Posted by THE 2ND TEST PLAYED BETWEEN ENGLAND AND NEW ZEALAND SEE’S YET ANOTHER BATTING COLLAPSE FOR THE HOME SIDE IN THE 2ND INNINGS.
New Zealand forced with a few changes end up making as many as six. Latham to captain the kiwi’s as Kane Williamson misses out due to injury. Host’s with a change.
England win the toss and opt to bat. A good strong opening partnership saw England reach to 72 and New Zealand finally had their breakthrough getting the edge of Sibley on 35. Poor show by the middle order continues that’s also been the talk of the town for quite a while now. Ollie pope has had starts which are not converted into knocks. Rory Burns scored strong 81 and was out chasing one off Boult. Another duck for Bracey tense England more. Lawrence start’s off aggressively and had managed well to convert the start and scored valuable 81*. Bonus runs from the tailenders Mark Wood and Olly Stone saw England finish on 303. A first innings par score is what England get on board. It’s been a good outing for the kiwi bowlers, especially the comeback bowlers Boult and Henry sharing 7 wickets and a couple for Ajaz. Wagner with one to his name.
New Zealand in reply loose their skipper Latham early on 6 and then New Zealand steady their ship a bit and keep scoring. England finding it difficult to get a breakthrough a drop catch frustrating the host. Devon Conway continues his good run scoring 80 was out in the deep. Ross Taylor joins Young and trouble England as runs kept flowing quite smoothly for the Kiwi’s. England haunting for few quick wickets to make a comeback. Root throws a few and then decides to try with another part timer and Lawrence strikes Young on 82, an excellent knock for Young. Henry adds a bit to the tally. Blundell does well with his 34 with Taylor on the other end. Taylor back after scoring valuable 80, enough runs from the tail saw New Zealand post a strong 388 on board and had a 85 run lead. Broad looking at his best picks up 4. Couple each to Stone and Wood. A Wicket each for Anderson and Lawrence.
England out to bat. The man with runs under his belt, Burns departs for a duck. Not too late when New Zealand had their next as Sibley walked back. England get a few odd boundaries and manage to up the scoring but not a lot as Crawley departs. Ollie Pope continues to impress with his starts but again fails to convert. Lawrence gets a duck, Root’s been very patient adds 11 and walks back. Bracey’s poor run continue. England 7 down and the lead is yet not reached indicates how poor batting display it has been. Tailender Wood scores quick 29 that helps England see off the lead. Olly Stone patient on 15 departs. England crawl and manage to get 122 in the 2nd innings. England have a 37 run lead which should be chased down comfortably by the Kiwi’s. Has to be a cake walk. Wagner and Henry pocket 3 each. A couple to both Boult and Ajaz.
Last session of the match and the series, kiwi’s require 38 for a series win. 6 runs and England strike but there is surely nothing that will help. Few runs and Stone has a wicket to his name. Winnings runs from the skipper Latham see New Zealand take a 8 wicket win and end the formality day at Edgbaston.
An hour of play and New Zealand take the series win 1-0. New Zealand dominate despite missing few main men, No 1 test side for a reason. New Zealand would aim a few good days to dominate at the world test championship final before they leave England after a memorable tour.
Bureau of sports 