[ad_1]
Second cricket test: Black Caps v England. Where: Basin Reserve, Wellington. When: 11am Friday, February 24 (day one of five). Coverage: Live on Spark Sport and Today FM, live updates on Stuff from 10.30am
Punters will flock to the Basin Reserve for its first cricket test in 26 months, with everything set up nicely apart from the Wellington weather.
A sellout crowd of close to 8000 is expected for days one and two of the second test between New Zealand and England, with the hosts looking to level the series after being outplayed in Tauranga.
The problem is the MetService forecast which suggests rain interruptions on day one and potentially a washout on day two, before vastly improved weather from Sunday onwards.
When play does get under way, the pressure is on Tim Southee’s hosts to haul themselves up and try to stop England’s roll of 10 wins from 11 tests – including four straight defeats of the Black Caps.
The stats
Last time New Zealand lost a Basin Reserve test was in 2017 when South African spinner Keshav Maharaj ran through the home batting lineup. Since then, the New Zealanders are unbeaten in 10 home series, a record which will fall unless they can beat England to level it 1-1.
Their record at the Basin is good, with four wins and a draw since that loss to South Africa. Last time in Wellington it was an innings victory over West Indies in December 2020.
For England, and captain Ben Stokes playing his first Basin test, victory would be their seventh straight, a feat they haven’t achieved since 2004.
Stuff
Rival captains Ben Stokes and Tim Southee.
Team news
Stokes confidently named an unchanged side from the 267 run victory at Bay Oval, with Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad again leading the pace attack.
The hosts will welcome back Matt Henry from paternity leave, hopefully to add some punch to their bowling, most likely at the expense of Scott Kuggeleijn.
The forecast
Mostly cloudy, a few showers, strong southwesterlies and a maximum of 16C is the MetService prediction for Friday. Then it gets worse, with Saturday expected to dump around 30mm of rain on Wellington between 10am and 5pm. Sunday is clearing, to a maximum of 20C.
The odds
England were rated $2.27 favourites by the TAB on Thursday night, with the Black Caps at $2.95 to win and the draw at $3.20.
The teams
Black Caps (likely): Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee (captain), Matt Henry, Neil Wagner, Blair Tickner.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Ben Foakes, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Jimmy Anderson.
[ad_2]