England tour of New Zealand Archives

New Zealand bank on World Cup 2023 form ahead of Bangladesh Tests

New Zealand coach Luke Ronchi said Sunday that his side’s ICC World Cup 2023 experience in India would help end their barren run in Bangladesh, as they prepare to face the hosts for a two-Test series.

New Zealand has largely played on Asian soil this year, with series in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh in various formats, before they played the ICC World Cup 2023 in India in October and November.

The Kiwis put up a credible show at the tournament, losing to hosts India in the semi-final.

“It’s definitely going to help us,” Ronchi told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s match at Sylhet.

“I think if we’d come straight from green wickets in New Zealand to the Bangladesh wickets, it’s a big change,” he added.

“But for the majority of our group here, they have been in India. They’ve been at the World Cup.

“They have been practising on different surfaces, slower and turning sort of surfaces. So that hopefully helps us for this Test series.”

Before travelling to India, New Zealand ended their 15-year wait to win a series in Bangladesh, beating the home side 2-0 in the three-match one-day international series.

The Kiwis have not, however, won a Test in Bangladesh since their three-wicket win in Chittagong in 2008.

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Their next three Tests, including both matches in a 2013 series, ended in a draw.

The visitors, who played with just one spinner back in 2013, named a spin-heavy squad for the upcoming series.

This time, Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel join Ish Sodhi along with two spin all-rounders, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra.

Ronchi believed spinners from both camps would play a big role.

“The quality of spin and pace in both sides is going to be really high,” he said.

Bangladesh will miss regular captain and experienced spinner Shakib Al Hasan for the series, while pacers Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain will be out due to injury.

Veteran batsman Tamim Iqbal and opener Liton Das are also not available for the series due to injury and a family break respectively.

“It’s challenging to lose that much of experience from any team, especially for Bangladesh,” said coach Chandika Hathurusingha.

He said the absences did, however, offer a chance to test other players.

“I think it’s exciting, and it’s an opportunity for some of the youngsters to make their name,” he said.

The second Test of the series will be held in Dhaka from December 6–10.

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New Zealand beat England by one run in second-Test thriller

WELLINGTON: New Zealand beat England by just one run in the second-Test thriller on Tuesday to draw the series despite having been forced to follow on in Wellington.

New Zealand set England a target of 258 runs to win, but the visitors were all out for 256 in dramatic scenes as the two-Test series finished 1-1.

Neil Wagner took the decisive wicket of James Anderson as New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell pulled off a diving catch to make history.

“Amazing achievement, hats off to everyone, everyone kept fighting.” said Wagner, who finished with 4-62.

“That’s the characteristics of this team, they played well, credit where it’s due, but we found a way of contributing.”

Blundell was delighted to hang on to the tumbling catch.

“Saw it well and luckily it went in clean. Pretty happy,” said the wicketkeeper.

It was only the fourth occasion a team has won a Test after being asked to follow on, and the first time for New Zealand.

England managed it twice, against Australia in 1894 and 1981, while India beat Australia in 2001.

It was the first time England have lost a Test after forcing their opponents to follow on.

A topsy-turvy Test match swung back to New Zealand during the final two gripping days.

England were on course for victory after declaring their first innings on 435-8, then bowling out New Zealand for 209.

Former skipper Kane Williamson dragged New Zealand back into the Test with a superb 132 in their second innings 483 on Monday, leaving England 258 to win.

Having resumed at 48-1, England wobbled Tuesday morning by losing four wickets for just 27 runs before Joe Root steadied the ship by steering his team to 168-5 at lunch.

As England chipped away at their target, Root’s partnership with Ben Stokes ended on 121 when England’s captain was caught at square leg.

The pressure on England intensified dramatically after Root went for 95 with England still 57 runs short.

Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes kept England in the fight with a cavalier 35, surviving a dropped catch by Michael Bracewell before clubbing three fours to the boundary.

After Foakes caught by Wagner in the deep off Southee, it left last pair James Anderson and Jack Leach still needing seven runs for victory.

Anderson clubbed a four to get within two runs before Wagner and Blundell combined to land the knockout punch.

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New Zealand set England 258 to win second Test after Williamson century

WELLINGTON: Record-breaker Kane Williamson stroked a superb century Monday to steer New Zealand to 483 all out in their second innings and set England a target of 258 runs to win the second Test in Wellington.

