Although batting may have appeared rather easy in the first Test between Aotearoa and England as BJ Watling plodded along, the lingering danger of getting a spicy bit of action off the pitch remained throughout the Blackcaps batting innings. At any stage of the innings, a ball may have nipped sideways, up and down or done nothing while a batsman was expecting some movement. Batsmen toiled, got set up at the crease and then the cricketing gods sent them back to the changing sheds.

Such intriguing danger brought Mitchell Santner to the crease with work to do. Colin de Grandhomme did the CDG thing for 65 runs @ 60.18sr, but at the time of his dismissal the Blackcaps were still behind England's first innings total and Santner's joined Watling to take the game further along. A test century to Santner, his first and a double-hundy to the short but hearty wall that is Watling gave the Blackcaps a dominant position; 3 wickets to Santner in the evening then doubled-down on that position.

This was standard Watling and the individual milestone is a glittering bow on top of a team-first performance, the type of performances we have come to expect. I'd suggest that in lovely Watling fashion, this knock be remembered for Watling putting his team in a strong position to win a Test and not for the milestone. It simply felt like Watling doing his job, the same job he's always done.

Santner's efforts though, come at a time when everyone's pondering the role of a spinner in a Blackcaps Test team playing in Aotearoa. Santner has always seduced us as kiwi cricket fans, everything he does on a cricket field simply looks slick, smooth and as though he is at ease with that moment. The substance hasn't quite matched the seduction though and while it's easy to see how his left-arm spin could be amazing as he drifts the ball into righties, then takes it away and resembles the second coming of matua Vettori, the wicket-taking threat wasn't quite there.

The exact same idea applies to Santner's batting as his tall lefty style reminds me of matua Fleming, just without the runs. I've genuinely, straight up written about Santner batting further up the order (in other formats) because he looks better playing like a batsman and not having to whack boundaries late in an innings. Craig Cumming said that Santner opened for Northern Districts Knights, I can't remember if Cumming said that Santner opened in his debut - Santner's debut was vs Cumming's Otago Volts and Santner was due to bat #8.

I do remember Santner batting #4 for ND early in the 2017/18 season vs Auckland Aces and Santner was joined by Watling, Kane Williamson, Tim Seifert and all the other big-boy Blackcaps. Santner was the only batsman to score 50+ in both innings.

Santner looks like a good batsman, he just hadn't really done enough consistently in Test cricket to have that look backed up by substance. This is why Santner averaged 24.34 with the bat and 39.08 with the ball prior to this Test, or more to the point; this is why Santner is in the Test team without too much fuss despite not commanding selection with big numbers. Santner is the only spinner of the Blackcaps group (Ajaz Patel, Will Somerville, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi) who averages over 35 with the ball in First-Class cricket and yet Santner's been backed ahead of those troopers.

It was a confusing experience trying to explain Santner. I could talk myself into all sorts of alternatives and while I appreciate the look of everything Santner does, I wouldn't feel that bad because others were doing more with bat or ball or both. What Santner did, specifically with the bat in Tauranga, was announce his arrival as the piece that the Blackcaps need as the embark on Test Championship glory.

There is a nice flow of improvement that catches the eye as well...

Bat

2015: 5inns, 26avg.

2016: 9inns, 21.22avg.

2017: 7inns, 30.57avg.

2019: 3inns, 50.33avg.

Ball

2015: 5inns, 31avg.

2016: 14inns, 39.90avg.

2017: 8inns, 33.71avg.

2019: 4inns, 33avg.

Batting's generally on the up, bowling averages is slowly trickling down. Santner doesn't need to hit any excessive heights with the bat as he is playing a role in this Blackcaps team, which is why a crucial knock like his century in this Test is delightful. The milestone mark is cool, but this experience was all about Santner's batting coming through a rite of passage as there were all sorts of challenges that popped up throughout the battle. Santner stayed there, alongside Watling and it feels like we have just seen something from Santner that we have long been wondering about.

In the world of Blackcaps spinners being selected for their batting and fielding, Santner's differentiated himself from the pack. Who you want as your main Blackcaps spinner depends on your preference and where you're from in Aotearoa as I have all these spinners a fairly evenly ranked; no one is exceptionally better than anyone else. Santner's little showcase of clutch batting, now offers a foundation from which he can settle into his spin work.

Previously it felt like Santner had a free-pass to Blackcaps cricket based on that seduction factor. Now Santner's saved up some cents and bought his own pass to selection for the summer and we wait to see where Santner takes this opportunity.

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Peace and love 27.