England head to Wellington for the second Test against New Zealand, looking to seal a series win after their eight-wicket victory in Christchurch last week.
Hopes are high that the Basin Reserve, where New Zealand beat Ben Stokes’ side by one run in an epic contest almost two years ago, can stage another thrilling clash between these two closely matched teams.
Stokes, who pulled up with a tight back in Christchurch, has confirmed his fitness to bowl, while the home side will be keen to perform better in the field after dropping eight catches in the tourists’ first innings at Hagley Oval.
New Zealand v England 2nd Test tips
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Brook can make another telling contribution
Harry Brook’s first innings score of 171 made all the difference in Christchurch as the Yorkshireman took England from a precarious position on day two to set a solid platform for victory.
The tourists were wobbling at 45-3 having just lost Joe Root for a duck when Brook strode out to the middle in his usual purposeful manner.
The 25-year-old played positively and rode his luck at times in making his third Test century of the year and seventh overall, as the Kiwis shelled five catching opportunities off his bat.
By the time he holed out for 171, England were on course for a three-figure lead and he had taken his batting average against New Zealand to exactly 100.
The right-hander has been in good nick in all formats lately, averaging 78 in September’s home one-day series against Australia and 74.6 on the subsequent three-match Test tour to Pakistan.
His only failure in five previous Test innings against the Kiwis was when he was run out before facing a ball in the chaotic conclusion to that 2023 Wellington Test.
He made an imperious 186 in the first innings though and hit 89 and 54 in England’s first Test win at Mount Maunganui.
Brook’s overseas Test average now stands at 89.40 and he should be able to make a telling contribution in the first innings at Basin Reserve whether England bat first or not.
Rely on Root to forge a fifty
Joe Root will be eager to make his mark in Wellington after a rare failure in the first Test.
It was the first time he had failed to score any Test runs for England in almost two years and only his 13th duck in 274 innings.
Root remains one of the world’s most reliable batters, with only India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal coming within 300 runs of his tally of 1,361 Test runs in 2024.
The Yorkshireman, who surpassed Sir Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading run-scorer recently, also has a strong record in New Zealand.
He averages 50.68 with the bat there, but that has been on the rise after Root initially struggled to make an impact on his first two tours of the country when several of the games were played on drop-in wickets.
That all changed with his knock of 226 at Hamilton in 2019, with Root scoring two half-centuries and a ton in his next six Test innings in New Zealand.
He should be familiar with the conditions at the Basin Reserve too, having made scores of 153 not out and 95 there the last time England toured.
He did get some useful time in the middle as the batting foil for Jacob Bethell’s brutal debut 50 that saw England over the line in Christchurch and could even make a sixth Test ton of the year if he gets on a roll.
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