The morning started early for Andy who was up at 7am for his 10k fix running along the hillside of Mount Pleasant. The views down over Lyttelton and South New Brighton Bay were spectacular, helped by the early morning sunshine and cloudless skies.

After a lovely breakfast at the B&B looking out over the New Brighton Bay, we made an early departure to drive across Christchurch to meet Brent, who kindly agreed to drive to the cricket and find a nearby parking spot.

Fortunately we found a space close to Hagley Park and we were soon walking across the nearby fields close to the cricket ground meeting up with Brent’s brother in law, Rodney.

As we entered the ground, we were greeted by the sight of one of the infamous Barmy Army. They are a breed apart and are fully committed to the cause of 5 days of cricket (and the occasional beer and burger!)

After finding a suitable spot on the grass banks, we got out our folding chairs and made ourselves comfortable.

With about 30mins to take in the surroundings before the start & buy the first beer – it was almost 11am after all, we waited for the captains to appear and the outcome of the toss as to who will bat, and who will then bowl.

England won the toss and put NZ into bat and we were on our way.

After an early wicket for England, the Kiwis soon got themselves into the swing and the runs started to mount.

Within our group was Brent’s son-in-law Todd Astle, a former New Zealand cricket international who retired a couple of years back. Given his cricketing status there was a need to grab a photo to honour our time with Kiwi cricketing royalty!

At lunch NZ were already 100 with the loss of just 2 wickets, so to compensate their growing strength in the game, we went for lunch of a bacon sandwich and fries and sat with the bevy of English fans to take in the atmosphere.

It felt a little weird being around so many English voices despite being so far from home. Many had only arrived in the country in the last 24hrs and had more or less come straight to the game. Despite their inevitable tiredness, many seemed happy to take on the medicinal powers of beer and burgers to help them out.

After a fantastic day at the cricket enjoying the sunshine, the chat and the occasional beer, the score in the cricket seemed to take a backseat. When we left around 6pm, NZ were just passing 300 runs and had lost 8 wickets. I suspect both sides will be relatively happy with the current situation, with lots to play for over the remaining 4 days of the test.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to our Kiwi friends Lana and Brent, who we hope to see again either in England/Europe or when next in NZ.

Tomorrow we are moving on down the coast to visit Timaru, and on to Lake Tekapo and possibly Lake Pukaki time permitting.