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Sport Nation
Brook toys with Blackcaps bowlers again in second Test
Sport Nation • December 6th, 2024 3:40 pm
Photo: Kerry Marshall/Photosport
Harry Brook and Ollie Pope continued their march after lunch, surpassing the 150-run partnership mark for the second time this series.
Brook backed up his big score at Hagley Oval by reaching triple figures in his second consecutive Test, bringing up his 100 off just 91 balls. Recent memories of the Hagley Oval Test were creeping in when the Blackcaps' bowling attack had England on the ropes before being saved by the middle order, helped by all the extra lives gained from dropped catches.
But Will O'Rourke stepped up to provide the breakthrough, forcing Pope to sky a ball for Rachin Ravindra to get underneath, sending him on his way for 66.
That quickly became a double for O'Rourke, who squared up Ben Stokes for Latham to take his second catch in the slips, sending the skipper to the pavilion for just 2, reclaiming some momentum for the hosts at 222/6 - the extra day, that NZ no doubt spent on catching practice, has so far paid off.
The moment of the afternoon came at the conclusion of the second session when Nathan Smith converted a run out opportunity off his own bowling, to the cheer of his home Wellington crowd, ending Brook's innings on 123.
At the tea break, England are 259 for 7.
England steady after early Blackcaps strikes
England and the Blackcaps have gone toe-to-toe in an entertaining opening session of the second Test in Wellington, with the visitors 124/4 at lunch.
After winning the toss, the hosts made the memories of those catching nightmares in Christchurch fade rapidly with some excellent catching early, as Matt Henry came out of the gates with some suffocating line and length to help - in tandem with local product Nathan Smith - put the English on the backfoot with a trio of strikes.
But after teetering at 43/4 due to Smith's second scalp of the day, Harry Brook (51*) and Ollie Pope (29*) righted the ship impressively for England.
The duo backed up their 150-run stand at Hagley Oval with an unbeaten partnership of 81 off just 80 balls highlighted by some scintillating strokeplay, keeping honours relatively even as the sides strolled into lunch.
Nathan Smith and Matt Henry combine for four wickets in opening session of second Test | Sport Nation
Tom Latham's decision to send the English in to bat paid early dividends. In just the third over of play, Henry found the edge of Ben Duckett's bat for the skipper to take - after his trio of drops in the first Test - a morale-boosting low grab at second slip, sending the opener packing without troubling the scorers.
Henry struck again five overs later, nipping one beautifully off the seam to rattle the top of Zak Crawley's middle stump, taking the visitors scores to 21/2.
The New Zealanders proved those well documented fielding woes had been put behind them with another spectacular catch, Daryl Mitchell diving to his right to snag a one-hander at first slip to give local hero Nathan Smith his first Test wicket on his home ground and dispatch dangerman Joe Root for a duck.
With England reeling at 27/3, Jacob Bethell looked to steady proceedings with some assured strokeplay.
But Smith soon enticed his fellow Test rookie into a false pull shot, gloving a ball down leg for Tom Blundell to take a sharp catch and reduce the tourists to 43/4.
England's first-Test hero Harry Brook picked up where he left from Hagley Oval, pairing with Ollie Pope to give the scoreboard some momentum, pushing the run rate up to 4.77.
The duo needed just 37 balls to raise their 50-run partnership, ensuring there was no further damage done before the lunch interval.
Photo: Photosport
Blackcaps win toss, bowl first in second Test against England
Conditions in the capital are clear overhead although the temperature is expected to remain moderate, reaching a high of 17 degrees.
The Blackcaps will field an unchanged starting XI, with Mitchell Santner left out in favour of the four-pronged seam attack of Will O'Rourke, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, and newcomer Nathan Smith.
Coney looks at what the Basin Reserve has on offer for Day 1
England have stuck with the same winning formula, leaving Ollie Pope behind the stumps and one-Test batter Jacob Bethell at first drop.
New Zealand: Tom Latham (captain), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Will O'Rourke.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Sport Nation has live ball-by-ball commentary of all the second Test between the Blackcaps and England - available on all NZ frequencies and the new Sport Nation app - available on App Store and Google Play.
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