06/17/26 07:51:00
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06/17 07:50 CDT New Zealand grinds to 75-2 as England's new-look attack strikes
twice at The Oval
New Zealand grinds to 75-2 as England's new-look attack strikes twice at The
Oval
By FOSTER NIUMATA
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) --- New Zealand crawled to 75-2 against England on the first
morning of The Oval test on Wednesday.
New Zealand was put into bat by stand-in captain Joe Root, who was hoping his
inexperienced attack could exploit the moisture in the pitch after drizzle
delayed the start for 30 minutes.
They removed the opening batters, Devon Conway on 9 and captain Tom Latham on
27.
Conway gifted his at 14-1 in the first half-hour, gloving a Matthew Fisher
delivery down the leg side and giving an easy catch to debutant wicketkeeper
James Rew.
The pitch, as expected, appeared to have lost its spite nearing lunch when
Latham, who had hung tough for 74 deliveries, tried turning Jofra Archer to the
leg side but found a leading edge that Jacob Bethell superbly snatched out of
the air at gully.
At lunch, after 25 overs, were a nervy Henry Nicholls on 23 from 50 balls and
Rachin Ravindra on 11 after a couple of exquisite boundaries. On a pitch that
will flatten out on day one, New Zealand was expected to be happy to have lost
only two wickets in the first session.
England can clinch the three-match series at The Oval after winning the first
test at Lord's, but the host team will have to do it after making five changes,
debuting three players, and with Root as a stopgap captain four years after he
gave up the position.
Josh Tongue was the only remaining seamer from Lord's. Archer was playing his
first test since the third Ashes match in Adelaide before Christmas. Fisher was
playing his second test, and first since 2022, but on his home ground. The
lively Sonny Baker made his debut.
They had plenty of pace but generally bowled too short without troubling New
Zealand.
With the promise of better batting conditions on a sunnier afternoon, New
Zealand dug in and England could prise out only Conway and Latham. Nicholls
replaced the retired Kane Williamson and was playing his first test since
August while Ravindra already had more runs than he managed at Lord's.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
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