ENG vs NZ Highlights: What we saw happening on Day 1 of Test 2 in the England vs Newzealand game is the opposite of what we saw in the first Test. The catch drops, miss-fields, high run-rate, building partnerships, and anxiety in bowlers to change the ball soon. We saw another face of England and that summed up the starting day.
Winning the toss, England captain Ben Stokes elected to bowl first hoping to bring out the same performance as the earlier match but that did not work in his or team’s favor. James Anderson and Stuart Broad opened the bowling for England. Even when Anderson looked in control, the opening Kiwi players looked pretty comfortable with Broad hitting him for runs at a good pace.
Tom Latham and Will Young, together gave a good start to NZ as they played fearless cricket against the giant bowlers. Nothing seemed to work for the first 20 overs until Ben Stokes himself came in to get the much-needed breakthrough for Eng. As soon as Young got out, Latham got out on the next ball bowled by Anderson. The 84 runs partnership was a good platform for Kiwis to build their innings on.
With two new batters on the crease, Conway and Nicholls too didn’t dwindle much and played with intent. They went on to form another 80 runs partnership for the team. As soon as Nicholls got out, Conway too lost his wicket in the next couple of overs. The dispersal of the duo brought another pair that had helped NZ made comeback in the previous match. Daryl Mitchel and Tom Blundell are looking solid as they continue their form and make their team reach an even higher score.
To put it in simple words, England had a bad day. Their bowlers didn’t seem to work. They were getting hit for runs all around. For the first 60 overs, the run rate was maintained at 4+ runs. Even when there were chances of dismissals, they were not encashed. The players dropped easy catches at slip, couldn’t save boundaries, and were hit for runs that didn’t help them. There was anxiety in players to change the ball as it didn’t seem to seam well. The umpires also denied changing the ball even after it landed on the cider pint of one of the audiences.
With 4 wickets down, Newzealand looks solid at 318 already on board. England may have frustration from the previous day but if they take a few early wickets and start batting before lunch or in the first hour after it, they can make a strong comeback. We hope to see an exciting day of cricket today as well!
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