Ins and outs for Black Caps batsmen
A spring-heeled Kane Williamson looked like he was willing to run through a brick wall to lead his country against England.
Having been cleared to captain New Zealand in today’s third oneday cricket international at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium, Williamson now faces an even steeper task of batting for two world-class players after Ross Taylor was ruled out.
It was a photo finish as to what was the more significant news at Basin Reserve training, but Taylor’s absence got the nod.
Less than a week after his 18th ODI century guided the Black Caps to victory in the series opener, their prolific No 4 leaves a huge hole and puts top domestic one-day runscorer Mark Chapman in the hot seat again.
In his fitness test Taylor struggled to sprint on the left quadriceps he injured while batting in their six-wicket defeat to England on Wednesday. , Taylor remains a game by game proposition for Dunedin on Wednesday and Christchurch next Saturday.
At least Williamson got through on his niggly hamstring to provide hope for New Zealand who last did without both star batsmen in 2014 when South Africa beat them easily in two Tauranga ODIs.
The skipper’s return from a one-game absence and an awakening of England’s ghosts of Westpac Stadium may be something for New Zealand to cling to as they desperately try to maintain a foothold in the series at 1-1 with three to play.
Both teams reconvene in a Wellington ODI for the first time in three years, since that remarkable afternoon when Tim Southee’s seven-wicket haul blew England off the park at the Cricket World Cup.
Five England players and four New Zealanders return but a fair bit has changed since that hazy Friday in February, 2015.
Under Eoin Morgan’s busy leadership and with all-rounder Ben Stokes boosting their quota of matchwinners, England are confident and combative, having won four of the last five ODIs between the sides.
Wednesday’s victory, ushered in by man-of-the-match Stokes after the Black Caps were skittled for 223 on an excellent pitch, swung the momentum violently.
The oddities of the Cake Tin with its swirling wind, short side boundaries and unpredictable pitch, gives New Zealand a small leg-up.
They defended 196-5 in the Twenty20 against England there on February 13, when Williamson was sublime with the bat, and in three previous ODIs against the Black Caps, England lost all three with a highest total of 130.
New Zealand won 16 of their 25 completed ODIs at Westpac, and skittled England for 123 on Southee’s day where he snared a record 7-33.
‘‘Hopefully it boosts us and puts a bit of fear up them,’’ senior bowler Trent Boult said.
New Zealand will need more than history, after being outplayed so comprehensively at Bay Oval. Still, they won their previous nine ODIs and know what works on home soil. A bit of that soil will be visible again on what pitch watchers said was another patchy surface. Pitch predictions are fraught, though, after the previous one was a batsman’s nightmare for Pakistan in January.
‘‘One pitch hasn’t looked great but it’s played better than it looked. We think it’s going to be a pretty good track, especially for a one-day game,’’ said Mitchell Santner.