Matt Henry to Duckett, no run, beaten! Plays inside the line of this short of length that leaves him late and almost nicks off. Withdrew his bat pretty late
1.3
Matt Henry to Duckett, no run,
1.2
Matt Henry to Duckett, no run, solid in defence this time though to this length delivery
1.1
Matt Henry to Duckett, no run
Matt Henry, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack
0.6
Southee to Crawley, SIX, now he goes aerial and goes all the way over long-off. Southee has been bowling full looking to swing,
0.5
Southee to Crawley, no run
0.4
Southee to Crawley, no run, oh yes-no! Crawley played a forward defence to short cover and set off. Nathan Smith attacked the ball quickly so Duckett had to send his partner back and rightly so
0.3
Southee to Crawley, no run, Southee floats one full with a lot of movement on offer
0.2
Southee to Crawley, 2 runs, full and outside off stump, Crawley leans forward and off-drives now past mid-off
Barmy Army belting out Jerusalem now
0.1
Southee to Crawley, 2 runs, straightaway a loud oohhhh from the New Zealand team. It's full and inviting the drive. Crawley looks to play the cover drive
Three slips plus gully as Southee looks to explore grass on top. Oh Crawley moves away as the bowler runs in. Some disturbance behind the bowler
Crawley and Duckett are at the crease. Crawley is on strike. Southee will open the attack
New Zealand have their huddle before walking out to the middle. Crystal clear blue skies now with the sun out in full glory.
Out come the players for the anthems
Pitch report: It's not quite bright green like last season. They have taken 20mm off the top, which means it will be slightly harder and allow that good carry and bounce that we know here at Basin Reserve. Average first innings score is 464 here in the last 4 Tests. If you do get through the early phases from a batting perspective and really take a toll back end of the day and early tomorrow," says Katey Martin.
Ben Stokes: We were going to have to bat actually, so worked out well. Was very happy with the way the game went last week. Team effort from everyone at some point. It was amazing to be a part of (the 2023 Test here). Obviously on the wrong side of the result but to be just one run away in that Test match was critical.
Tom Latham: We are going to bowl. It's a traditional surface here in Wellington. It's an important first two hours of the Test match. Whether you win or loss, you are always looking for improvement. We have another challenge this week and we look forward to it. Last year it took a bit of turn but definitely not this year. We do have spin options in the top 7 and if it does get to that point we got some options there as well.
England
New Zealand
