New Zealand mount home defence against England's 'Bazball'

14.02.2023 - 11:43 channelnewsasia.com

A diminished New Zealand will battle to bring high-flying England back to earth in a two-test series starting in Mount Maunganui on Thursday, having been the first casualties of Brendon McCullum's 'Bazball' last year.The Black Caps were steamrolled 3-0 as England swept to nine wins in 10 tests with an attacking mindset under new captain Ben Stokes and head coach McCullum, the former New Zealand skipper.The hosts have since started their own rebuild under Kane Williamson's successor Tim Southee and split their away series with Pakistan last month.However, they face a stiff challenge to halt the English juggernaut without their best pace lineup.Neither Kyle Jamieson nor Matt Henry will be steaming in during the pink ball series-opener at Bay Oval, the former quick ruled out of the series with a back problem and the latter on leave for the birth of his first child.Former pace spearhead Trent Boult has been overlooked as a replacement because he opted out of his national contract last year.With seam bowling all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme also lost to the lucrative global T20 circuit, selectors are left with only rookie quicks to lend support to fast bowling captain Southee and Neil Wagner.Blair Tickner, and one of either Jacob Duffy or Scott Kuggeleijn, are expected to debut on Thursday.It bodes poorly for a team whose descent from winning the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021 has been rapid and jarring.While New Zealand have not lost a test series at home to England since 2008, Stokes's men have little respect for the record books.Their last history-making effort came in Pakistan where they became the first team to complete a 3-0 whitewash of the South Asians.If New Zealand have a sliver of hope it may lie in

bowling golf Trent Boult Brendon Maccullum Colin De-Grandhomme Blair Tickner Matt Henry Tim Southee Neil Wagner Jacob Duffy Britain New Zealand Pakistan county Kane

One run was England’s margin of victory on July 14, 2019 in the ODI World Cup at Lord’s. One run was the margin of New Zealand’s victory over England at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand on February 28, 2023.

New Zealand’s 1-run victory over England avenges pain of 2019

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New Zealand on Tuesday edged out England by 1 runs to win the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington and levelled the two-match series at 1-1. Neil Wagner was the star of the show for the Kiwis as he bagged a four-wicket haul, including the decisive wicket of James Anderson. With England needing two just two runs to sweep the series, Wagner targetted Anderson with short balls and was rewarded with it as New Zealand wicketkeeper Tom Blundell pulled off a diving catch to make history.

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New Zealand beat England by just one run in a second-Test thriller on Tuesday to draw the series despite having been forced to follow-on in Wellington. With the win, New Zealand became just the third team (after England and India) to win a Test match after following on. It was only the fourth occasion a team has won a Test after being asked to follow on. England managed it twice, against Australia in 1894 and 1981, while India beat Australia in 2001. 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.