New Zealand vs England second Test: What to watch out for in Wellington
Shoaib Bashir struggled against Pakistan but bounced back with four wickets in the first innings in Christchurch. There was a fortune in his haul, but four wickets are four wickets.
The course at Basin Preserve was green on Wednesday and began to show brown patches on Thursday. The weather is warm and Wellington is known for being windy. As the game progresses, the ground will dry out.
New Zealand opted not to field Mitchell Santner and handed spin bowling to Glenn Phillips and possibly some Rachin Ravindra . Bashir is the only expert in this game.
Home team captain Tom Latham pointed to domestic matches being played at The Basin, but the last time the two teams played here, Jack Leach took eight wickets in the match, although he had to bowl in the second innings More than 60 balls were bowled as James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson took to their knees.
In the last Test at this ground, Australia’s victory in March, 17 wickets were overturned, including 10 by Nathan Lyon. Australia captain Pat Cummins said of the bounce on the pitch that the 6-foot-4 Bashir should be licking his lips.
Bashir is a rare thing in this England team: a one-dimensional cricketer. He was the only real tailback in the eleven and his defense needed improvement – he made a lot of mistakes in the first Test. On Thursday, he practiced boundary catching under assistant coach Geetan Patel.
Bashir may have the chance to build on his legacy at Christchurch and play an important role on the ball.
