England XI 465 (Brook 97, Lawrence 85, Root 77, Foakes 57) vs. New Zealand eleven
As England’s tour game at Seddon Park drew to an inevitably tame end, the prospect of further adjustment ahead of the series opener at Mount Maunganui was jeopardized by warnings of an approaching tropical cyclone.
On Thursday, MetService issued a warning that Cyclone Gabrielle would hit the upper North Island of New Zealand beginning Sunday morning, with gusts of up to 150mph and up to 300mm of rain earlier in the week. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown responded by extending the state of emergency for another seven days, a week after torrential rains wreaked havoc in the region. The Coromandel Peninsula, which sits just above Mount Maunganui, has followed suit.
England is expected to arrive on Sunday, with the first Test starting next Thursday (February 16). The first three days of next week were seen as an ideal start to get the players up to speed and complement the four days of on-site training at the start of the Tour and this week in Hamilton, culminating in an optional session on Friday for the morning (February 9). ). Now that construction appears to be under serious threat.
The second day of the England tour match at Seddon Park went as expected. A New Zealand XI skinned for 465 in 69.2 overs on the first day made the effort worthwhile with a spirited total of 310 in 82.1 overs at 20:52 local time. Quinn Sunde’s fierce yet stylish 91 was his stamina’s choice. However, Ben Stokes remained a bystander as Ollie Pope became captain in his absence, as happened in England’s warm-up match against the Lions before the Pakistan series in Abu Dhabi. While he flung himself through the mutilation at the nets and at half-time, there’s a real chance the cyclone will prevent Stokes from putting in the ideal amount of work before the start of the series. It’s not a fear not shared Head coach Brendon McCullum, however, supported Stokes’ decision to move away from the Whites in recent days.
“Some characters don’t need warm-up games,” McCullum said. “The bigger the competition, the more show up. He [Stokes] It’s never been a warm-up type of thing and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Anderson and Broad opened proceedings and met after Broad missed Pakistan at the birth of his first child, and it was the latter who set things in motion, receiving a strong pushback from William O’Donnell. Anderson had to wait until the 73rd, picking off Curtis Heaphy, who was caught on Joe Root’s first slip after the Lights took control for the first time in the game. However, he had previously caused a dismissal with the departure of Robert O’Donnell.
Numerically, Stone was the attacking option, finishing 3 for 54. His previous game in the top flight was the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston in June 2021 before a fourth back stress fracture and subsequent surgery left him prevented from playing for a year.
So far Stone’s return to action has been cue ball only – for Warwickshire, Chennai Braves in T10, MI Cape Town in SA20 and England’s first two ODI series with South Africa before flying off to New Zealand . Here he rolled at a good pace, finally hitting Sunde with a sharp delivery that caused a twitch off the stump of his right hand.
However, Matthew Potts was perhaps the fastest on record after missing the tour of Pakistan. His luck was summed up with the first pitch from him, which he slammed away to catch the outside edge of Test starter Will Young, only for Zak Crawley to set up the catch on the second slip. Potts finally got one up the wicket column when Kyle Jamieson hooked a springer to Pope’s deep, square leg.
Potts, Stone and Broad will battle for a place in the XI for the first Test, with Anderson, Robinson and Leach in possession. Stokes and McCullum’s thinking is who will make the biggest difference as England look to end a seven-game winless run in New Zealand, where they again claim their first successive win since 2008.
At first glance, Stone’s ’90s quick gun tipping ability is exactly the difference England would want, especially with a pink Kookaburra ball on a batting-friendly pitch. England’s only previous game at Mount Maunganui saw them lose by an innings and 65 runs after New Zealand had posted 615 for 9.
Source: www.espncricinfo.com
