New Zealand thwart England’s hopes of winning the second Test in three days as Ben Stokes hurts his left knee

ENGLAND’s hopes of winning the second Test within three days were foiled by some stubborn New Zealand batting.

of black cap The opening pair of Tom Latham and Devon Conway put 149 in the first wicket of the second inning, then Kane Williamson and Henry Nichols survived to the end.

2

New Zealand were 202-3 but still 24 runs behind and England still remain the favorites to take their seventh win in a row.

but Englandposition was not as dominant as it was at the start of play.

And there were ongoing concerns about the condition. Ben Stokes“Left knee.

He bowled two overs with mostly short deliveries, conceding 16 runs before limping from the attack.

Stokes was even cautioned by the referee for exceeding his allowed ration of two bouncers per over.

The captain is clearly distressed and chronic problems do not appear to be resolved before this summer. Ash series.

Before facing Australia, Stokes will play in the Indian Premier League and has signed a £1.6m deal with the Chennai Super Kings.

At the start of the third day in Wellington, Kiwi captain Tim Southey hit a string of 6s en route to 73 as his side went from a 138-7 aggregate to 209 overnight.

Casino Specials – Best Online Casinos of 2023

Stuart Broad finished with four wickets in the innings, dropping all three wickets.

Stokes decided to conduct a follow-on, a rarity in Test cricket these days, believing that Jimmy Anderson and Co could once again make a big cut into the home team’s batting.

Left-handers Latham and Conway, however, played with patience and skill and were able to counteract the moves the bowlers pulled from the pitch.

They took the stand to 149 before Conway was caught in the short leg by Olly Pope, who was always on guard from Jack Leach’s left arm spin.

Then, three overs later, Latham was lbw into Joe Root’s off-spin. Latham missed a sweeping shot, and although he reviewed the decision, replays showed the ball to hit the stumps.

England were on track and had taken 3 wickets for 18 runs when Will Young was bowled by the Reach beauties.

However, master batsman Williamson and left-hander Nichols held on to the end, scoring 35 runs in 21.2 overs so far.

New Zealand’s gritty defensive batting was the exact opposite of the buzzball method adopted by England, but had proven effective.

England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said:

“Tim Southey’s counter-attack was very effective and we didn’t get the wicket we were hoping for. But we are still in a good position.

“Stothy was always thinking about doing a follow-up.

“He believes it’s a positive approach and was trying to win today’s match. His knee problem is always there, but he knows how to manage it.

“He’s always happy to bowl, but he trusts other bowlers.

“This pitch worked well in the morning session, so hopefully we can make a breakthrough tomorrow with fresh legs.”