A bright and breezy Wellington morning greeted England’s cricketers as they arrived for the start of the Second Test Match of their tour of New Zealand. Brendon McCullum elected to bowl first on a pitch which appeared to hold something for both batsmen and bowlers. England had looked shaky during their First Innings in Dunedin and New Zealand were keen to capitalise on any early nerves that the tourists might have.
They may have been worried as well, after Alastair Cook had played an uncharacteristically poor shot to be dismissed for 17 and was caught at mid-on. However, the tide quickly turned in England’s favour as Trott and Compton began laying a superb foundation for a big score.
Nick Compton, full of confidence from his maiden hundred in the First Test, looked assured as he put together his second consecutive ton off of 230 balls. The Somerset man has impressed so far on this tour, and this innings all but confirmed his place for this summer’s Ashes series.
Trott was a willing supporter to Compton, also registering his first hundred of the year late on the second day. The only criticism of the two is the relatively slow strike rate at which they scored, especially as rain had been forecast for days four and five. However, this shouldn’t overshadow some quality top order batting.
Another positive for England was Kevin Pietersen’s 79. England’s brilliant but sometimes erratic number four was not at his fluid best but scrapped hard for his runs and showed signs that he may not be far off a return to top form, just in time for an Ashes summer. Matt Prior also underlined his status as the world’s premier wicketkeeper batsmen with an exciting 82, helping to take England to 465 all out.
New Zealand’s innings started slowly as they reached 48 for the loss of a single wicket. However, wickets then began to fall at fairly regular intervals for the hosts as they slumped to 89 for 5. This was down to a mixture of poor shots and good bowling, particularly from Broad who went onto collect 6 wickets.
It is undeniable that Broad is at his best when he looks to pitch the ball up and he achieved this on a pitch which offered something for the seamers. The injury to his heel, which had at one point threatened his career, looks to have cleared up for the time being – this can only be good news for England.
‘Kiwi’ skipper McCullum and keeper Watling battled back, both scoring half centuries as England began to toil a little. Panesar and Finn in particular failed to impress. Panesar bowled with slightly too much pace and a lack of flight and guile, whilst Finn failed to find any real rhythm, bowling a wayward line throughout. However, once this partnership was broken, Broad and co. set about mopping up the tail. New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 254, 211 runs behind England.
With rain promised for the final two days, England decided to enforce the follow on in order to try and force a result. However, due to the weather, only 35 overs were possible on day four. With New Zealand having reached 162 for 2, it looked like the game, much like in the First Test, would peter out into a draw.
The result was assured as the fifth day in Wellington came and went without a ball being bowled, a disappointing end to a Test match in which England played well and had been on top for the majority, but were ultimately unable to force home their advantage at crucial moments.
The final test will begin on Thursday (21.30 GMT) in Auckland. With the series still at 0-0, all is to play for and England will be confident of exerting their superiority over New Zealand. The ‘Kiwis’ have proved a tough nut to crack at times and have surprised a few people with their performances so far this series. However, if England perform to expectations and the weather holds, I fully expect them to wrap up a series victory in the final Test, thus getting an exciting year off to the perfect start.
Alex Manning
exeposedev 