New Zealand vs England, 2nd Test Match Preview, Prediction and Live Streaming

It has been a little less than 17 years since the last time England won a Test series in New Zealand. Following that series triumph in 2008, the English have played as many as five Test tours versus the Kiwis at their home turf and failed to win the entire thing on each occasion. However, none of those defeats was quite as agonizing as their most recent in Wellington in 2023.

Having won the first game of the series and declared the first innings total at 435/8 in the second, the victory seemed tantalizingly close. But that’s where it stayed always. Tantalizingly close but miles apart. Eventually, England lost the game (and the chance to win the series) by merely a run.

England find themselves, again, in a familiar position. With the series opener in the bag and the second game scheduled to be played in Wellington against the Kiwis. On top of that, it is almost the same English side that featured in the Wellington 2023. But is it, really? Would this England team, more seasoned by defeats and a touch saner, be as reckless as to enforce a follow-on just to maintain their image of an equanimous new guy in the town? Probably not. Hence, wisdom could be where the visitors can finally find the key to doing what they have not been able to do since 2008.

Team Overview:

Tom Latham made it clear that the team, along with its fielding skills, needs no changes after the first game and so the hosts will field an unchanged lineup. Kane Williamson, as always, was occupying another space while batting as he heaped up 93 and 61 in the first game. A four-pronged pace attack means the part-timers will get to roll their arm over for some handy spin, though that might not be needed to often.

England too will go unchanged. This means that Ollie Pope would get a chance to flaunt his wicket-keeping skills once again. In addition, it was a pleasant sight to see Chris Woakes bowl the way he did, rubbing whatever dust, he could, off his overseas stats. However, Brydon Carse, with his brilliance with the ball, grabbed all the eyeballs towards himself. Ben Stokes could finally count on his pacers to do the job without faltering. An unchanged lineup also means that Jacob Bethell will get another chance to pay back to the selectors for their trust in him.

Head-to-Head Matches:

Both sides have played plenty of Test games against one another. In the 113 red-ball matches that both teams crossed swords in, New Zealand have won 13 matches, while England, far ahead, have won 53. 47 matches ended in a draw.

Weather and Pitch Report:

The pitch has grass on it, but when in Wellington, remember the maxim that appearances can be deceptive. First-class and Test games here have shown that the grass is just enough to last for the first hour or session at best. After that, batting becomes significantly easier. Expect a run galore. The toss-winning captain, though, would want to bowl first to get the most of the flattened out pitch by the second or third day. The side batting first would not want to enforce a follow-on.