'It hasn't been mentioned at all' - Wellington 2023 not on teams' mind ahead of second Test

Plenty has been spoken about the last time New Zealand entertained England at Wellington ahead of Friday's second Test. And it is fair to say the players are bored of it.

"The only chats I've had about it are speaking to you guys [the media]," Ben Stokes said when 2023's one-run thriller was brought up on Thursday. This time around, public entertainment is not a priority: "Any win, any way, shape or form."

New Zealand captain Tom Latham felt similar, even if the spirit of that particular result needs to be evoked here and now. Just as it was then, New Zealand find themselves 1-0 down in the series, and in a peculiar state of flux once more.

They were in transition then and are seemingly in the same state of limbo 22 months on. And yet an unchanged XI from the first Test that contains seven survivors from that Neil Wagner-inspired epic is not wistfully romanticising about the possibility of history repeating itself. Parity in the series will have to be earned.

"It hasn't been mentioned at all," Latham said. "We know it's a completely different team, a completely different bowling attack to that was used here, a different make-up to the batting."

Defeat in Christchurch gives New Zealand a middling record of five wins and five defeats from ten Tests in 2024 so far. The India success, professional and deserved, looks like the beautiful anomaly that it is.

A temptation to tweak perhaps should have been taken, if only to get Will Young, Player of the Series from that tour, into the XI. New Zealand are not in a position to leave form players out, particularly when those out of form can be swapped out with minimal fuss.

The man most under the microscope is Tom Blundell, who could have been swapped out for Young, with either Devon Conway or Latham taking the gloves. A first innings 17 followed by a golden duck has dipped his calendar year average to 15.88. His one and only fifty came eight innings ago, in which time he has returned five single-figure scores, including two noughts.

Clarity has been the key between Tests. Players were informed more than 24 hours before Thursday's start that they would get the chance to go again, a chance at redemption to square the series. Blundell included, who will be playing at his home ground where he averages 55.16 in six Tests.

"He's always known that he's been playing," Latham said on whether the player himself had doubts about making the cut this week. "We fully back Tom in terms of his ability to score runs and do a good job behind the stumps. We know what a quality player he is."

New Zealand's training session on Wednesday and Thursday featured catching sessions, which is nothing at all out of the norm but certainly drew more eyeballs after their botched fielding effort at Hagley Oval. Eight catches were dropped in England's first innings, the most egregious being the first of five lives for Harry Brook on 18 before he went on to 171.

"We did a bit of catching yesterday and today, just like we usually do. We haven't necessarily put an extra focus on it. We always put the work in behind the scenes, regardless of whether things have gone our way or not."

Latham is guarded at the best of times, but there is a broader sense that New Zealand are keen to adopt a more ruthless approach. Not necessarily towards the opposition, but to themselves. The romanticism of Wellington 2023 counts for little. Nor does the first Test of this series.

"Last week was last week," Latham said. "We've got another opportunity this week. We try and stay as level as we can. We've been in this situation before when things haven't necessarily gone the way that we've wanted in the first game."