Other Sports

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

New Zealand wins toss, bowls in 2nd test vs England; Pietersen passed fit

By: Steve McMorran, The Associated Press

Posted: 03/13/2013 4:14 PM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/13/2013 4:40 PM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and chose to bowl Thursday at the start of the second cricket test against England at the Basin Reserve.

McCullum had taken the unusual step on the day before the match of declaring his intention to bowl if he won the toss and he kept that promise when England captain Alastair Cook called heads and the coin fell tails.

Both teams named the same lineups for the match that they used in the drawn first test at Dunedin. England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who was impeded by a knee injury in the first test, was passed fit to play.

The match was due to begin in fine conditions, though rain is forecast on the fourth and fifth days.

New Zealand also won the toss in the first test and bowled out England for 167 on the second day after all of the first day was lost to rain. The pitch at Dunedin's University Oval became more docile as the match progressed and after New Zealand took a 293-run first innings lead, England batted the match to a draw.

The Basin Reserve pitch contains more pace and bounce but might also become increasingly friendly to batsmen as the match proceeds.

"We just think wickets in New Zealand don't tend to break up as the test wears on," McCullum said in a television interview after the toss. "So we think if there's going to be any sort of assistance it's going to be on day one.

"It's always a risk with the toss. But with our strength lying in our bowling we want to give those guys the greatest opportunity to use any sort of assistance they can get."

England captain Cook said he also would have bowled on winning the toss.

"As Brendon said, I think the wickets stay pretty true here," he said. "But it will be touch and go here because it does look a good wicket.

"We've got a tough job here now to get through that first hour. I think it will do a little bit early on and then get flatter as the day wears on."

___

Lineups:

New Zealand: Hamish Rutherford, Peter Fulton, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Dean Brownlie, Brendon McCullum (captain), B.J. Watling, Tim Southee, Bruce Martin, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult.

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Steve Finn, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.

Umpires: Asad Rauf, Pakistan, and Rod Tucker, Australia.

TV Umpire: Paul Reiffel, Australia. Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lanka.

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Other Sports

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.