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New Zealand v England / News
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New Zealand v England, 2nd Test, Wellington, 1st day
Didn't start well in favourable conditions - Southee
Andrew McGlashan in Wellington
March 14, 2013
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Players/Officials:
Tim Southee
Matches:
New Zealand v England at Wellington
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England tour of New Zealand
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England
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Tim Southee has blamed New Zealand's insipid new-ball bowling in Wellington on the first day as the major reason why the home side are facing another long stint in the field, after Brendon McCullum had stuck to his pre-match promise of bowling first.
Having sent down 170 overs in the second innings in Dunedin to try and force a victory, they had only two scalps to their credit after another 90 overs of toil. With Jonathan Trott unbeaten on 121 and Kevin Pietersen on 18, another hefty stint in the field will test New Zealand's resolve.
"It was a tough day. I don't think we started particularly well with the new ball in favourable conditions, and the little period after lunch wasn't great either," Southee said. "There was a little in it early and I don't think we used that to our advantage. We were chasing it from there. But between that we showed patches where we managed to dry up [the runs], and if we'd grabbed a couple of wickets, it could have been a different story."
New Zealand's quicks bowled 114 overs between them in the second innings at University Oval, and were given a very gentle time of it between matches with almost no bowling on the warm-up days. After the early success of removing Alastair Cook, there was no further joy for the seamers, and it was left to Bruce Martin, the left-arm spinner, to tie up an end and eventually remove Nick Compton for 100, which ended a second-wicket stand of 210.
Southee added that backing up after long spells in the field was something bowlers had to be prepared for. "It's part of Test cricket and you almost have to enjoy it," he said. "It's tough, but it can be very satisfying when you get the rewards. The bodies have recharged and we are ready to go again. It's a big day tomorrow and it's [all] about enjoying it."
Yet, while England's total of 267 for 2 suggests that there was only one decision a captain should have made at the toss, Jonathan Trott confirmed that they would have likely taken the same approach. "I think we would have done the same. Alastair is probably very lucky, or very happy, that it didn't land on heads."
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Andrew McGlashan
Assistant Editor Andrew arrived at ESPNcricinfo via Manchester and Cape Town, after finding the assistant editor at a weak moment as he watched England's batting collapse in the Newlands Test. Andrew began his cricket writing as a freelance covering Lancashire during 2004 when they were relegated in the County Championship. In fact, they were top of the table when he began reporting on them but things went dramatically downhill. He likes to let people know that he is a supporter of county cricket, a fact his colleagues will testify to and bemoan in equal quantities.
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Obviously the captains both believed that there was something in the wicket for the bowlers so either they were wrong or NZ just bowled poorly. They probably didn't make the batsmen play quite enough and I wonder whether the lack of bowling before the game in order to recuperate has left them a little under-prepared. If England can get through the first hour unscathed tomorrow then we could be in for a real treat, with KP, Bell, Root and Prior looking to turn it on with Trott playing the anchor role. They'll need to score at a decent clip if the rain does come later in the game because they can't rely on NZ folding twice on what seems a pretty good batting strip. There were runbles about England slow scoring today but we'll hear much more of that if they get close to a win but fall just short. That's always the problem with batting first though: you just don't know how many risks to take and what's a good score.
The first hour of the 2nd day will be crucial. If NZ can send back KP earlier, it would be a blessing for them. Otherwise he now has the license to go after the bowlers. And once he does that, the result is secured in favor of the England. So, NZ should plan for KP first!! And again in the batting, they need to take some inspiration from Compton and Trott...the patience is the key in test matches. For Eng, everything seems to be in their control now. Unlike NZ, the English quicks will fire for sure!
Today's play has proved both captains right: there was something in the pitch. On Day 1 the New Zealand bowlers used the pitch poorly, did not make the batsmen play and just wasted their strength a lot. On day 2, 11 wickets have fallen for 264 runs, which shows the possibilities.
Posted byThe England batting lineup is as good as you will find in Test cricket right now - the top four all average 49-50 and Bell and Prior in the mid 40's. It should be no surprise the NZ bowlers are finding it tough out there!! Regardless of how much 'a road' this pitch is once again in this match, a young developing bowling unit up against a proven test batting lineup should be expected to favour of the former on most occasions. Off-cutters, leg-cutters, slower balls - NZ will need to make full use of these if they are to even slightly trouble England's batsmen tomorrow...
Posted by Snick_To_Backward_Point on (March 14, 2013, 11:08 GMT)SCoreboard pressure is a strange beast and can wreak all sorts of mischief on 'flat tracks'. I feel, having watched the first session, that Southee is being honest in his assessment - they didn't get as much out of that first session as they should have done. Barring some catastophy or the weather playing a significant role, I fully expect a resounding victory for England now. I feel this because Monty should find more assistance from this pitch than the last.