New Zealand v England 2nd Test
England go into the second Test against New Zealand with an unchanged team. The tourists are looking for a seventh successive win, and an 11th victory in 12 Tests.
England had been sweating on the fitness of their trio of pace bowlers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson after their win in the first Test.
Though England’s 267-run win at Mount Maunganui finished on Sunday, with a day to spare on, there were still doubts over how the seam attack would recover, with the recovery of the pace bowlers, with Anderson and Robinson giving particular cause for concern.
All three men bowled in Wellington on Wednesday, but did not take part in optional training on Thursday as wet weather forced England to train indoors.
Anderson, who is England’s all-time leading wicket-taker. He has recently displayed fantastic longevity to return to the top of the world bowling rankings aged 40. He will head into the second Test looking to continue his fine form. Following his seven-wicket haul in the first Test, Anderson is 26 wickets away from second-place Shane Warne (708 wickets) in the all-time standings in Test cricket.
This will be the 134th time that Anderson and 36-year-old Broad have lined up together in Test cricket. By coincidence this is the same ground where they were first paired together 15 years ago, replacing Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard.
New Zealand, meanwhile, need to win this final Test to avoid suffering a home series defeat for the first time since 2007. They are boosted by the return of pace bowler Matt Henry available after he missed the first Test to be at the birth of his child.
New Zealand v England Latest Odds
| New Zealand | 15/8 | Betfair |
| England | 13/10 | Betfair |
| Draw | 4/1 | SBK |
Tip: Ollie Pope England’s top batter in first innings: 9/2 BetVictor.
Odds correct as of 23.02.23,16:30. Odds subject to change.