Test previews / Andrew Hughes / 14 March 2008 /

Andrew Hughes updates us on the action and the latest on the betting after day two of the 2nd Test between England and New Zealand at the Basin Reserve in Wellington

That's more like it! It hasn't been a breeze in windy Wellington, but England are in a great position to level the series. Presented with a starkly different pitch to the slow turner they were becalmed on in Hamilton, they've seized their chance and earned themselves a 144 run first innings lead simply by exploiting conditions more effectively than the hosts.

Already angry at Auckland's decision to give James Anderson bowling practice last week, the Black Cap management must have smelt treason in the air when they arrived at the Basin Reserve to find a track stubbly with grass. Having fought themselves into a series lead by grinding England into the Hamilton dust, the last thing they wanted to see was a result wicket. But in fairness to the curator, the Basin Reserve pitch has a tendency to crumble without a grass covering and he was obviously not willing to get the blame for a sub-standard and deteriorating wicket.

With a green tinged track and ominous cloud cover, neither side was going to be keen to dip their toes into the water first and somewhat inevitably, Vettori invited England to bat, looking for early inroads into a batting line up low in confidence. They did have a great afternoon session inspired by Oram's persistent line and length. But either side of that, they tended to drop too short or too wide. In the morning, they allowed a tentative Vaughan and Cook to eke out 79 runs. After tea, they continually fed the flashing cut of Tim Ambrose who clearly and correctly took the view that attack was the best form of defence on a pitch offering prodigious movement. Their total of 342 all out was at least one hundred too many and the home side's frustration was palpable.

England cemented their strong position today by bowling a metre or so fuller than the hosts and letting the pitch do the rest. You have to feel for Matthew Hoggard, who despite having a bad game in Hamilton, was unlucky to have been dropped for this game on a Headingly-like pitch. But Anderson has for once grabbed his chance with both hands.

Failing to learn the lessons of England's knock, the tentative Black Caps couldn't cope with his late away swing and were yet again unable to shake off Ryan Sidebottom. Considering his inexperience, Stuart Broad acquitted himself well and even the dobbler in chief Collingwood got in on the act, cleaning up the tail with obvious delight. There were counter-attacking cameos from Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and captain Vettori, but in skittling them out for 198, England got their just rewards for hitting the right lengths consistently. The only negative was some comedy fielding from the redundant Monty Panesar who will be lucky to bowl ten overs in this match.

Not surprisingly, if you want to back England at this stage, you'll have to take a miserly price, currently around [1.25] But before you do, you should be wary of assuming that the home side are already beaten. This is a solid looking wicket that is not going to deteriorate very much and with sunnier weather forecast for the rest of the match there will be less seam and swing on offer on days four and five. Though they are in a perilous position, New Zealand will believe they can make early inroads into the fragile England top order. If you want to back the hosts you can do so at [8.2]. Finally, though there have been a high proportion of stalemates at this ground, they are usually brought on by torrential rain, of which there is no sign. Given that New Zealand could conceivably be starting their second innings early on the fourth day, the draw does not look very tempting even at [10.5]

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