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England v New Zealand: Second Test Preview – Headingley

The second and final Test match of the Investec series between England and New Zealand starts on Friday morning, weather permitting, with England leading 1-0.

England come into the match at Headingley on the back of a commanding and confidence building demolition of the Kiwis last week, but the apparent ease of the eventual win for England should not mean that a win in Yorkshire is an inevitability, especially as the tourists were very much in contention for the win in the first Test over the first three days, and arguably had the edge over England in a number of sessions.

However, Lord’s was both a chastening and punishing experience for a New Zealand side who had battled so well against England so well in the series at the beginning of the year, that they could have quite conceivably won it had it not been for Matt Prior’s heroics in Auckland.

Left-arm spinner Bruce Martin (not Chris Martin – the dictionary definition of a number 11), and wicketkeeper BJ Watling will both sit out through injury, with Martin still suffering from the calf injury that saw him miss large portions towards the end at Lord’s, and Watling with a knee injury.

There was speculation that former skipper Daniel Vettori might be recalled, but continuing struggles with an achilles injury that hasn’t seen him play in the longer form since July last year, put pay to that. Martin Guptill comes in to replace Watling at number 6, whilst skipper Brendan McCullum will take over duty with the gloves for the first time in a Test match since 2010.

England on the other hand have the luxury of naming an unchanged team. Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow are in line to play on their home ground, with Root having a particularly successful season with the bat thus far, scoring 236 at Headingley against Derbyshire.
There have been some questions asked about the possible fragility of the top and middle order, after losing the last 7 wickets for 75 in the first innings, and last 8 for 54 in the second, but captain Cook is keeping faith with a line up that will surely look pretty much the same when the Aussies role into Nottingham on the 21st July. Questions were also raised about the form of Steve Finn, who, although taking 4-63 in the first innings, appeared to be struggling to hit his areas. The obvious replacement would have been another Yorkshire native, Tim Bresnan, but, like the batting, Cook appears to want to have a settled bowling unit when the Ashes start.

My prediction? I think England can win it, and in all honesty I think they should win it. It won’t necessarily be easy for them though, New Zealand are a good, tough side, and I don’t think they will collapse in the same way that they did at Lord’s. I think the England top order will fire, especially with the Headingley pitches being batsman friendly so far this season, and Broad, Anderson, Finn and Swann to do their thing with the ball.

If they are to have any chance, the Kiwis top 6 need to find some runs (the second innings at Lord’s was the first time the top 6 had all been out for single-figure scores since 1955-56), but expect messrs Southee, Boult and Wagner to cause some problems for England throughout the match.

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