
England quicks find rhythm but cyclone threatens further Test build-up
Tracy Mensah
Description
England XI 465 (Brook 97, Lawrence 85, Root 77, Foakes 57) vs New Zealand XIAs England's tour match at Seddon Park drifted to an inevitably tame conclusion, the prospect of further fine-tuning ahead of the series opener in Mount Maunganui was thrown into doubt with warnings of an incoming tropical cyclone.On Thursday the MetService issued a warning that Cyclone Gabrielle would hit the upper of New Zealand's North Island from Sunday morning, bringing gusts of up to 150kph and as much as 300mm of rain at the start of the week. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has extended the state of emergency for a further seven days as a result, a week after torrential rains caused widespread damage to the region. The Coromandel Peninsula, which sits just above Mount Maunganui, has followed suit.England are due to arrive on Sunday with the first Test starting next Thursday (February 16). The first three days of next week were viewed as the ideal lead-in to bring players fully up to scratch, supplementing the four days training at the venue earlier in the tour, and this week in Hamilton, which culminates in an optional session on Friday morning (February 9). Now that build-up looks under serious threat.Day two of England's tour match at Seddon Park drifted predictably. A New Zealand XI flayed for 465 inside 69.2 overs on day one made the endeavour worthwhile with a spirited 310 all out in 82.1 overs through to 8:52pm local time. Quinn Sunde's battling yet classy 91 was the pick of their resistance.The main quicks James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson and Olly Stone got a reasonable workout with the pink ball across three spells during the day. while Jack Leach led the way with 17 overs of left-arm spin.Ben Stokes, however, remained a bystander as Ollie Pope captained in his absence, as was the case in England's warm-up match against the Lions ahead of the Pakistan series in Abu Dhabi. While he put himself through the wringer in the nets and out in the middle during the interval, there is a real chance that cyclone will prevent S
Uploader
Episodes
England quicks find rhythm but cyclone threatens further Test build-up
Tracy Mensah