England V New Zealand 2013

England 465 all out Prior 82 Pietersen 73 Martin 4-130
New Zealand 66-3 Williamson32 not out Broad 18-2

It was good to see Broad get 2 wickets in 2 balls today, but his batting seems to have fallen away completely, as he was virtually an allrounder at one time but never scores runs anymore.

In his last 17 test innings Broad has averaged just over 12 with the bat, compared to almost 31 in his previous 46 test innings. His overall average is currently 25.43.

(15-03-2013 09:45 )admin Wrote:  It was good to see Broad get 2 wickets in 2 balls today, but his batting seems to have fallen away completely, as he was virtually an allrounder at one time but never scores runs anymore.

I saw a recent interview with Broad & he played down his batting abilities.I think he knows that he has to start pulling his weight with his bowling,the selectors can only stay loyal for so long.But he's in competition with Bresnan & Woakes who can both bat well,you would back Finn to make more runs than him now.Anyone with a Test best of 169 against a good Pakistan bowling attack has much more to offer.

2nd Test Day 3 Close - Eng 465 all out
NZ - 254 all out McCullum 69 Watling 60 Broad 6-51
NZ 2nd Ings (following on) 77-1 Fulton 41 not out
New Zealand trail England by 134 runs

Lunch day 4
NZ 153-2 Fulton 45 Williamson 51 not out Taylor 36 not out
New Zealand trail England by 58 runs

As expected the rain arrived on day 4.With the middle session lost they only bowled a further 6 overs before more bad weather ended the day.
Close Day 4 NZ 162-2 Williamson 55 not out Taylor 41 not out
New Zealand trail England by 49 runs

Total washout on day 5.It would seem that New Zealand will be happy to tie the series 0-0.Expect another good batting track for the 3rd & final test which starts on Thursday 21.30 GMT.

KP out of 3rd Test with knee injury,Bairstow looks to be the replacement.

England won the toss today and asked New Zealand to bat in the 3rd test in Auckland. Jonny Bairstow plays for England in place of the injured Kevin Pietersen, as expected, and New Zealand are unchanged.