Former captain Williamson hit 132 and Tom Blundell was last man out for 90 as the hosts fought back after being asked to follow on at the Basin Reserve.

England were 48-1 in their second innings at stumps after opener Zak Crawley, on 24, was bowled by a delivery that nipped back from New Zealand skipper Tim Southee.

Ben Duckett was unbeaten on 23 and nightwatchman Ollie Robinson on one, leaving England needing 210 more runs on Tuesday’s final day for a 2-0 series sweep.

The tourists won the first Test by 267 runs.

“We’re excited about chasing that (target) down tomorrow,” said England spinner Jack Leach, who took 5-157.

“We know how we want to go about it and it’s a case of us sticking to that process. We’re confident.”

New Zealand need nine wickets to pull off only the fourth victory by a side following on in the history of Test cricket and square the two-match series.

“It would be pretty special,” Williamson said of New Zealand’s historic bid.

“It’s pretty exciting going into day five and we want to make sure our bowling is on. 0There’s all to play for.”

‘Immaculate’

The hosts resumed their second innings on Monday at 202-3, still trailing by 24, but Williamson led the charge with his 26th Test century.

It fell to England’s new batting star and part-time seam bowler Harry Brook to claim Williamson’s prized wicket.

After grinding down England’s bowlers, Williamson was finally caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Ben Foakes off a fine edge after a sixth-wicket partnership of 158 with Blundell.

Williamson trudged off to hearty applause from the Wellington crowd after dragging New Zealand back into the match.

It was his second standing ovation of the day, having eclipsed Ross Taylor in the morning session to become New Zealand’s most prolific Test batsman with 7,787 runs.

His partnership with Blundell helped New Zealand fight back after England declared their first innings at 435-8 then scuttled New Zealand for 209, before inviting the hosts to bat again.

New Zealand can join an elite club if they win — only England, twice, and India have won a Test after following on.

Williamson, who survived a close shout for a stumping when on 45, handed his side a fighting chance after frustrating England alongside Blundell, with support from Henry Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell before lunch.

Blundell hit Stuart Broad to the boundary as New Zealand passed 400, then Williamson also smacked England’s seamer for four to bring up his hundred — his first since scoring two tons against Pakistan in December 2022.

New Zealand folded quickly once Williamson departed and he was full of praise for Brook’s bowling.

“He didn’t miss his length, he was immaculate. He’s a special player,” Williamson said.

With the former captain gone, Michael Bracewell went in sloppy fashion, run out for six as he inexplicably failed to ground his bat.

Foakes whipped off the bails from Ben Stokes’ laser throw in the deep when Bracewell should have been home comfortably.

New Zealand lost their last four wickets for just five runs, Blundell last out when he edged Leach to Joe Root at slip going for a big hit.

Stokes fires Ashes warning after England crush New Zealand

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: England captain Ben Stokes fired an Ashes warning to Australia after crushing New Zealand by 267 runs in the first Test at Mount Maunganui on Sunday, saying his team has got more firepower on the way.

England made it 10 wins from 11 Tests since Stokes was handed the captaincy and Brendon McCullum the coaching reins last year, introducing an attacking revolution that again proved decisive in the day-night Test at the Bay Oval.

Having used aggression and clever pink-ball tactics to get the upper hand, England closed out victory in the first session of day four, dismissing New Zealand for 126 after they resumed at 63-5.

Veteran pace duo Stuart Broad and James Anderson both finished with four second innings wickets as England notched a first win on New Zealand soil in 15 years and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Broad (4-49) was a menace on Saturday night under lights when he tore through New Zealand’s top order, with all four wickets clean bowled to reduce them to 28-5 in pursuit of 394 for victory.

Long-time new ball partner James Anderson (4-18) became the chief tormentor on Sunday, knocking over four tailenders as New Zealand added 63 more runs in 22.3 overs.

Only Daryl Mitchell, unbeaten on 57, put up any resistance after resuming his innings on 13, striking two sixes on his way to a sixth Test half-century.

England tactically dominated the game, batting aggressively and deliberately timing the end of both their innings so New Zealand had to face a new pink ball in lively seam conditions under lights on days one and three.

The visitors will be favourites to beat the struggling Black Caps in the second Test in Wellington before turning their attention to the showdown with Australia in England’s summer.

Stokes suggested he was already excited at the prospect of unleashing England’s fearless approach when they bid to reclaim the Ashes.

