the five England batsmen to be out for a duck during the first innings of England’s first Test against New Zealand in Auckland on Thursday. (REUTERS)

Five batsmen, including skipper Joe Root, were sent packing on ducks with Trent Boult picking up six wickets and Tim Southee cleaning up the rest. A third bowler wasn’t even required as the Englishmen lasted for just 20.4 overs. A late charge from Craig Overton (25-ball 33) spared the visitors a few blushes as they managed to go past the 50-run mark, but apart from him, it was only Mark Stoneman (11) who managed to touch double digits.

This was, however, the lowest total in the history of day-night Test matches besides being the second-lowest against New Zealand. England’s lowest total so far was in the 1977-78 season when they had scored 64 in Wellington. Zimbabwe’s 68 against South Africa in 2017-18 was the lowest score in day-night Tests before this as well.

Overton’s 33, which saw the 10th wicket partnership add 31 runs, also had a record slapped against it as it became only the 4th occasion when the 10th-wicket added more runs to a team tally than the nine other wickets combined.

It didn’t take long for the news to trend on social media and fans came up with quite a few witty one-liners while cricketers took to Twitter to mark the moment.