England vs New Zealand Cricket Series 2008
Comprehensive Cricket News, Latest Information and Live ball-by-ball Commentary.England vs New Zealand Cricket Series 2008
England will play 3 ODIs and 2 T20s followed by 3 Test matches during the New Zealand tour starting January 28, 2008.
Get the latest news of England's 2008 New Zealand Tour →
Cricket Matches Schedule
- Tue 05, February 2008: 1st Twenty20 - England vs New Zealand at Auckland
- Thu 07, February 2008: 2nd Twenty20 - England vs New Zealand at Christchurch
- Sat 09, February 2008: 1st ODI - England vs New Zealand at Wellington
- Tue 12, February 2008: 2nd ODI - England vs New Zealand at Hamilton
- Fri 15, February 2008: 3rd ODI - England vs New Zealand at Auckland
- Wed 20, February 2008: 4th ODI - England vs New Zealand at Napier
- Sat 23, February 2008: 5th ODI - England vs New Zealand at Christchurch
- Wed 05 - Sun 09, March 2008: 1st Test - England vs New Zealand at Hamilton
- Thu 13 - Mon 17, March 2008: 2nd Test - England vs New Zealand at Wellington
- Sat 22 - Wed 26, March 2008: 3rd Test - England vs New Zealand at Napier
England vs New Zealand Second Test at Wellington
NZ vs ENG, Second Test, Wellington: England square series with Wellington win (1:1)
Mar 17, 2008
England wrapped up the second Test by 126 runs to level the series and take it into a decider in Napier, where the final match begins on Saturday. Needing four wickets, after New Zealand began the day on 242 for six, the bowlers took an hour and half to complete the task.
Brendon McCullum was last out for 85, his brave resistance ending when he was caught by Ryan Sidebottom at long-on as he tried to launch Monty Panesar for six. Earlier, Sidebottom had taken two of the wickets to fall to record five for 105, the third five-wicket Test haul of his career. The victory was Michael Vaughan's first for seven Tests, the longest fallow period of his captaincy. Yet he has never lost two matches in a row, something upheld here after the loss in Hamilton.
An away win must be celebrated as they do not happen that often. This was England's first in 10 Tests abroad, the previous one being the famous 'Ring of Fire' victory in Mumbai two years ago, when a Johnny Cash song played at lunch allegedly inspired England to bowl India out cheaply. No such spurs were needed here, though England did make sweeping changes to their bowling attack, a move that brought much more than any pep talk. With the second new ball only an over old, and Sunday's strong wind stilled to no more than a zephyr, England's bowlers had perfect conditions for a quick kill. As he has was in the first Test, where he took 10 wickets, Sidebottom was the pick. His combination of swing and aggression has undone many batsmen and in the second over yesterday it did for Daniel Vettori.
New Zealand's skipper is the world's best No 8, though that is a relative notion when confronted by a ball that is swinging, and his edged poke to Alastair Cook at third slip was more true to type. Sidebottom then got rid of Kyle Mills, lbw after a series of appeals finally won umpire Rudi Koertzen's favour. New Zealand rallied, with McCullum marshalling Mark Gillespie well to add 41 for the ninth wicket. Yet just as England fans were thinking the unthinkable, James Anderson enticed Gillespie to nibble at an outswinger.
McCullum is difficult to bowl at in this form and after a few plays and misses at Broad, he was hitting boundaries almost at will. He presented a sharp chance to Andrew Strauss at first slip as he swished at Anderson but mostly he looked indomitable until he tried to loft Panesar out of the ground. On a pitch offering seam bowlers something for most of the game, England's trio of Sidebottom, Anderson and Stuart Broad were too strong for the hosts once Ambrose's fine hundred gave them a handy first-innings total. They might have finished New Zealand off on day four had their catching and out-fielding been half as good as it had in the opening Test. The team that dominates doesn't usually fluff too many chances, but England proved the exception by missing five catches, one run-out and a stumping.
