**Official** England in New Zealand

[Richard]

Hope the last 4 either slog us up to 550 or hit one straight up soon as poss, it's always boring seeing two tailenders at the crease together.

I'm just bored listening to Broad and Sidebottom farting around. Clearly it's a team tactic to bore NZ to the brink of insanity.

Possibly the first time in 2 years 7 months and 18 days that two posts from Dickinson and Pickup have been in agreeance.

 

[simmy]

This is so pointless

 

[Richard]

Well, we've finally managed 2 boundaries, in the 7th and 8th overs of the day... and suddenly we're being gifted overthrows, blimey NZ are falling apart. A direct-hit would've been a run-out too.

 

[Richard]

BREAKING NEWs

From the England dressing-room: Michael Vaughan has left his seat. Could this be the vital move to get the calculator we've been waiting for all day?

 

[Pup Clarke]

If 31 minutes of play constitutes as all day...

 

[Richard]

And finally the declaration comes... mid-over.

 

[wpdavid]

The good news is that Vaughan trusts his attack to defend 550.
The slightly worrying news is that he didn't trust them to defend 501.

Time for bed in this part of the world. Enjoy it, the rest of you.

 

[Richard]

England have set New Zealand 3 more than they set them at Christchurch in 2001\02, which once again was an extremely unneccessarily early declaration. Unlikely that NZ will get as close as they did then, but it was unlikely they'd have got as close as they did that time either.

 

[Richard]

Some swing for Sidebottom off the opening delivery. The cloud is burning off however.

 

[Days of Grace]

Ha ha, what's this?

Fleming coming out also and standing at square-leg with helmet and gloves on. I guess he doesn't want to waste much time getting out there after Bell...

 

[Richard]

You sure?

 

[Richard]

After an excellent opening over, from which How gets off-the-mark with 2, it'll be interesting to see how Anderson comes back from his first-innings pasting.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Good couple of what are traditionally called "lusty blows" from Broad to end the innings. He might just be the number 8 we've lacked since Ash's hips disintegrated. If cricket's genetic he's got some good batting blood, but does seem about 1000 times less tightly wound than his old man.

Good first over from Sid, see what Jimmy can do now. Bell to bowl at, which you wouldn't be disappointed about as an opening bowler.

 

[Richard]

"Sport is a condensed version of life - only it matters less and comes up with better statistics." - Ed Smith

AWTA.

 

[Goughy]

Anderson hitting the bat hard with good shape. Promising

 

[andruid]

Just a thought, New Zealand and England have collided an awful lot since the 2006 Champions Trophy. I mean a heck of a lot.

How on earth do you stand each other anymore?

 

[Richard]

England and India between December 2001 and February 2003 faced-off even more.

 

[Richard]

Yay, Matthew Bell off-the-mark.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Four 4s on the skid. Bravo James.

Cunning plan to get Bell on the English tour, clearly.

 

[99*]

No one better than Jimmy Anderson to get Bell hitting the ball.