New Zealand XI 224 for 6 (Rutherford 90, Brownlie 63) trail England XI 426 (Bell 158, Cook 60, Neesham 4-73, Wagner 4-98) by 202 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
|
|||
Related Links
Players/Officials:
Dean Brownlie
| Hamish Rutherford
Series/Tournaments:
England tour of New Zealand
Teams:
England
| New Zealand
|
|||
Hamish Rutherford
cemented himself a Test debut in Dunedin next week with a composed 90
against the England XI in Queenstown. However, the New Zealand XI
stumbled late in the day to close on 224 for 6 in reply to England's
426, with two wickets falling in the last two overs.
This was Rutherford's first first-class innings since the end of January
due to his limited-overs call-up for New Zealand, so it was timely to
get back into the rhythm of longer-form batting ahead of a pressurised
occasion where, barring unforeseen circumstances, he will partner the
recalled Peter Fulton.
He took an early blow on the arm from Stuart Broad and a couple of his
drives skewed in the air backward of point - England would do well to
keep that area well populated during the Tests - but he struck the ball
sweetly with good timing to collect 13 fours and a straight lofted six
off Graeme Swann. He fell during the final session, bowled by Chris
Woakes, when the ball perhaps did not bounce as expected.
Tom Latham, who is also in the Test squad, did not take his chance in
what had been billed as a Test trial although Rutherford was always the
favoured option. After partnering Rutherford through to lunch in a
half-century opening stand - something the full side have not managed in
seven Tests - Latham was lbw on the back foot to the first ball after
lunch from Swann. The offspinner bowled economically and claimed his
second wicket with the last ball of the day when Jimmy Neesham was lbw.
However, the fight for the final England bowling spot was a subdued
affair. Graham Onions' chances of filling the third pace-bowling slot
diminished as he ended the day with none for 75 off 16 overs. His
disappointing warm-up form in India was a major reason why a call-up
eluded him, even when injuries struck the attack, and carrying the
drinks awaits him again.
At the moment, therefore, a recall for Broad appears the likeliest path
England will take after he worked up the most eye-catching pace of the
three quicks on show. Broad was dropped after two wicketless Tests in
India, although it is unlikely he was ever fully fit on that tour even
before being sent home. In Queenstown, after a slightly tentative first
spell, he moved through the gears during the afternoon when he had Carl
Cachopa caught low at second slip for his first first-class wicket since
the final Test against South Africa, at Lord's in August.
On a slow pitch, Broad got the ball to carry through nicely to Matt
Prior and New Zealand's solid reply meant he was able to test the
resilience of his heel by returning for multiple spells.
A decent stint in the field will do England no harm ahead of the Test
series. There is the expectation that New Zealand's batting won't detain
them for too long. However, if the surfaces match this one for slowness
it will even the contest, although James Anderson and Steven Finn will
provide a cutting edge.
Dean Brownlie,
another batsman who will line up in Dunedin, continued his good form
from South Africa and the Plunket Shield with a compact half-century. He
had one uncomfortable moment against Onions, when he was struck by a
sharp bouncer, otherwise he was at ease against pace and spin until
being lbw to Jonathan Trott in the closing stages of the day.
Brownlie was one of the few batsmen to emerge with some credit from South Africa after a century in Cape Town.
He did not face England in the limited-overs matches so this will have
been a valuable innings for him. However, whatever knowledge and
confidence he gained against the England bowlers will also work in
reverse and Andy Flower will have been taking copious notes
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: Andrew McGlashan
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment