After taking just one wicket on day one of the third Test England are hoping for a ‘crazy’ session on day two.
As New Zealand finished day one of the third Test in Auckland on 250-1, England captain Alastair Cook may have been wondering if he had made the right decision when he won the toss.
Cook decided that his side would have more luck with the ball early on in the day and therefore put the Black Caps into bat.
However, it soon became obvious that England’s bowlers were going to struggle on a flat drop-in pitch with extremely short boundaries.
There was no deterioration in the wicket as the day wore on making life particularly tough for spinner Monty Panesar, as he was hit for 70 runs for no wicket – including 14 off one over.
Coupled with that the New Zealand batsmen seized their advantage early on and apart from losing the wicket of opener Hamish Rutherford, gave the visitors a hammering.
Peter Fulton scored his maiden Test hundred for the hosts whilst all-rounder Kane Williamson finished the day on 83 not-out.
Towering England bowler Steven Finn was trying to stay positive though in the wake of a what could be a huge score by New Zealand.
“I don’t think it’s a disastrous day of Test cricket for us,” Finn told ESPNcricinfo.
“They’ve only got 250 runs on the board, and a crazy session – like we’ve had before – can turn the game on its head.”
Despite Finn’s optimism if New Zealand play on day two like they did on the first, it could prove impossible for England to win the Test and therefore the series.
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