ENG vs NZ: England is on their final tour to New Zealand, as the team will be playing a 2-match test series against the Blackcaps, who are in the quest for a WTC final appearance.
New Zealand keyman Glenn Phillips, who batted well with a half-century in the Kiwi innings, next stunned all with his breathtaking grab in the position of gully, which sent back English wicketkeeper-batsman Ollie Pope.
England batter Ollie Pope has a new role to play, as after not being in convincing form, he has been demoted down the order to come in to bat at no. 6. Pope seemed to have found his groove in the new role.
Pope scored a stabilizing half-century before he put the partnership alongside batter Harry Brook, who scored another of his stunning hundreds for England. Pope got out when Philips leapt into the air to pull off a screamer at the Gully position on Tim Southee’s bowling, which the batter cut wide of the point.
At Stumps England is trailing by 29 runs with Centurion Brook and skipper Stokes on the crease
After the Kiwi veteran batter, Kane Williamson, returned to the side and replaced their last series’ MVP, Will Young, he turned the heads of fans with splendid innings of 93 runs. Though the batter missed on a hundred, he gave a firm start to the Kiwis on Day 1.
While England came back with a befitting reply to Williamson’s strong resolute, Glenn Phillips scored a fifty down the order as the Kiwis surrendered having made 348.
English openers, on the other hand, didn’t go well, as after Crawley, even debutant Bethell and veteran batter Joe Root failed to capitalize on their batting roles. First handling the earlier sessions with Ben Duckett, Harry Brook kept the tone of the English innings with his stunning hundred.
Ollie Pope has a new role in the team due to the absence of Jamie Smith owing to the birth of his first child, and Cox has not yet received a call to the 11. Pope sustained blows to put on a resilient 77.
At the end of Day 2, skipper Ben Stokes scores a decent 37 runs, while Brook stands tall with 132 runs besides his name.
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