One Down, Two To Go
The second cricket Test between New Zealand and England starts tomorrow night (New Zealand time), and an interesting situation presents itself.
Neither team goes into the second Test with the upper hand, and neither team brings any real momentum from the first Test. Both teams had a century maker with the bat (Oram and Vaughan), and both teams had a stand-out bowler (Vettori and Sidebottom).
It was a fairly straight-forward draw for both England and New Zealand, and neither team was under any real pressure at any stage. Whilst it was a good game of Test cricket (other than the rain), we can essentially look back on it as a warm-up - because it's a two-match series now.
And so we turn to Old Trafford, and it's (traditionally) fast and bouncy pitch. The nerves of fronting up at Lords (and it's [overwhelming] Honours Board) will be gone, and it's time for both teams to get serious.
Both teams have a lot to work on. New Zealand's top order is still a concern (give us strength...), and England's middle order showed signs of vulnerability in the first Test that should worry them. Both teams had solid bowling performances, but there's no doubt that both teams could improve here.
Southee's been hit by a virus and is in doubt for the second Test, and Hoggard (broken thumb - cheers, Harmy) has been replaced in the squad by Chris Tremlett. Tremlett would be an interesting prospect on the bouncy Old Trafford pitch, but it'll be hard for England to change the team that performed so solidly at Lords.
Iain O'Brien and Michael Mason will fight for Southee's position if he's unavailable, and whilst he didn't set the world on fire at Lord's, it would be a huge blow to New Zealand if he can't play. Southee is young and inexperienced, but he has real all-round potential. He gets good pace and bounce with the ball, and with the bat...well, 77 off 40 deliveries on debut says it all, really. The Black Cap's coaching staff will want to develop and progress that talent as soon as possible...
...so you'll just have to get better, Tim.
Win this Test, and you can't lose the series - that'll be the message to both teams, and with such a solid start to the series both England and New Zealand will be looking to take things to the next level.
And that, sports fans, can only be good for us.
May 23, 2008 at 12:35 PM
I think you will find that the weather gods are going to hamper this test as well. This could very well come down to a decider in the final test.
I think that the young black cap team is one that needs to build. The guys that are there have good techniques and are young. The amount of players in the top order that have come in and out is rediculous. Papps, Bell, Cumming, Sinclair have all been in and then out. Flynn, Marshall, Redmond, How have made this tour after the previous lot failed. These guys need to stay yhere for 12 months and build on their performances.
The level of deomestic cricket is not going to prepare these guys for the test arena. The gap is too big and that is why players come up and then go straight back down. These guys need to be given time to develop and get use to the level. With a ranking of 7th in the world playing these guys on a consistant basis isn't going to send us further down the rankings. Its time to say the next twelve months results don't matter. The development of these young players is what matters.
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