Toss New Zealand selected to bowl vs England
New Zealand captain Tim Southee opted to insert England for the second Check operating – this time on a gray, blustery morning in Wellington and introduced with a green-tinged Basin Reserve floor that’s anticipated to be at its liveliest early on.
Southee and his assault have been badly mauled within the pink-ball sport in Mount Maunganui, conceding 325 at 5.57 an over and permitting England to dictate phrases for the remainder of the Check. However in additional beneficial circumstances, and with Matt Henry again after the delivery of his little one to sharpen their edge, New Zealand have been aiming to land the primary blows at a floor the place they haven’t misplaced since 2017.
“Hopefully a little bit of life in it however normally right here we’re accustomed to an excellent cricket floor,” Southee stated, earlier than confirming the inclusion of Henry and a recall for top-order batter Will Younger. Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner, debutants within the first Check, each dropped out, with Southee indicating New Zealand would lean on Daryl Mitchell as their fourth seamer.
England had named an unchanged XI a time out from the beginning, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad each match to play on the Basin Reserve, 15 years from the primary outing of their now record-breaking partnership.
Ben Stokes confirmed that he would have made the identical alternative as Southee – it’s greater than a decade because the facet profitable the toss in Wellington has opted to bat first – however was bullish about his facet persevering with with their normal proactive method in a bid to seal England’s first sequence win in New Zealand since 2007-08. “It presents us with a possibility to get on the market and get some runs on the board,” he stated.
New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Younger, 3 Devon Conway, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Tom Blundell (wk), 8 Michael Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry, 11 Neil Wagner
England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Ollie Robinson, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson
