Windy Wellington
In the Guardian Vic Marks describes an edgy and windy day at the Basin Reserve where England made several fielding errors.
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
In the Guardian Vic Marks describes an edgy and windy day at the Basin Reserve where England made several fielding errors.
Collingwood was insecure at second slip; this time Alastair Cook was unable to cling on to a blinder. And, of course, England donated their usual quota of overthrows. Graeme Swann came on as a sub and needlessly, laughably, threw the ball over Tim Ambrose's head for four. Farcical fielding, except that the bowler, Ryan Sidebottom, wasn't laughing.
All this and having to cope with Brendon McCullum as well. Early on he survived a confident appeal for a bat-pad catch to gully off the increasingly red-faced Sidebottom. It looked a good shout but Umpire Koertzen could hear nothing. How could he with this wind belting down the pitch?
David Gower is impressed by the batting skills of England's new wicketkeeper, Tim Ambrose. He writes in the Times:
What he gave England, especially on Thursday, was fight. He was able to lead a genuine counterattack to the extent that Paul Collingwood at the other end was able to play the less exuberant role without any sense that he, the senior player, had to make the running. The partnership seems to work. Collingwood was also able to show the new man how to play those same problem deliveries, getting himself into line better to allow him to get bat on ball more often.
Michael Atherton believes if England go on to win the Test, it will be because Ambrose's hundred. He writes in the Telegraph:
It was a hundred laced with good shots, mostly in that infuriating arc for bowlers and captains between backward point and third man. His cutting, in particular, was as impressive as anything we have seen since - well, since Andrew Strauss was in his pomp (sadly, a fading memory) - and it was the most important batting contribution by an England wicketkeeper since Geraint Jones joined Andrew Flintoff in a match-winning partnership at Trent Bridge three years ago.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo