Oh well! England’s hopes of a 3-0 series win were smashed to smithereens by Will O’Rourke and friends on the second day in Hamilton. Now they – and we, although I suppose you are free to go to bed if you like – must endure the admin of defeat. For the next couple of sessions, England’s bowlers are likely get an insight into how Sisyphus felt.

New Zealand will resume on 136 for three, a lead of 340, with Kane Williamson on 50 and Rachin Ravindra on 2. England will tell themselves they can chase anything. But even in Test cricket’s year of the unexpected, an England win feels impossible.

That doesn’t mean today’s play has no value. It’s a particularly important day for Shoaib Bashir, who is having a poor end to a largely excellent first year in Test cricket. Bashir is probably England’s greatest concern ahead of their big year. He looks tired, mentally rather than physically, and a few months off will do him good.

Bashir can still end on a high. A three-for would make him the second youngest bowler to take 50 Test wickets in a calendar year (the youngest was Kapil Dev in 1979). Even allowing for the inordinate volume of Test cricket that England have played it would be a lovely achievement and a reminder – to us and more importantly to Bashir – that what he has achieved is not remotely normal.