After the scintillating snares and snaffles at Hamilton this was a humbling regression and a puzzling one. One minute England's new fielding coach Richard Halsall (not yet with the team) looks surplus to requirements, the next the essential cog in the machine. The wind, strong enough to limit England's attacking capability to just one end once the new ball had softened, meant hard work for those trying to tack a course into it. Perhaps that placed added pressure on fielders, mindful not to waste chances. In his last appearance at the Basin Reserve, Stephen Fleming was the first to receive a helping hand when Ambrose dropped him standing up to Paul Collingwood just before lunch on the fourth day.
Fleming has never scored a Test hundred at his home, and his final reckoning here was a major misjudgement of line when Stuart Broad bowled him offering no stroke just after the break. It was the second wicket in four balls for Broad, after being handed the downwind end after Sidebottom's probing opening spell. Hoisting his spinnaker, he charged in with intent reaching between 78-85 mph. His reward should have been forthcoming in the fourth over after lunch when Matthew Bell drove at one that left him off the pitch, but Collingwood clanged the catch at second slip. Luckily the error did not prove costly and Bell, who has looked a notch below what is required at this level, hung his bat out obligingly four overs later and nicked off to Ambrose.
At 70 for three, New Zealand were heading for a pasting. But Matthew Sinclair, under pressure for his place, and the in-form Ross Taylor, decided to counter-attack, and England squandered further chances. Alastair Cook dropped Sinclair in the gully off Sidebottom and Kevin Pietersen floored a swirling chance at mid-off. By now Collingwood and Panesar were head down doing the donkey work, while the three pacemen shot the breeze. The Sinclair Taylor partnership had reached 81 when a switch to Anderson paid dividends, with Sinclair lamely chipping a back foot drive to Bell at extra-cover. When the ball is not swinging Anderson can prove expensive and two fours off him saw Taylor to his fifty, his second of the match. A stylish batsman with all the shots, he is prone to moments of rashness, a fault that befell him here after falling lbw to Sidebottom, whipping across a straight ball.
With McCullum and Jacob Oram striking the ball well, England were grateful they had a second new ball to take just before the close. They also had cause to be grateful to the umpires for a liberal interpretation of the light, which looked as dark as it had been when the batsmen had taken it thirty minutes earlier. As he had all day, Sidebottom immediately made demands with menaces and had Oram caught by Pietersen at fourth slip to set England’s comeback into the series in motion.
NZ vs ENG, 2nd Test, Wellington, day five: England 342 & 293 bt New Zealand 191 & 311 by 126 runs
England vs New Zealand Second Test at Wellington
Scores
New Zealand won the toss and decided to field
342 all out (107.0 overs)
|
293 all out (97.4 overs)
|
198 all out (57.5 overs)
|
311 all out (100.3 overs)
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
Cook | c McCullum | b Oram | 44 |
91 | 5 | 0 |
Vaughan | b Oram | 32 |
80 | 4 | 0 | |
Strauss | c Sinclair | b Mills | 8 |
33 | 1 | 0 |
Pietersen | b Gillespie | 31 |
52 | 3 | 0 | |
Bell | c McCullum | b Martin | 11 |
38 | 2 | 0 |
Collingwood | lbw | b Gillespie | 65 |
149 | 8 | 0 |
Ambrose | c Taylor | b Mills | 102 |
