It is perhaps too early to begin a Read Must Stay campaign but he must

It is perhaps too early to begin a Read Must Stay campaign but he must.England are a side who sometimes seem as if they would have trouble responding to a cloned combination of Aristotle, Alexander the Great and Don Bradman. Deceived by his fellow left-armer’s flight, Vettori edged; the ball hit Read’s gloves, looped up in the air and Thorpe ran backwards from slip and to take the catch.Read had an untidy morning behind the stumps. He is still growing accustomed to Tufnell’s wiles and was not helped by the bounce but he will know that he fluffed too when many standing back.He is also 20, in his second Test and the selectors must keep faith with him. He has safe hands, he is learning and there is no surely no point having come this far in turning elsewhere.

But a stand of 70 in 104 balls had already given England far too much to cope with.At last Phil Tufnell snared the final two wickets, the first of which crystallised a bad day for England’s fledgling wicketkeeper, Chris Read. For a while it was all too reminiscent of Tudor on the Saturday of the Edgbaston Test, including the square of the wicket shots The dismissal of Cairns hastened the tourists’ demise. When Parore went continuing his have-a-go policy Vettori was joined by Chris Cairns and they continued in much the same jaunty fashion If it was there to hit, they hit it. The New Zealanders removed Vettori, which seemed mysterious, and was replaced by Nathan Astle His fifth ball was wide and deserved the full treatment.

Ramprakash, grateful for something to hit, prepared to dish it out He managed only a bottom edge An inspired change. Habib and Dean Headley, a nightwatchman protecting Chris Read of all people, survived with no certainty whatever.New Zealand had extended their lead from the realms of handsome to imposing in the morning. Vettori and Adam Parore put on a cheeky 33 in 51 balls, Vettori playing square of the wicket, Parore having a bash in most places. Thorpe was undone by Chris Cairns’s slower ball, neither the first, nor, probably the last, because it is a devilish thing.Ramprakash was scratchy but he looked phlegmatic about it He would stick at it. Stewart became fidgetty and his shot across the line to Vettori soon after betrayed his frustration. If not Thorpe then who? And whoever it is, where would it leave Hussain if his replacement took England to rampant victories? On the evidence of this match the latter is not a question with which the selectors will have to wrestle.England’s reply started with reasonable composure. Mark Butcher has been in good form all summer and looked it when he cut two wide balls.