‘Selection nightmare’

The captain said depth had become an England strength, naming three injured players — batsman Jonny Bairstow and pace bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood — among a group who will be applying pressure on the current squad.

“It’s probably going to end up being a selection nightmare at some point but you’d much rather have that,” Stokes said.

“It’s a great thing to be thinking about going forward — the amount of world class players that we’ve got, not only here at the moment but also sat at home, recovering from injuries or whatever it may be.

“I don’t like to look too far ahead but I think it will be a good crop of players to be able to choose from when we come to the Ashes.”

Stokes said their attack-first approach, dubbed “Bazball”, was working because the players had brought into it unequivocally and had the ability to execute.

“Not only have I got an unbelievable bowling attack to be able to captain, I’ve also got a seriously skilled and very brave batting line-up to look at and watch them express themselves,” Stokes said.

“They’ve got to take a lot of credit for the record I’ve had so far as a captain.

“If we keep playing the way in which we’re playing and we’re executing the things that we want to do well then we’re going to be giving ourselves an opportunity to win.”

“We’re just always looking to put oppositions under pressure.”

New Zealand captain Tim Southee conceded England had outplayed his team but didn’t think the margin between the sides was reflected in the result.

He welcomed the return to traditional red ball cricket at the Basin Reserve, starting on Friday.

“I don’t know if gulf is the right word, I think England strategically played it pretty well,” Southee said

“You look back to day one, the way that they scored allowed them to set up the match from there by declaring at the difficult time under lights.

“The end result is big, but it could have been slightly different so you reassess and you move forward to a traditional Test match at a ground we enjoy playing at.”

The home side are set to regain the services of seam bowler Matt Henry, who was unavailable for the series opener to attend the birth of his child.

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Attack-minded England take control of first Test in New Zealand

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: High-octane batting and a precocious day-one declaration put England in control of the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Thursday.

The Black Caps limped to 37-3 at stumps in the day-night Test at the Bay Oval, having been thrust on to the back foot by England’s swashbuckling 325-9 declared.

The tourists raced to their total in just 58.2 overs — boosted by blistering half-centuries to Ben Duckett and Harry Brook — as England opened the two-Test series with the sort of attacking approach, dubbed “Bazball”, that has carried them to nine wins from their past 10 Tests under coach Brendon McCullum.

England captain Ben Stokes instructed his lower-order batsmen to throw the bat before calling them in, leaving 18 overs to bowl at the Black Caps under lights with a new pink ball.

The ploy worked as Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls departed before reaching double figures.

Evergreen seamer James Anderson took 2-11, including the key wicket of Williamson following an lbw review.

Opener Devon Conway will resume on 18 and nightwatchmen Neil Wagner on four, with a deficit of 288 runs staring at them on Friday.

It was a grim response to an England innings that featured 48 fours and one towering six from Brook off the bowling of New Zealand captain Tim Southee, who was lashed for 2-71 from 13 overs.

New Zealand’s depleted attack fought back midway through the second session when Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Stokes fell in quick succession, allowing debut pace bowlers Blair Tickner (1-72) and Scott Kuggeleijn (2-80) to claim their maiden Test wickets.

However, momentum was snatched back by the in-form Brook, who accelerated to 89 off 81 balls, supported by 38 from Ben Foakes.

Playing just his fifth Test, the 23-year-old Yorkshireman Brook was poised to become only the second England batsman after Ken Barrington in the 1960s to hit centuries in four consecutive Tests.

However, he played on to Wagner (4-82), the veteran seamer benefiting from England’s wild approach to the end of their innings.

Like Brook, Duckett was a revelation during the 3-0 series win in Pakistan in December and he maintained his hot streak with a rapid-fire 84 off 68 balls.

The hard-hitting opener had a chance of scoring England’s fastest Test century — surpassing Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball knock against Australia in 1902 — before he fell to Tickner late in the first session.

Southee, leading his country at home for the first time, asked England to bat with the hope of exploiting the pink ball’s swing on a green-tinged pitch that had been covered for days because of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The hosts’ best spell came when Pope departed for 42 and Root for 14 in the space of four balls, followed soon afterwards by Stokes.

Most of the wickets fell to aggressive shotmaking, including Root’s, whose attempt at a reverse lap off Wagner was steered straight into the slip cordon.

Preparations for both sides had been disrupted by the storms that hit New Zealand and triggered a national state of emergency on Tuesday, but Mount Maunganui avoided significant damage and play started on time.

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