149 | 16 | 2 |
Broad | b Oram | 1 |
7 | 0 | 0 | |
Sidebottom | c Bell | b Gillespie | 14 |
37 | 1 | 0 |
Panesar | c McCullum | b Gillespie | 6 |
10 | 0 | 0 |
Anderson | not out | 0 |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
Extras | 8nb 5b 15lb | 28 | ||||
Total | all out | 342 | (107.0 ovs) |
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
How | c Strauss | b Anderson | 7 |
19 | 0 | 0 |
Bell | b Anderson | 0 |
6 | 0 | 0 | |
Fleming | c Pietersen | b Anderson | 34 |
93 | 2 | 0 |
Sinclair | c Ambrose | b Anderson | 9 |
25 | 1 | 0 |
Taylor | c Ambrose | b Anderson | 53 |
94 | 9 | 0 |
Oram | lbw | b Sidebottom | 8 |
22 | 1 | 0 |
McCullum | c Strauss | b Broad | 25 |
21 | 5 | 0 |
Vettori | not out | 50 |
42 | 7 | 1 | |
Mills | c Bell | b Collingwood | 1 |
10 | 0 | 0 |
Gillespie | b Collingwood | 0 |
5 | 0 | 0 | |
Martin | b Collingwood | 1 |
11 | 0 | 0 | |
Extras | 1nb 1w 8lb | 10 | ||||
Total | all out | 198 | (57.5 ovs) |
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
Cook | c Fleming | b Mills | 60 |
137 | 7 | 1 |
Vaughan | c McCullum | b Mills | 13 |
38 | 2 | 0 |
Strauss | lbw | b Oram | 44 |
88 | 3 | 0 |
Pietersen | run out | 17 |
38 | 2 | 0 | |
Bell | c Sinclair | b Oram | 41 |
83 | 4 | 0 |
Collingwood | lbw | b Gillespie | 59 |
116 | 10 | 0 |
Ambrose | b Oram | 5 |
16 | 1 | 0 | |
Broad | c McCullum | b Martin | 16 |
39 | 1 | 0 |
Sidebottom | c How | b Gillespie | 0 |
4 | 0 | 0 |
Panesar | c Taylor | b Martin | 10 |
21 | 0 | 0 |
Anderson | not out | 12 |
11 | 2 | 0 | |
Extras | 5nb 6b 5lb | 16 | ||||
Total | all out | 293 | (97.4 ovs) |
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|||
How | c Bell | b Sidebottom | 8 |
22 | 1 | 0 |
Bell | c Ambrose | b Broad | 29 |
96 | 5 | 0 |
Fleming | b Broad | 31 |
76 | 5 | 0 | |
Sinclair | c Bell | b Anderson | 39 |
51 | 7 | 0 |
Taylor | lbw | b Sidebottom | 55 |
78 | 8 | 0 |
Oram | c Pietersen | b Sidebottom | 30 |
97 | 4 | 0 |
McCullum | c Sidebottom | b Panesar | 85 |
116 | 9 | 3 |
Vettori | c Cook | b Sidebottom | 0 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
Mills | lbw | b Sidebottom | 13 |
21 | 2 | 0 |
Gillespie | c Ambrose | b Anderson | 9 |
39 | 1 | 0 |
Martin | not out | 0 |
0 | 0 | 0 | |
Extras | 1w 11lb | 12 | ||||
Total | all out | 311 | (100.3 ovs) |
|
|
Umpires: S J Davis, R E Koertzen
New Zealand: Bell, How, Fleming, Taylor, Sinclair, Oram, McCullum, Vettori, Mills, Gillespie, Martin
England: Cook, Vaughan, Strauss, Pietersen, Bell, Collingwood, Ambrose, Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar
England vs New Zealand Second Test at Wellington
Venue
Westpac Stadium, previously known as WestpacTrust Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin in other parts of New Zealand, although the locals refer to it by either its proper name or simply as The Stadium. Fans of football team Wellington Phoenix refer to the stadium as The Ring of Fire. The stadium was built in 1999 by Fletcher Construction and is situated close to major transport facilities one kilometre north of the CBD. It was built on reclaimed railway land, which was surplus to requirements.The stadium has a capacity of nearly 36,000 including the corporate boxes; 40,000 with temporary seating. It was built to replace Athletic Park, the city’s old rugby stadium, which had fallen into disrepair and was poorly situated for the demands of modern sport. It has since been redeveloped for residential use. The new stadium is one of the best in New Zealand.