Sportsfreak are all braced up for this one.
Hold on to your Easter eggs, something special is about to happen. A test series in New Zealand being decided with a third test (a rarity in itself) with the score tied at 1-1.
In the history of test cricket in this country that has only happened twice before. And whatever happens in Napier over the next week, it will not be as bad as the last occurrence where the same 2 teams produced 6 of the most boring days of test cricket ever held.
This has been a strange series to date, low on quality but high on tension. The hosts ground out a disciplined win in the first test against an England side that self-destructed through their negativity. But consistency has never been a strong suit of Bracewell’s teams, especially in test matches, England brought in fresh bowlers, and it’s all square again.
The tests have been gripping because of the mediocrity of a lot of the play. Look at the last test; 11 innings in the last test were between 25 and 50. That does not make a great test match, but it certainly makes for an interesting one. Although England had their noses in front once Ambrose cut his way to his century, they were unable to deliver the killer blow over the next 3 days until Oram pushed at one in the dark on Sunday.
They had that decent lead on the first innings, but didn’t know quite what to do with it. Cook and Strauss batted well enough, but just when it looked as if they were going to lock it all up, they went out. And in turn NZ could not take wickets quickly enough to get it back on even keel. The shabby catching from both sides also contributed to this.
England are likely to go with the same XI for Napier. Anderson has certainly bowled himself back into form; Auckland’s loss is England’s gain, and Broad (pictured) was genuinely threatening at the Basin, although she is unlikely to get the same amount of bounce here.
Bracewell has copied England’s successful tactic of addressing batting failures by tinkering with the bowling line-up. In comes the hugely hyped Tim Southee making it a squad of 14. Whether the Player of an ODI World Cup for teenagers can be expected to scythe through a very experienced batting line-up on the flattest pitch in NZ is a moot point, but the rumour is that he will play.
This is likely to be at the expense of Angry Mark Gillespie who was great at bouncing out tail-enders, but seemed to be struggling with an injury or the size of his anatomically improbable backside for the rest of the time. And NZ will want a lot more from Martin who was clearly as insipid as Nicole Kidman’s face in Wellington as he battled with the unusual demand of playing test matches in consecutive weeks.
When the 2 sides met a month ago in the ODI it was a 340-all tie. The pitch was so good for batting that even Pietersen managed to score 50; his highest score on tour. Add to that the pattern that New Zealand’s sunniest city always attracts rain during a cricket test, and it drained like a bog during its last test, it looks as if both sides will struggle to take 20 wickets.
Adding to the tension is the fact that the likes of Bell (the local one), Sinclair, Strauss and possibly even Monty will be playing for their test careers.
Finally, in case you’ve been in a cave for the last few months, this is the end of the road for Stephen Fleming. The interest around his average has been one of the side-shows of the series. Following the full array of soft dismissals over the past fortnight, he needs 113 more runs here to finish up with a career average of 40.
He also needs 100 runs in one innings to notch up his 3rd test century in New Zealand, but that one has probably been covered before.
Common sense would indicate a draw, but these two teams have so far contrived to throw common sense out the window throughout the tour, so we’ll pick a tie instead.www.cricketwithballs.com "Sign our David Hussey petition"
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